Employers are pushing for a return to the office. Here’s how to continue working from home forever
Demands to return to the office are picking up momentum. If you’re reading this, you’re likely in a similar situation. So what should you do?
Should you accept defeat and return to the office? Should you quit your job? Is there another option?
Recently, several friends & colleagues have asked my thoughts on how to avoid being transitioned back to the office after more than two years of working remotely. They know I’m passionate about this topic – I’ve written about it on Twitter, on LinkedIn, and I’ve been interviewed on a nationally broadcast radio segment on the topic, so you might say I have a few thoughts on the matter. ?
Luckily I am not in this situation, and I will continue working remotely where I am happiest.
To be clear: I’m not against returning to the office. I consider myself pro-choice.
Working from home allowed me to see my son’s first steps over lunch one day and hear his first words while I was making coffee. I eliminated over two hours from my daily commute, and I reinvested this time in my family and in furthering my career. I will never go back to working from an office. I’m going to share with you a secret your employer doesn’t want you to know.
But first a disclaimer…
I feel compelled to give this disclaimer – I’m not an employment lawyer in your jurisdiction, or any jurisdiction. Consider this article info-tainment. It’s an honest discussion of how I would personally approach this situation, and it’s meant to get me one article closer to my goal of authoring 20 blog posts in 2022. Simply put – if you approach the situation like a jerk and get fired, that’s on you and you alone.
Alright, with that out of the way… I’m going to give you a three-tiered strategy and an email template to use in your demand to remain a part of the remote workforce. The three areas to consider are: Evaluate your situation, Talk to your manager, and finally don’t sign anything before talking to a lawyer.
Evaluate Your Situation
If you’ve been asked to return to the office and you really don’t want to, you’re going to have to talk to your manager and most importantly, stand your ground when they initially refuse your request. If you’re a B-type personality, this might give you some anxiety. That’s ok. If you need to, stand in front of a mirror and give yourself a pep talk. A few weeks ago I helped my anxiety-riddled friend prepare for this exact conversation wth his boss, and his request to stay remote was quickly approved.
If you want to be successful in your push to continue working from home (WFH), you need to have a plan. You want to maximize your odds of being successful, so there are some basic things we have to accept:
- There will be companies that support and oppose WFH, while others will begrudgingly accept it;
- Some employees will have more negotiating leverage than others;
- An employment lawyer will help you understand your rights vis-a-vis constructive dismissal and other matters.
If your employer either supports or begrudgingly accepts WFH, keep reading. Otherwise if your employer is completely opposed, skip down to the Talk to a Lawyer section & learn how to get a big payment from your current employer. ?
You have to tell your manager what your intentions are. This may result in some negotiation about your future arrangement, so before you do anything, determine what matters most to you, and decide what is your bottom line. You may be fine with 3 days in office per week, or you may prefer once per month or you may prefer never.
For me personally, I wish to work remotely to do 100% of my day to day duties, but like everything else in life, nothing is absolute. There are a number of reasons I’d be happy to go back:
- Travel to the office for an important client meeting? You betcha!
- Two weeks in a boardroom for discovery sessions? Sounds pretty important!
- Board a plane once in a while for something critical? My suitcase is packed!
- Company party? Count me in!
The next thing to do is understand how much leverage you have. I’ve been a developer for 22 years, and I have 11 years on the Salesforce platform. There are not many people with more experience on the platform, so this gives me some pretty good leverage. I also exclusively take contract roles, and this helps too. I don’t have employers, I have customers.
You will also have leverage if you have been in your job for a long time and have accumulated a great deal of institutional knowledge, have a very specialized skillset, or have a very in-demand skillset. Think – what makes you invaluable to your current job? This is your leverage.
Talk To Your Manager & Explore the Job Market
Now that you understand your situation, you need to talk to your manager. I have always encouraged people to foster a great relationship with their manager – this is the person with the most direct impact on your career trajectory. As soon as possible, make your position known. State your position in writing – that way you have a written record of your intentions.
Here’s a sample email I’d potentially send for myself:
This email was deliberately written to set you up for success in the event the company rejects your request. You may put this in your own words, but do not remove the phrases “change to the terms of my employment” and especially “constructive dismissal”. You are also being completely reasonable by expressing a desire to understand your legal obligations.
This email should spur a conversation, and the company may initially reject your request. That’s ok, keep reading. Remember the golden rule: DO NOT sign anything and DO NOT agree to return to the office.
Back to leverage – you will also increase your leverage by being willing to walk away from your job. If you test the job market, you’re likely to find several companies looking to hire your skillset for 100% remote positions, and possibly for big raises too (seriously – test the job market). You don’t have to actually leave your job if you don’t want to. If your manager knows you have options and are willing to walk away for a better deal, I think most reasonable companies will find a way to make very reasonable accommodation and allow you to continue WFH in order to keep you talent and knowledge within the organization.
