Do you work for an organization that’s decided to get everyone back in the office every day…no matter what?
We know it’s happening, so this episode is all about strategies for dealing with “return to office” mandates. We begin with a classic soapbox discussion about RTO mandates, and then we delve into ways to try to help if you are in this situation. Sarah lists some positive aspects she’s found about working in an office (in her case, a clinical setting) and then we share tips to help moving forward.
In the Q&A, a listener writes in asking for advice as to whether to look at schools when shopping for a new home/neighborhood, and the best ways to do so.
Please give the episode a listen. As always we welcome ratings and reviews, and please consider joining us in our Patreon community. Our monthly meet-up will be next week, where we discuss “Home Organization.”
I worked at two companies in 2023, and they both called me to the office at the beginning of 2023. In 2024, I resigned from one of these companies. Thankfully, neither company has people who have the incentives that you described in the soapbox moment, Ms. Laura Vanderkam. What happens here, though, is that my current company may let me work 5 days a week and be in the office 4 days a week, but if I’m to tell them that I’ll do so, they’ll require me to give a very specific reason for doing so.
I can see how Dr. Sarah Hart-Unger gets video meeting fatigue if she interviews batches of 12 to 15 candidates at once. So, I think I’ll now figure out what happens if a candidate doesn’t live in the same city as the hospital that he/she is applying to and cannot relocate right away.
I was going to ask how assembly workers, drivers, pilots, or postal workers – I’m none of the above right now, by the way – will be able to work from home on some days. But I still think that your mentions of hurricanes and snowstorms make sense. I think you may have also given suggestions for the aforementioned jobs in some previous episodes of BOBW that I haven’t listened to yet.
Speaking of which, the BOBW podcast, the Before Breakfast podcast, and the BLP podcast are all among what I listen to in my commutes – which is really just a 10-minute walk from my apartment to my office. This morning, for instance, I chose to listen to this episode during my commute. Audiobooks are among my choices, too.
Ha ha Laura, tell us how you really feel! : ) I enjoyed this episode, although it doesn’t apply to my life (I work as a massage therapist- can’t really do that remotely!) I guess I just like hearing how other people live and manage their lives. I thought the tips and suggestions here were great.
@Jenny- thanks! Yep, just a little bit of time on my soapbox…