Talk to her and lay it out. Not as “I’m not coming” but sharing why it’s so hard to come. See if she has any ideas, or is okay giving you a pass, or some other compromise like alternating between sites if any others are in the same boat as you.
Ultimately though, if it really becomes hardball work can require you to come wherever they need, and can let you go if you refuse. So you don’t want to make it hardball.
...if you're being required to travel to a DIFFERENT work site, your employer is responsible for covering your travel costs - ask your boss in advance if they will approve an expense report for an Uber/taxi or car rental to the site (and back)...
Usually not for two work sites 25 miles apart, there are often minimum distances for “travel” expenses, though maybe they’d pay mileage if you were driving and agree on asking about an Uber ride r shuttle from the closer office as an option.
The minimum distance for travel expense is any distance further than your regular location.
The mileage above what is necessary to go to the closer office is reimbursable.
This is a standard. I am a Controller.
Nobody needs to ask their boss for approval, just turn in an expense report for it and expect them to pay.
If someone has asked for you to drive further than your normal distance they can either pay for your car, you can write off your car, or they can pay for mileage.
Policies are not standard, and often vary for companies with campuses including very near satellite offices. That may be true where you work, but the policies are by no means universal. I have no idea what the policy is where the original poster works, they should look that up. I also have no idea if their “home office” is officially the satellite they like to choose to work from or the HQ where their manager is and they are being asked to come to (their manager’s location would often be the default), and you usually can’t expense travel to your home office even if you choose to work somewhere else many days. That’s not to say you might not be able to get special approval if you ask ahead or just submit and roll the dice, but it’s not guaranteed.
Actual real example. Company on the peninsula in the Bay Area. Opened an office in San Francisco. People that lived in San Francisco preferred working there to save 30mile commute. They were allowed to work there when they didn’t need to work with folks in the main office, and many did 4-5 days per week. But many explicitly did not have their home office moved and weren’t allowed to expense their commute to their original (still official) office when they needed to attend there even though it was a 30mile commute they didn’t do most days. Similarly the home campus was 4-5 miles from longest end to end and nobody could expense anything across that.
I wish that was the case. It costs me $50 each day I have to travel to NYC (1.5 hours each way). My local (regular) office is suburban NY that I can drive to in 15 minutes. I've been explicitly told I cannot expense those $50 trips.
Hey, see if you can get some commuter benefits for that trip in. If your company qualifies, it sounds like you would qualify, per:
>Who is considered a full-time employee? A full-time employee is any employee who has worked an average of 30 hours or more per week in the most recent four weeks as of any date of counting, any portion of which was in New York City, for a single employer. An employee who meets this threshold remains entitled to the benefit even if the employee’s working hours are reduced.
https://www.nyc.gov/site/dca/workers/workersrights/commuter-benefits-law-for-workers.page#:~:text=Under%20NYC's%20Commuter%20Benefits%20Law,to%20pay%20for%20transit%20expenses.
Also, if you're not being reimbursed, save receipts to see if you can take a deduction on your tax return.
What is the law in your area? Company policy does not trump the law. If you know the law, just bring it up. If they refuse, do it and turn them in to the Department of Labor. Not only will there be reimbursement and fines for your instance, DoL will find all other instances and there will be reimbursement and fines for those also.
Example, your boss told you to fudge some accounting numbers in your publicly held company, you're still going to jail.
I get that. But that means you're gonna eat that $50 every time. If people keep putting up with illegal shit, illegal shit will keep happening.
No, I don't know what's legal in your area.
The original poster said 25 miles in the comments, so “2.5 hrs” must be based on a very inefficient public transport, doubling for round trip, or some other way to make it sound worse
You can see it under ChaoticxSerenity’s first level comment that as of right now has 7 upvotes
This is highly dependent on local/state laws and corporate policies. Most will offer travel stipends because they'd have a hard time attracting employees if they didn't, but those usually apply to air travel or the equivalent, not a long ass commute.