(NB: Many people find it counter-intuitive to let your employer know you are testing the job market. In my experience, this can sometimes be a helpful negotiation tactic if you are strategic about it. Additionally, good bosses are human beings who want to see you succeed, even if it means you end up leaving for a different company. I cannot stress enough how important it is to foster a good relationship with your boss).
Be prepared with a list of reasons to persuade the company to agree to your demand:
- Corporate-wide recognition on an important project;
- Great year-end review;
- Specialized skillset and institutional knowledge;
- Great relationships with stakeholders and teammates;
- Influential and respected professional;
- Company eliminated bonuses and raises due to pandemic uncertainty, then reported record profits on Wall Street for several consecutive quarters;
- Show them a job offer for a fully remote role you’re considering leaving for.
Your employer will probably try to initially reject your request. Be prepared for this. They are testing your resolve. They will tell you they are bringing everybody back and they can’t make an exception for you. Yes they can! Arm yourself with dozens of reasons why they can, anticipate what the excuses will be and be armed with data to counter that.
Do your homework, be prepared, and don’t back down for anything less than you would be truly happy with. “I plan to continue working from home beyond the official return date. I hope that work will be for you, but if necessary, because I have been constructively dismissed, I may end up working remotely for somebody else instead”.
And if your employers mentality remains firmly stuck in the stone age….
Don’t Sign Anything Without Talking To A Lawyer
There are only a few reasons why a company wouldn’t support WFH. Either they want absolute control and power over you, they don’t trust you, or they don’t understand modern technology. If this is your employer, you probably have to leave for a new job to continue WFH.
If you find yourself in this situation, I cannot stress enough that you need to speak to an employment lawyer to determine if constructive dismissal is applicable to your situation, as one reputable Canadian lawyer believes it could be:
If you permit employees to work from home much longer than practically and legally necessary, it will become a term of their employment. Ordering them back to work after that will constitute a constructive dismissal. We are reaching that tipping point now.
Howard Levitt, Levitt Sheikh LLP, Oct 2021
Constructive dismissal is a legal term, essentially meaning you have been pushed out by the actions of your employer, rather than by a traditional termination letter. Recall, this term was deliberately used in the email you sent your manager in order to help your situation in case it came this far.
The implications of this term are significant. If you quit because you are being forced to go back, you are entitled to nothing. However, if you make a case for constructive dismissal because a forced return to office is changing the new terms of your employment, you could be entitled to a significant payout in the form of a severance. Therefore, if you leave your job over this, do not state you are quitting. You are being constructively dismissed. Framing is very important, do not let the company set the narrative that you are quitting.
If you take nothing else away from this article, make sure you leave with an understanding what constructive dismissal is.
And never accept the first offer of two-weeks per year of employment! Just mention “employment lawyer” and you will likely see this offer bumped up to four-weeks per year pretty quickly, especially in Canada.
This brings me back to the golden rule from above – DO NOT sign anything that gives away your legal rights. Do not let them place an artificial deadline (ie “end of this week”) on any paperwork they give you. Your employment rights are enshrined in law and don’t have a deadline. Don’t sign anything!
Again, this is very jurisdictional, so speaking with an employment lawyer is very important. Spending a couple hundred dollars to speak with a lawyer to determine if you’re entitled to a severance worth tens of thousands of dollars is a great investment.
But honestly, it likely wouldn’t even come to this. I think 90% of companies will make reasonable accommodations because they realize you cannot put the WFH genie back in the bottle.
If you’re good at what you do and have an honest conversation with your manager about what you want going forward, remain firm and make a persuasive case, the overwhelming odds are that you’ll be allowed to continue remotely. Most companies won’t risk losing a productive employee over this issue.
Companies are smart enough to prepare contingency plans, and they know a small amount of employees will refuse to return to the office. Make sure you’re one of those they accommodate.
Remember, this return to office policy wasn’t your boss’ decision. This decision was made higher up and your boss is only the messenger, but messages can go the other way too. Getting your boss onside to fight for an exemption to allow you to continue WFH is the ultimate goal!
If that doesn’t work, the job market is pretty hot right now, and a severance payment could help with the mortgage, or add some nice cushion to the retirement account.
And if you’re a contractor whose client is telling you to return to the office, remind them you aren’t an employee. You provide a service. Feel free to tell your client that your commute will be considered billable time. If they ask you to spend extra time dedicated to the service you provide them, that time is billable.
Any time your client asks you to give them must be paid for, period.
Ultimately, it’s up to you to weigh your options, your personal situation, and your amount of leverage to decide if this is a battle worth pursing.
I think in most cases, it is worth pursuing.