5 ms·

I'm in a situation now where, instead of walking 10min / day back and forth to the office my boss is expecting me to commute on buses and trains 4hrs / day (not

by stef25 15y ago

I'm in a situation now where, instead of walking 10min / day back and forth to the office my boss is expecting me to commute on buses and trains 4hrs / day (not exaggerating). I consider this extra commuting time as unpaid overtime (up to 20hrs a week, even though I'm not "working") and hence want to deal with it as this article says I should: "No way, I quit". Yet I feel bad about this; what would you do?

pmjordan 15y ago
Don't feel bad about it. Unless you just moved 2 hours away from your workplace it's not your fault.
defen 15y ago
A daily four hour commute is horrifically bad for your health (both mental and physical). You absolutely should not feel bad about quitting or demanding to be allowed to telecommute.
Natsu 15y ago
Assuming you worked ~40 hours/week before, this extra 20 hours means that your hourly wage is roughly 33% lower. What would you do if asked to take a 33% cut in pay?
mikeash 15y ago
Why would you feel bad? This is a serious quality of life issue. 4 hours a day commuting is not acceptable for most people. Move, find an arrangement that lets you stay home, or quit. It's not your fault that your boss is making you do this.
S4M 15y ago
Is your boss trying to make you work in another office? In that case can you negotiate with him a relocation package?
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
EwanG 15y ago
What would I do? Well, that kind of depends on your situation: 1) If you have the six months of emergency funds saved up that you are supposed to, and are either single or married without children, I'd probably quit. Assuming you have actual technical skills I'd move that up to should probably quit. 2) If you have three months or less of emergency funds and/or have children and/or you or someone in your family has a chronic medical condition I would grin and bear it in public, and network furiously to try and find another job so that you aren't "cutting off your nose to spite your face" 3) In both of the prior cases I'm taking it as a given that you are at best ambivalent about your current position or employer. If it's a job you love and it is just the situation that is a problem, then talking with your boss to help explain why it is a problem may be worthwhile. As hard as it may be to believe, some folks out there may look at the setup and not see it as a problem. Either because they're not doing it, or they actually like the ride time to do other things. Hope this helps...
narrator 15y ago
One possible compromise is to get a 4g hotspot and work while you are on the bus and only stay in the office for 4 hours.

by stef25 15y ago

pmjordan 15y ago

Don't feel bad about it. Unless you just moved 2 hours away from your workplace it's not your fault.

defen 15y ago

A daily four hour commute is horrifically bad for your health (both mental and physical). You absolutely should not feel bad about quitting or demanding to be allowed to telecommute.

Natsu 15y ago

Assuming you worked ~40 hours/week before, this extra 20 hours means that your hourly wage is roughly 33% lower. What would you do if asked to take a 33% cut in pay?

mikeash 15y ago

Why would you feel bad? This is a serious quality of life issue. 4 hours a day commuting is not acceptable for most people. Move, find an arrangement that lets you stay home, or quit. It's not your fault that your boss is making you do this.

S4M 15y ago

Is your boss trying to make you work in another office? In that case can you negotiate with him a relocation package?

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

EwanG 15y ago

What would I do? Well, that kind of depends on your situation: 1) If you have the six months of emergency funds saved up that you are supposed to, and are either single or married without children, I'd probably quit. Assuming you have actual technical skills I'd move that up to should probably quit. 2) If you have three months or less of emergency funds and/or have children and/or you or someone in your family has a chronic medical condition I would grin and bear it in public, and network furiously to try and find another job so that you aren't "cutting off your nose to spite your face" 3) In both of the prior cases I'm taking it as a given that you are at best ambivalent about your current position or employer. If it's a job you love and it is just the situation that is a problem, then talking with your boss to help explain why it is a problem may be worthwhile. As hard as it may be to believe, some folks out there may look at the setup and not see it as a problem. Either because they're not doing it, or they actually like the ride time to do other things. Hope this helps...

narrator 15y ago

One possible compromise is to get a 4g hotspot and work while you are on the bus and only stay in the office for 4 hours.