Productivity

Curious how to approach this (and this got long, sorry). We were sent home like so many in March of 2020. Our business has changed quite radically since then (selling off part of it, selling the building we were in and leasing a small part of it, etc.). Some people have come back into the office, some have not. It seemed like that was how we were going to continue. There was no indication anything might change. Especially considering there is not enough space for everyone. But then they just sent out a "return to work/hyrbid" something or other message where they want people to start coming back for a more "collaborative environment" (I believe this is business speak for "we want to make use of the office space we're leasing"). Only thing is no one gets their own space. You have to reserve a desk. Which means hauling everything in and out again every day you're there. It's unclear if they expect us to come back every day or not. That being said...no. I do not want to go back. They indicated SOME people are unhappy. So let them go in, right? They have hired many people who are scattered throughout the country who will never go into an office, so they're really just saying "you happen to be near an office, so you get to uproot your entire life to be dragged into the office." How do I go about refusing to return? I have some physical issues that make working from home easier (I am hard of hearing and find it super distracting to be in the office because I have to concentrate very hard to hear people on the phone, and I have tendonitis issues that mean having a bunch of specialized things like keyboards and stands and wrist rests). Couple that with the fact that my job involves communicating with remote technicians, none of who are in the office ever as they live hours away from it. So going in changes nothing for me except to make me miserable and take away the work/life balance I have managed to achieve by working from home. Including starting a side business that often means being out on the weekend (photography) and I only do that because I'm home during the week and so see my husband and dogs all day. My manager agrees I shouldn't have to go in. So do I just let this quietly slide until someone says something and then tell them my manager approves? I'm just not sure the best way to go about this. I don't want to lose my job. But I also cannot go back to an office permanently. The thought of it makes me physically ill. I will resign before being forced back. I have been with the company a long time and so may have SOME leverage as I am the only one who works in my position and I know more about the company and how things work than most people. As you can imagine, I am feeling angry and betrayed by the company. More than once I've mentioned how happy I am that they've continued to let us work from home and then THIS.

I've tried making changes but SLT blocks me at every turn. One of my favorite reports announced she's leaving and it would take 3 employees to match everything she's doing. I completely understand why she's leaving, wish her the best but it puts me in a difficult spot. HR and SLT are not concerned about replacing her any time soon and I feel like the department is crumbling. As its lead I feel powerless to change things. I even suggested using some of the budget for support staff or interns and they refused. I feel like I'm being set up for failure. I've spoken directly with HR, SLT team, heads of the company and they won't approve any new hires but three people left before I started and they didn't replace them. It's not new hires it's filling the gaps of an already small team that the rest are ready to leave. Do I need to move on and will applying for positions so early after I started be considered a red flag?

I work at a non-profit in program development/education. I had a bad case of comparing myself to my coworker who has more popular programs/events and is given outside leadership opportunities. And I want to show that I can lead in a mission driven way that will show off my skills/talents. But now a leadership opportunity came up. My department restructured ,and we work on a committee system now. I am excited but realized that this is first time I’m in an official leading position. I have managed interns in my previous position and the ones before didn’t give me an opportunity to lead. My big boss wants me to display my leadership skills, but after being in jobs where I had to suppress myself or invisible, I’m a little apprehensive.

I was interviewed for a promotion at the end of March. I was told they would have an answer by April 31. My manager told me and most in the warehouse I was the new manager. I was being congratulated for a few weeks. My reply was simple thank you but I haven't heard anything. Well we are into June. I have been carrying the weight of this same department manager for almost a year and I'm tired this was one reason I wanted out of the department. I have been offered a position at a new company and I don't know if I should ask upper management if they made a decision or just resign. I'm told upper management wants me to be promoted but they don't want to upset operations because he has a friend he wants to be promoted.

We have done very well remotely. We have no office space but the owners seem eager to push for staff to work from an actual office. how would you navigate away from that ? What would you propose and say if you felt it was unnecessary given how well your team has worked?

I set up a call with the recruiter and I felt the whole call was basically asking me repeatedly if I want the role. I didn’t get a formal job description and seems they want to know my intent by having me sign the letter of commitment. This is a government contract job. So I don’t have much experience in dealing with these things. Any advice ? The contractor who is supposed to call me for next steps will call on a weekend and not a weekday. I feel this whole process is being rushed.