Employee reveals how their remote position gradually turned into a 5-day office job

The COVID-19 pandemic witnessed a rise in remote work. It has also proved beneficial to employees who enjoy having more flexibility and avoiding a big commute. However, companies sometimes lure candidates with the promise of a fully remote position, which they later find out is actually not the case. Reddit user u/bondsman333 shared a story titled, "My 100% WFH job turned into a 100% in-office job, on my dime." The post has received an impressive 7.9K upvotes and 675 comments, with many people suggesting the employee should ask to be compensated properly or leave the job.

The individual began the post by sharing how they were hired to work as a remote employee and added, "There was no corporate office anywhere near my home. I would have to fly several states over to get to one." They did agree to fly into the company's headquarters once a quarter to meet with the rest of the team but would work remotely at other times. They were also subject to a salary cut by working from home, but they were fine with it.

Sometime later, the individual's fiancée found an out-of-state job and both decided to move there. They say, "I told my boss we were moving, and it wasn't an issue because I was still in the same time zone and had easy airport access." The individual noticed that the company was going to open a new factory at the place they were moving to and offered to go for work there if the company was willing to pay for relocation. However, their boss told them their presence was not needed and they would never have to go to the factory.

However, things were about to take a turn during January of 2023 when their boss asked them, "Hey could you swing into the new factory this week? There's some new equipment landing and we don't have the staff." The employee did not make a big deal out of it, stating how it was only a 30-minute commute and went there. Fast forward to May and the employee is told that it would be "great" if they could visit the site "occasionally" but that they would remain a remote employee.

Finally, in August, the employer informed the employee they needed them to be onsite for 2 days in a week. They agreed, but the request soon turned into going onsite all five days of the week in November. The individual asked why they didn't pay for the relocation in the first place. To which the employer said, "Things changed. We didn't know how much we'd need your help." They told their employer about all the money they spent moving there, had to commute, find a place to take care of their dog and had to reschedule appointments at the doctor for an injury that took place at work.

The employer's response to all of this was "We all have to make sacrifices." The employee concluded the post by saying they would continue at the position for the time being because of its "pay to effort ratio." People on the platform had some strong suggestions in the comment section. u/PCouture said, "I would put an all stop to going in. You have an increase in costs now that your company has a responsibility to compensate you for. They are asking for a change in working structure and they should be expected to pay for it."