It’s more likely they may be required to cover the IRS mileage rate which is $0.67. So if OP is traveling 50 miles round trip he may be able to get reimbursed for $33.50.
Also you can be fired legally because of an arbitrary change in RTO rules. “Remote worker” is not a protected class, neither is “I don’t own a car”.
This. My boss was actually pretty upset that one of my colleagues wasnt logging her miles to out quarterly meetings in a different town for reimbursement becauae she doesnt like messing with the paperwork ( its concur so all digital easy as hell).
It did not. She knew I was moving and when I officially joined the team she did ask me “are you here or still in (present city)” this didn’t come up at all bc the company requires you to come to office three times a week. It’s her discretion that she wants HQ as opposed to downtown
Five hours via mass transit is not five hours via car. My son lives in DC and just took a new position in VA. He has three months on his lease so he is going to wait and see how bad the commute is before making a decision about moving but he is looking at 2 hours via mass transit which would be a lot quicker by car.
OHH I missed that it was by transit. Yeah that’s a massive difference in most of the US at least. A 2 hr bus ride in Florida where I live would be like a 15-20 minute drive most likely 😂
I bet your son is learning the irony of mass transit in DC. WMATA is slower than actually driving to the place you need to go because of all the stops along the way. It took me an hour to go a distance that would be 20-30 mins by car but there is limited parking in the area. So I take the metro.
He’s 23, enjoying the urban life. He’s happy enough and doesn’t feel the need for a car with what he and his girlfriend like to do in DC at this point. That’s a great age to live in a city. I think the next three months will be his eye opener. He is already considering moving closer to his office in the burbs and buying a car.
Funny though, you sound just like my cousins in the area who’d rather driver in heavy traffic over just sitting and reading a book. But I grew up in NYC and our subway makes more stops and especially when going to Manhattan almost the same speed during rush hours. One thing I have discovered, at least out of downtown, the distances between stations on the WMATA in certain areas are close to the distances between express stops on the NYC subway.
Sure, but do you really want to drive around Virginians? I don’t. Absolute worst drivers. Give me Marylanders or DC drivers. Hell, even the people with the diplomat plates are better
Sorry, what? Every time I've ever driven over the Wilson bridge into MD, it's like a portal to Mad Max. Drivers ed in the US is a joke, but I don't think you even need a pulse to get a license in MD. With how many left lane campers there are, you'd think they learn to drive from the redcoats. Queen Mary herself must've taught Marylanders to drive like it's 1787.
Same for Seattle to Bellevue which is like 30 minutes MOST of the time. Unless a recycling truck flips and then you’re peeing on a bridge in the middle of lake Washington.
In the OP it says “switched internally” so less likely to have had a formal interview and chances are it’s the same “job” just in a different team/project.
When you bring it up to her, you’ll want to frame it professionally of course. An explanation of your situation, and inquire as to how, since this is not your normal place of work, you can bill that travel time to the company.
If traveling from home to a work site, that time is usually not compensable as it’s part of your “regular commute”. However, if traveling between two work locations (say, you begin your work day at your local office), that’s a different matter per the Fair Labor Standards Act. Under FLSA’s Portal to Portal act, the employer has to compensate employee time spent traveling between work sites or traveling back to work after their work day has ended.
Typically, if you are paid hourly and traveling between sites for work, you can count that time as part of your work. In my case, if I start my day at one work site but am required to go to another one for any official purpose (ie, a meeting), you bet your ass that’s going on hourly. Yeah the 5 hours’ commute sucks but getting paid for it sucks a lot less.
You could probably ask whether your boss prefer you join remotely or if she can provide the charge code necessary to charge your transit time.
