At what point would you quit?

[Frank]

I heard a little about that noise but I am not affected by it. In August I got a promotion, raise, bonus, and much less stressed. I don't work those crazy hours any more when I was on the firewall team. My management chain respects me, cares about me, and pretty much leaves me to do what I want. I am probably the happiest I have been in my 21 years there. It was always drilled into me that WFH was a privilege that I might have to give up one day and not a right. I have been doing it 10+ years. I wasn't hired as a WFH status, so if I had to start driving in all the time, I would just take the lumps. I am about 32 miles away or further if I had to drive to Ft Worth where my client is located. The only reason I drive to Plano any more is because one of my buddies is in from out of town, town hall, or I have to do some banking with the CU.

[Scott Mc]

Everyone can be replaced but the ultimate question is how hard would it be? You can't just pick up the phone book and start dialing for a lot of high powered technical jobs. It is one of the biggest problems in this country right now, not enough skilled workers.

I have heard the replaceable line for years, companies now think a handbook with detailed info will make any employee a superstar. The fact is either you have it or you don't. To me in my industry it is getting harder and harder to make a comfortable living without selling your soul. I guess my point is the middle class is getting choked oud by the big company's spreadsheets. My job is getting choked out into a generic job aswell, so I feel your pain man.

[Cooter]

Dear pasty white creator who art in heaven, thank you for laying me off 5yrs ago... I have enjoyed making way more money on my own than I ever did while kissing the ass of whoever was employing me at the time

[Dave586]

What does your manager say? Will they let you telecommute fulltime? Can you make a case with them? Or did you already try and they said two days a week?

[Silverback]

Don't think it's just HP... Dell and other organizations are doing the same thing. While some people, like you, may be more productive at home, they are slowly figuring out that this isn't the norm. And if $3k/yr at your salary range breaks you from having to go in the office again, then you need to find something else anyway.

If you're working 60-80 hours a week, and not being compensated for it, that's on you. I manage teams of guys like you, and if my guys were putting in that much time, I'd hire another person to the team. Also for some of you, being at your desk 50-60 hours a week, isn't "working". Which is what happens for most people who work from home. They count sitting at their desk as "work time". Even though they are playing games, taking care of their kids, making lunch, or even running errands while "being available" and working from home.

I know I'm guilty of it as well. I had contractors at my house working on the floors, walls, landscaping, etc. I'd take breaks to go deal with them, while "working". While it's nice to have the option to work from home, and I use it 1-2 days a week. I actually prefer going into the office to socialize a bit, and spend time with the guys I manage that happen to be local. 1/3 of my staff is in Mexico, and 1/3 is in India. The push right now for India associates that have slowly adapted to work from home models as well, is that all new hires will work out of one of our facilities and work from home won't be an option.

If people are hired 100% remote with Dell, then they remain remote. If you were hired in Plano, or anywhere we have a local facility, you'll more than likely be required to come to the office the majority of the time, with those that can work from home effectively being allowed to do so 1-2 days a week.

[Silverback]

Everyone can be replaced but the ultimate question is how hard would it be? You can't just pick up the phone book and start dialing for a lot of high powered technical jobs. It is one of the biggest problems in this country right now, not enough skilled workers.

I disagree. There is an abundance of skilled IT workers out there in the job market right now. I've spent a lot of time staffing over the last few years, and there's no shortage. There's also more and more on-shore and off-shore that are starting to gain traction in a lot of areas. The hardest part about off-shore workers (India) is their culture, not their technical ability. They aren't thinkers, they are just do-ers. Task based work is their forte. Give them a script and they follow it to a T. Ask them to think outside the box, or be proactive, it's very hard for them to understand. However there is a cultural shift happening and we're seeing more and more in the IT world doing just that, owning problems, and proactively working on maintenance and solution design type of work.

