Remote working: ‘Surely the company won’t force my team back into the office if they suspect we might all quit?’
If the team was forced back into the office, I, and many more, would leave with a wealth of experience. How can I convince senior management to maintain the current arrangement, and if they demand that everyone returns, is there any recourse for us, as we have a remote working agreement? Surely they would not go forward with such demands if my whole team threatened to leave?
Alongside restoring creativity or cohesion in the workplace, sudden calls to return to the office can be due to a myriad of reasons, potentially including an effort to “cull staff” or to rein in poor remote performers, McCarthy says. The reality is that being on-site two or three days per week is the new norm and a more realistic way of working as we move forward, compared to being fully at home or expected to be in the office five days per weekIt is worth noting that should this employer demand that the reader and their team return to the office, employees have a legal right to request remote working, he says.
“The rare ones we see are some European-based organisations which do not want to set up an office here in Ireland but who want to tap into the local tech talent here by offering them a fully remote option,” she says.