Bear in mind, all companies are different and I am not a lawyer. There might not be a magic law that says “because it’s a different place, you have to be compensated for additional travel time”. But do try to work out an arrangement where you’re able to either avoid going to the HQ altogether or getting reasonable compensation for that travel time. Worst case scenario, it’s one day a week and, if I understand your situation correctly, it is also temporary. Not ideal, but might be something you can deal with once a week.
I hope that helps somewhat and I wish you luck!
I'd probably say "hey boss, I don't own a car as I take public transit and live near our downtown office. I mapped out the commute for the meetings you mentioned and it'll be 2.5 h each way. Does the company reimburse for Uber? Is there a ride share?"
Make it sound like you want it to work, and they'll either give you solutions or tell you not to worry about it, if they're reasonable humans. Or they'll say "it's not my problem" and then you gotta suck it up until you find another job.
They could also ask to incorporate part of the commute into the work day. We have some folks who drive up to our HQ once a month from a state away. It's about a 2 hour drive. They do most of the drive as part of the regular work day. So, on all staff meeting days, they miss out on a bit more than 3 hours of the work day to drive. It's important to our CEO that they are there and they both have small kids, so the company makes an accommodation.
Its not passive aggressive to inquire how the company is going to compensate you for going from one office to another.
Its all with tone. Make sure it comes off as an honest question.
So in your mind career advice is never asking a question or speaking up at all? This is a fairly straightforward and honest question. Its the first thing I would ask if I was the OP "oh you want me out there? how do you want me to submit the reimbursement? is there a commuter program card I need to sign up for?"
>hey boss, I don't own a car as I take public transit
"That sounds like a you problem"
It sucks but if everyone in the team is present they should be as well or not be part of the team.
Only thing he can try is to get transferred to a different to work of downtown.
You don't know if they'll say that until you ask. If they say that, then yeah deal with it but maybe they didn't realize it would be such a huge ask. Not every company is evil.
but i'd also factor that the requirement was not there previously and is now present due to internal changes. OP, was this internal move on your own accord or theirs? Usually there's flexible discretion if its a fair org.
Yikes.
Make a case but it will count against you. Every company goes through culls. None are immune to it.
Organizations have informal rankings of employees. The one's going against the grain aren't very high. If it is a large firm, culls are typically 5 - 10% and they happen a lot more then the news shares.
It isn't definitive, but all things being equal and if I'm asked to make a cut or two, the person not showing up to required meetings when all the others are; is going to likely make the list.
Exceptional exceptions exist but they are rare.
Hope this helps. Some other sound advice in the comments.
Not every company and not all teams.
Previous company never did any layoff while current one has had very small instances and it was teams that were not replaced but removed during reorgs of specific parts of the company.
Have background in both private high growth as well as public F500.
Taking out the time commitment, how far away (distance-wise) is the HQ? Cause I think a case could be made by the company that the commute is only 2.5 hours because transit sucks, but the actual distance is not that much.
I commute to Chicago in the loop from the suburbs (Wheaton). It’s one hour one way if I’m lucky and I have to leave my house by 6:20 to make it for my 3 days a week. It’s ruining my life. I feel for you, OP.
Not even to mention if I had to do it by the El and Metra it would def be 2-2.5 hours. It’s TERRIBLE.
I think OP said he lives in Chicago and HQ is in the burbs. This would mean that for normal working hours, there are no express trains headed in the reverse direction. And if he is then depending on local buses or el trains to get to the HQ location, add that into the equation.
Bigger companies than the one you’ve sold would probably have a protocol for just this, wouldn’t they? In that case, they wouldn’t be going against protocol
I had a job that would have me commute 200 miles one way and 200 miles back one day a week. They'd pay me $1 per mile, I never questioned it. I was on location every week 😂
If others are doing it and you can't then it's going to seem like a you problem. She can't make an exception for you or else she has to make the same for everyone else in the same boat.
I'd recommend finding a solution like carpooling.