[Baron Von Crowder]

On the opposite side, we arent allowed to work from home, even though it wouldnt change one second of how I do my job. When the main office ran out of desks, they asked several of us that had been around for a while and didnt need hand holding to move to an office a bit closer to a few of us, and without any management. We asked what was the difference from being at home, but never got an answer.

I got to work out of an office that is 7 miles from my house while my wife was in the hospital, but after that they told me to go back.

Ive always been a bit jealous of the people who can work from home, but I also like that this office closes and they lock the doors, so I dont have the option of getting stuck at the office late. When I clock out and head home, there isnt a damn thing I can do until I get back the next day, and that is worth something.

[Roscoe]

I'd not act too quickly, but play the game and speak with your management (friends) to voice your concerns. If you've produced like you say you have, there are always exceptions.

Best of luck.

<-- approved your application to DFWM Ballers Assoc, don't know why Dr. Dave and Slow99 rejected it...

[VaderTT]

We had our VPN/MAS taken away last month, now I'm driving from Argyle to Frisco everyday! I dream to work from home at leat 2 days a week again.

[mikeb]

Finding a new job in this economy can be hit or miss. You've got what sounds like a pretty cushy job situation right now, with friends in management and a lot of freedoms that other people just don't have. Think carefully about the situation that you currently have before issuing any ultimatums to HP.

Working from home is a privilege and not a right; you have experienced the benefits of that privilege for some time now. So they want you to show up and man a desk now? That's what most of the working population has to do each day. Meg has spoken so it sounds like a done deal within HP at this point. I don't know that you have much choice in the matter.

Someone mentioned Melissa Meyer - she pulled the VPN logs and noticed a lack of activity and that is what got their work from home privileges pulled. People were obviously not appreciating what they had been allowed to do. I expect that this move to pull workers back from the work-at-home deal is the same thing.

[Frank]

Finding a new job in this economy can be hit or miss. You've got what sounds like a pretty cushy job situation right now, with friends in management and a lot of freedoms that other people just don't have. Think carefully about the situation that you currently have before issuing any ultimatums to HP.

Working from home is a privilege and not a right; you have experienced the benefits of that privilege for some time now. So they want you to show up and man a desk now? That's what most of the working population has to do each day. Meg has spoken so it sounds like a done deal within HP at this point. I don't know that you have much choice in the matter.

Someone mentioned Melissa Meyer - she pulled the VPN logs and noticed a lack of activity and that is what got their work from home privileges pulled. People were obviously not appreciating what they had been allowed to do. I expect that this move to pull workers back from the work-at-home deal is the same thing.

Yeah, but there is a ton of things I do every day that does not require me to access VPN to get done. Of course mgmt doesn't look at it that way.

[TexasT]

I'd put the feelers out. You are a number no matter how highly you value yourself. They think they can replace you whether they can or can't it's all about perception. I'm married to no employer because they sure aren't married to me.
Line up some alternatives before you go in with the chin music or you just might find yourself looking after the fact.
That said you might just go with the flow and keep collecting just depends on your level of tolerance.

My last employer had a high up at one of the meetings stand up with a presentation about if you aren't happy maybe you don't belong here. I know of three of us who were there that have bettered ourselves. It's all about you. Make it happen.

[Rick Modena]

Its never a companies problem if you live far from you job. you applied for the job, you have to pay your way to get there. Like Matt mentioned, you can probably get that small amount per year in a raise, but in this day and age I certainly wouldn't go in there demanding shit, especially small insignificant shit.

[Sean88gt]

If you don't have the stomach to do your own thing, you might want to ease in one direction or another.

My woman spent 8 months trying to get on with a company and was finally notified yesterday that they went in another direction. 8 months.

[lowthreeohz]

Its never a companies problem if you live far from you job. you applied for the job, you have to pay your way to get there. Like Matt mentioned, you can probably get that small amount per year in a raise, but in this day and age I certainly wouldn't go in there demanding shit, especially small insignificant shit.

Agreed. Bitching about commute, to someone who does it everyday, will make you come off as a whiney bitch IMO