4 ms·

My current company allowed me to set my own hours and location when I was contracting for them. When I went full time, there was a verbal understanding that I

My current company allowed me to set my own hours and location when I was contracting for them. When I went full time, there was a verbal understanding that I would be onsite more and work more regular hours, but that I would still have significant flexibility. In reality, if I come into the office at 9:01 the program manager throws a fit. And if there's a big winter storm and I could either (a) spend 3 hours commuting each way for 2-3 hours at the actual office or (b) doing 8-9 hours of actual work from home, he still insists I come into the office. So yep, the company says it's flexible, but not so much in reality.

damon_c 12y ago
There are lots of other jobs out there. You don't need to work for people who break deals.
- yaddayadda 12y ago
  We all have constraints in our jobs and potential jobs; things such as location constraints (house, family, etc), specialty, and level. In my field, at my level, and in my geographic area, there really aren't a lot of jobs. Even more unfortunate, the 100% remote jobs in my field don't pay even remotely what I'm earning now (they are literally topping out at 1/2 of what I'm currently making). Employers in my field that allow 100% remote do so because they see it as a source of cheap labor, not high-quality labor. I am always looking, but so far I haven't found any comparable jobs that meet my constraints. At this point, my best option is my own start-up, which I'm working toward as fast as I can given my other obligations.
  - seivan 12y ago
    I'm in the same situation...
noonespecial 12y ago
The "program manager" my not understand quite how your deal was worked out and just be an old fashioned butts-in-the-seats manager who still believes that his job is simply to make people come in. His superiors might be very upset if he ends up prompting you to leave. They may have no clue this is going on. Talk to the original people and tell them it's not working out.
- yaddayadda 12y ago
  Ahh, if only it were so simple. The program manager wasn't initially aware of the arrangement. When I mentioned it to him, he basically threw a professional fit along the lines of "To get work done I need you here when everyone else is here." He'll even readily admit that I got plenty of work done while contracting and setting my own hours and location - enough that he and the company wanted me salaried - "but it's not the same now". The execs that I negotiated with don't have much backbone and won't stand up to him or our owner. They are well aware of the situation, and when I go through them and leave the PM out of scheduling, they're always okay with whatever I say I'm going to do (I don't even bother asking, I just tell them); after the fact, he'll huff and puff for a while, but he never actually says anything explicitly. Unfortunately, he and I work very closely together, so I don't often have the opportunity to go through the execs. The night before a particularly harsh snowstorm, I even had a conversation with him about working from home the next day. We talked about what I could do from home, I literally showed him the printouts of the background material (and had digital copies on our office server and on my laptop), and he said he was okay with it. When I wasn't at the office shortly after 9:00am the next morning he started calling me. Even though I had already been working for close to an hour and sent him updated files showing what I had already completed, he wanted me to drive in. To add to the frustration, we frequently have to travel for work. Of course, no one, including the PM has a problem with work done remotely in those situations.
  - noonespecial 12y ago
    I don't know your situation, but the good thing about spineless uppers is that they are often as unwilling to work against you as they are for you. This PM is not actually this irrational. He behaves this way because hes become accustom to getting away with it. I don't know how much you "need" the job, but I'd try just telling him how its going to be and then sticking with it. Unless he has direct firing authority (that he actually has the political capital to use), he'll likely complain to upper management and get the same disinterested shrug you received. "He seems like a good employee, I'm sure you can work it out". Caveat emptor of course. I have a sample size of 2 in my personal life and its worked for me once (but wonderfully so). The other time, it got me out of a bad situation that I should have been working harder to leave anyway (with good references even).

damon_c 12y ago

There are lots of other jobs out there. You don't need to work for people who break deals.

yaddayadda 12y ago
We all have constraints in our jobs and potential jobs; things such as location constraints (house, family, etc), specialty, and level. In my field, at my level, and in my geographic area, there really aren't a lot of jobs. Even more unfortunate, the 100% remote jobs in my field don't pay even remotely what I'm earning now (they are literally topping out at 1/2 of what I'm currently making). Employers in my field that allow 100% remote do so because they see it as a source of cheap labor, not high-quality labor. I am always looking, but so far I haven't found any comparable jobs that meet my constraints. At this point, my best option is my own start-up, which I'm working toward as fast as I can given my other obligations.
- seivan 12y ago
  I'm in the same situation...

noonespecial 12y ago

The "program manager" my not understand quite how your deal was worked out and just be an old fashioned butts-in-the-seats manager who still believes that his job is simply to make people come in. His superiors might be very upset if he ends up prompting you to leave. They may have no clue this is going on. Talk to the original people and tell them it's not working out.

yaddayadda 12y ago
Ahh, if only it were so simple. The program manager wasn't initially aware of the arrangement. When I mentioned it to him, he basically threw a professional fit along the lines of "To get work done I need you here when everyone else is here." He'll even readily admit that I got plenty of work done while contracting and setting my own hours and location - enough that he and the company wanted me salaried - "but it's not the same now". The execs that I negotiated with don't have much backbone and won't stand up to him or our owner. They are well aware of the situation, and when I go through them and leave the PM out of scheduling, they're always okay with whatever I say I'm going to do (I don't even bother asking, I just tell them); after the fact, he'll huff and puff for a while, but he never actually says anything explicitly. Unfortunately, he and I work very closely together, so I don't often have the opportunity to go through the execs. The night before a particularly harsh snowstorm, I even had a conversation with him about working from home the next day. We talked about what I could do from home, I literally showed him the printouts of the background material (and had digital copies on our office server and on my laptop), and he said he was okay with it. When I wasn't at the office shortly after 9:00am the next morning he started calling me. Even though I had already been working for close to an hour and sent him updated files showing what I had already completed, he wanted me to drive in. To add to the frustration, we frequently have to travel for work. Of course, no one, including the PM has a problem with work done remotely in those situations.
- noonespecial 12y ago
  I don't know your situation, but the good thing about spineless uppers is that they are often as unwilling to work against you as they are for you. This PM is not actually this irrational. He behaves this way because hes become accustom to getting away with it. I don't know how much you "need" the job, but I'd try just telling him how its going to be and then sticking with it. Unless he has direct firing authority (that he actually has the political capital to use), he'll likely complain to upper management and get the same disinterested shrug you received. "He seems like a good employee, I'm sure you can work it out". Caveat emptor of course. I have a sample size of 2 in my personal life and its worked for me once (but wonderfully so). The other time, it got me out of a bad situation that I should have been working harder to leave anyway (with good references even).