Return to office feels like a massive pay cut
Mandatory office returns force employees to spend thousands on gas and hundreds of hours commuting for work that is entirely screen-based. Doing video calls from a noisy open office instead of home makes the commute pointless, leading people to quit.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1leaving the jobDid this help you?
- 2negotiating hours or flexibilityDid this help you?
- 3Paying for expensive rideshares or hotelsDid this help you?
- 4Getting a driver's license and buying a carDid this help you?
- 5Using public transit partway and ridesharing the restDid this help you?
- 6Negotiating with HR or looking for a new job closer to homeDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I mentioned how it was easier for me some days when I had calls with international teams to WFH that day/week because of the time difference. Got a non-answer. Others mentioned the gas prices. Got a non-answer. I was the first to leave, but I know I wasn’t the last.”source ↗
“my old boss tried pulling us back 5 days a week right when gas jumped to almost 5 bucks. i asked if they were gonna bump pay to cover the difference and got a blank stare. lasted 3 weeks before i peaced out”source ↗
“This is such a big part of why I hated return to the office at my last job. I was still spending half my day on teams calls with people on other cities and countries but now instead of in my home office I was at in an open floor the size of a football field with 500 people trying to do the same thing.”source ↗
“It is crazy because it is a massive pay cut. Thousands in gas and hundreds of hours of commute time.”source ↗
“Ive been working here for 10 months now and my office got moved from one state that was 20 miles away to another thats about 44 miles away.”source ↗
“An Uber is 300 bucks round trip. Office requirement is 2x a week. So I need to start paying 600 a week or I can get a hotel for 100 bucks and just pay for Uber once so total 400 a week expense.”source ↗
“Edit: I'm unable to drive i cant pass my driver's test bc of anxiety so am waiting on that”source ↗
“My whole office in the hr work records got changed to a diff state due to engagement restructuring. Its still open but I can't go there as my home office”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 5Forced return to office when hired as permanent remote
- 5Is a long commute worth it for a stable job?
- 19How to survive year-round mandatory overtime in public accounting
- 3Tips for planning your first office move
- 11How to handle crazy high shipping costs for small business
- 17What to do when your rental car logistics and shuttle go wrong