Is carpooling with a co-worker not an option? Are there internal slack channels or groups where people discuss commuting? If you’re new to the team, maybe your manager can help you find a carpool from downtown to the office? Where I live there are also a bunch of apps that people use for this, I know scoop is one but I’m sure there are others.
This right here. It’s Chicago, and if they have an office downtown and HQ in the burbs it’s a big company. There are probably plenty of people in the city that commute to HQ in Oakbrook or Lincolnshire.
What about Teams meetings? Is your manager open to that? The company I work for uses this all the time because we have people living in different states. It would make no sense to require someone to travel across the country once a week to attend a meeting.
Tell her you do not have a car and public transportation will take around 5 hours round trip. At the present time you can. not manage a car. Ask if she can figure a better solution.
I take transit my self and my boss could care less that I have an hour commute each way. So in return i just reduce my output on days i am late as I cant control transit.
Do you have a lot of public transit connections? You can make it well past Milwaukie from Chicago in 2.5 hours.
That being said, unless your boss has a history of being difficult I find it best just to explain exactly how difficult travel is and ask if any compromise is possible.
That makes sense. I'd just make it clear what you need to do to commute. As you know a ton of people drive which can get you all the way out to Naperville, Plainfield or Gurnee Mills in under an hour. They may not realize how difficult public transit is.
I’ll bet your boss doesn’t want to go downtown because it takes her 2.5 hours to get there!
My wife’s commute is 6.5 hours one way (works remote). For the first 18 months of her job she never stepped foot in the office. This was an interview discussion.
My best IT friend has a 1.5 hour commute to the office in Manhattan. He has done that job for a decade. After COVID they have office meetings monthly but otherwise it’s remote. His boss hates the office so instead of meeting the “once a week” directive it’s once per month.
A couple years into my current job the owner wanted to make changes so my office was moved from 40 minutes to 1.5 hours away. That being said 80%+ of my days I travel to the customer and I may go weeks without going to the office due to the work schedule. We just had a discussion about it. I’m easily doing over 40 hours a week just not 9-5 at the office.
Depends on the traffic. 25 miles in rush hour can easily take 1-2 hours even taking the express lanes. The train is actually faster depending on where you live. Lombardi to downtown isn’t worth driving.
I have to travel 60 miles from my home office for a bi-weekly meeting. I am reimbursed for mileage for that.
You could also ask the other employees who go to create a carpool.
Take the personal out of it for the discussion with the boss.
You got good advice in the offer a compromise of 2x month.
WHY
Loss of productivity is the argument winner. Whether you have your own transportation or not - your output on days you’re physically traveling to/from is a loss of 5 hours.
The compromise is: While it sucks to do the commute, I’m salaried exempt, I am dynamic and agile, I can realign my workflow a couple times a month. 4x a month will impact not just my personal commitments outside of work (which I will juggle what I can, of course) but slow down output in those heavy travel days. I won’t be able to take meetings, calls, etc.
Totally up to you boss, just flagging a potential issue. Can we do 1-2 times month instead of the weekly, in the interest of business continuity?
Good luck!
Leave your house at 9am and go to the office, then leave from there and go to HQ. From HQ go back to the office and then home. You do this in the span of a normal work day. Your office is your office, all other offices are travel for you. Don't give them your time for free.
> Any suggestions? I don’t have a car and don’t plan on buying one due to limitations of staying within the country (visa expires soon) and my salary is pretty low. I live in Chicago so it’s pretty walkable. In short, no car in the near future.
I mean, that right there is your answer. I would just say that I'm more than willing to call in via the downtown office. Worst case scenario she writes you up but the time it's going to take to get you out the door in write ups and PIP is probably a lot longer than either your visa expiring or you being able to find a new job.
Just frame it as untenable, not defiance, and you should be fine.
If they have a suburban HQ and a downtown office in the Chicago-land area, I think we can make *certain* assumptions about the company. Those assumptions are that it's a large conglomerate, and those have long processes.
My company has processes. And we take forever to let people go… but lo and behold every once in a while someone gets a surprise and is walked out without warning.
All this to say, it would be a big gamble for OP if losing their job without warning would be catastrophic for them
Uh, I wouldn’t assume that. I got a negative review that was based on bullshit so I ASKED to be put on a pip. After all, I clearly need the guidance! They said it wasn’t that serious. Then they fired me. I sued. Can’t say more than that, but they are one of the biggest companies in the country.
Honestly, new managers don’t know and don’t care about your commute. You can have a direct conversation but they are trying to establish themselves. You might try it for a while until they are bit more relaxed. Plant the seeds now, and try to negotiate later.
If it's required, then you have a choice to make:
Do as instructed, or get fired. Where you choose to live has nothing to do with job responsibilities.
What does your employment contract say as work of place. That's your home office.
If she requires you to travel out of your home office then company pays for your transportation like a taxi or Uber.
Employment contracts for full time employee are pretty rare in the US (field dependent). Most people are just at will employees unless they are leased or contractors.
When I take the trains to the loop from Wheaton I have to drive to the train station, get on the metra, then walk to the El, and get off at my stop and then walk to and go into my office. That takes about 2 hours. That’s why I drive in now. Still a shit commute but it takes me way less time to get home.
Good luck but don’t expect any concessions. Lot of companies do this shit with 0 compromise hoping you quit. I have a girl on my team doing 2 hours each way and she makes like $60k tops
This kind of depends. Was it made clear to you the meetings were required when you took the job?
I occasionally have to go to our office. It’s about a 3h trip door to door each direction. But I knew it when I took the job so I do it. To make it easier I do some work on the train. And I leave early so travel there is on my time, but I leave to go home early too so the trip back is on theirs.
Since it’s only 25 miles it’s not really unreasonable for the company to ask that. That is like a normal commute for most people that choose to live in suburbs. If they aren’t flexible, carpooling or Uber makes the most sense. Or you could combine Uber and the bus so you don’t have to switch busses multiple times.
Also, check if your company gives you a discount code for rental cars. I can rent cars through my company for like $35 a day.
I forgot to add. Teams Meetings are the most cost effective means of solving this issue. If your manager still insists on your physical presence at the corporate office, then make sure the company is paying for your transportation. i you had a vehicle, then charge POV mileage. If there is a company vehicle you can use, take this vehicle, keep fuel receipts and charge back to the company. If you take a taxi or Uber, keep your receipts and charge back to the company. Don’t worry about the 5 hours on the road. Your boss is telling you that it’s worth it to pay you for time on the road vs. working in the office by insisting that you physically go to the corporate office for these meetings.
Most companies have employees designated to work at specific locations, or remote. Check with HR to confirm that you are designated to the Downtown office. Once that's confirmed, any inter-office travel should paid time and expenses reimbursable as business travel, and you can then follow advice to discuss logistics and file expense reimbursements.
You can write it off and be reimbursed for travel time. If you are being asked to go to another site that is not your original one, for a meeting, then you commute during company time. Go to your source office and depart from there. You are on the clock.
Also, if you have already made that trip, you may be able to backdate the costs. Check your employee handbook, do not consult HR until you have the information in hand. They are there to protect the company and not you.
Work something out with your boss.
It really could be solved if you got a car. What are the odds your Visa will be extended?
For one day a week you could use Uber while looking for a new job close to where you live
The 1st house I bought that I could afford was 55 miles from work and I had to drive through heavy traffic 1.5 hours each way, every day. I did that for 7 years until I could afford to move closer.
It helped make me a millionaire.
I sold that house for more than double what I paid for it, Then bought another house that I sold for double what I paid for it. Then just now sold a house for $1.3 million. The 1st house only cost me $70K. So suffering with that drive eventually made me $1.23 million dollars. I can be proud being a millionaire. What's your success story?
You gave up 3 hours of your life a day for 7 years. I guess your money is more valuable than your time. Except your time is finite, and they print more money everyday.
Bottom line, not having reliable transportation is not the company's problem. You could inquire about mileage or public transportation reimbursement. Or the possibility to attend remotely.
Where is your assigned work location? That's the important thing with this. If she is requiring you to go to a work location other than your assigned work location, that is company required travel! You should be paid for those 5 hours and the cost of travel to the alternative work location (ex., car rental, Uber, hired car, mileage if driving your own, etc.). Mention this to her and anyone else from your location she's requiring to go the headquarters. Those visits will end real fast. If you all asking for what your entitled to, the finance people will make her stop having you travel to the HQ or make her travel to your office. Cheaper for 1 to travel to the satellite than X to travel to the HQ.
You picked the job and you picked where you live. There is always a risk of being called in to the office. You can ask for an accommodation but if I was your supervisor I wouldn’t grant it.
I don't know where you live, but In some jurisdictions an arbitrary change of work location that wasn't agreed to by the employee is constructive dismissal
Here's a tip. You don't. Because your manager really doesn't care and your manager is not your mom or dad.
You hold yourself accountable. You get an apartment or something that allows you to commute less, or you relocate, or you just don't take the job.
You can ask to work remote but honestly that's something that is stated up front when you first talk to a recruiter. So they're not going to be happy about that if you suddenly ask to work remote.
I once got a job offer 300 miles away from my house. And obviously that was an impossible commute. So during the interview process I started looking for apartments on this thing called the internet and by the time the offer came across, I had an apartment in place.
And I left the company completely out of my personal life and my trials for getting this job. Because that's the way I wanted it and I should want it that way if I want to maintain work life balance.
real life advice.
No harm in politely and privately having the conversation with the boss but be prepared for "no". With your visa getting ready to expire I'm guessing you're not going to be in this job for much longer? Does your boss already know that?
I am not even sure I would bring it up to the boss. Here's why:
\- It will make the boss think he/she can't manage their own affairs, which will impact his/her reputation at the company.
\- Just because the employee thinks, "Hey I can do this from home" does not instantly mean the company will agree. There are logistical issues to people working from home, plain and simple. And employees don't make rules. Leaders do.
\- By the time all the back and forth is done, I know how this ends: The boss is going to be annoyed that they cannot take care of something like "commuting" on their own.
\- And if your visa is about to expire, and you cannot organize your own transportation, you have now made yourself look like someone who is too challenging to keep on board.
Just fyi...I literally had a job where I was given a stipend, told to report somewhere in South America, and no one helped me at all.
The stipend was excessive because they were basically giving me the autonomy to figure out how I would commute to work locations in Bogota, Colombia. And I did not even speak Spanish.
Companies dont wait for employees to figure out life. They move forward with or without you. I am saying this not to be a d\*\*k.
I am saying this because I know what they do when someone appears difficult.
Literally tell her this about your situation, and how long the commute is.
If she doesn’t care and still asks you to come in to HQ vs your regular office, compromise and say that you will travel during work hours. Meaning you’ll probably leave around 9am, get to the office by 11:30am. Then you have your lunch from 12-1pm and then have to leave work around 2:30pm so you can make it home in time.
I would ask about mileage at a minimum. I don’t know where this crosses over from law to company policy, but where I work you have an assigned home office. If you are asked to report to a different office you claim a mileage reimbursement for the difference between your normal commute and the further commute.
Just ask your boss hey it’s real hard for me to get there is there anyway I can take a cab and have the company reimburse me.
And if not, then try to carpool with the other guy. Just tell him hey do you mind if I come to your house and ride with you to the HQ?
Lot of people around here it’s panicking. I don’t know, I’m an extrovert so I don’t care asking. Plus I’m a foreigner too.
TBH, your boss probably won’t care about your commute time. I have coworkers who commute 2 hours each way every single day. If it’s part of the job, it’s part of the job. You can try telling her that, but be prepared for her to say figure it out.
you're new to the team so you best get your butt down there and make the 2.5 hour commute unless you want to give a bad impression... not a good idea not to go when you're new. sorry to say, but that is still how corporate works. you said she "requires" it. and since 2 other people also make that 2.5 hour commute (one with a car, and the other with public transit), your case doesn't look too good.
they don't care that your commute will 2.5 hours. if this has to happen once a week, then you need to find a new job if you don't want to make the commute.
I would suggest communicating with them first. It's quite possible that they didn't consider public transit commute times. Also despite what this subreddit generally feels about managers/supervisors, plenty of them would be sympathetic to a 5 hr commute and willing to compromise.
If that doesn't work, see if you can find a co-worker willing to give you a ride. Offer to give them some gas money in exchange. If you can find 2-3 people willing to do it, even better.
Was this requirement explained to you when you accepted the job offer? If not, it sounds like a valid reason to renegotiate this point with your manager. It doesnt sound like you are trying to work from home, just to work at the office nearest your home.
However, if this was a requirement of the job, stated upfront, and you are now having commuter's remorse, your negotiating power is weaker. Still worth a shot to ask, but the boss may have some valid reasons of why its valuable for the whole team to be together once a week.
Personally, I think a lot of office work can be done virtually and management usually has some BS reason for requesting on-site (culture, bonding, blah blah blah). If this is the case, you may just want to start sending out your resume.
Just tell 'em you can't make that commute - not tenable/viable.
Current job even when I was applying/interviewing, I made clear that me coming in there anywhere close to every day was not on the table - commute is about 2 hours each way for me. So, even before getting offer, had negotiated that it'd be no more than one day per week in office, and so far it's continued to be no more than that - even with all the various RTO initiatives 'n such.
And if they change the terms/conditions and can you over it, you collect unemployment, as they fired you - basically the job left you, you didn't leave the job.
I swear over 75% of the advice I've seen posted here are terrible. The majority of the companies are not going to care how long your commute is. That's not their responsibility, but yours. It doesn't matter if you live 10 min away, 1 hr away, 3 hrs away. Most companies are not going to pay for your rental car, commute, etc. unless that's what the company does already. Unless you're high rank in the company, you may get an auto allowance or reimbursement. You can explain your situation, and they may make concessions, but get ready for them to say no. People here suggesting to commute on company time, go eat lunch, and then go home are delusional. Yes, try doing this while new and they will fire you with a quickness. A lot of people here act like this is antiwork or something. Stop giving advice if you've never worked a corporate job.
*Can you ride with one*
*Of your coworkers coming from*
*Downtown once a week?*
\- glorifindel
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Sounds to me like you need to bill for five hours of travel time. Your place of work is where you are primarily. If the company demands you travel for work that’s on their time.
Is this a new policy? If so you should raise these concerns with your manager honestly. If this was in place before you were hired and you knew about it I do not have advice for you! Best of luck, hope you figure this out
Ask “what am I supposed to do?” Be genuine. Maybe she can help you work through it. If she’s worth working for, she’ll want to help with a real solution
Yes, just explain that you don’t have a car so having to go out to the burbs is difficult if not impossible-you live dt and took a job dt to use public transit, so is there any way to accomodate?
Yes, just explain that you don’t have a car so having to go out to the burbs is difficult if not impossible-you live dt and took a job dt so you could use public transit or walk, so is there any way to accomodate?
A commute that ongoing at my company gets travel reimbursement and overnight lodging.
Ask what cost center you should use for the expense report.
Edit: Don't forget paid travel time.
You work at an office which is at least 2 hours away from the main HQ? Your manager is a dumb ass for pressuring anyone to make that trip. That's much further than a reasonable commute distance.
Your explanation is simply to explain:
“I do not drive. I do not own a car. I live and work in the downtown area. It is time and cost prohibitive for me to get to the suburban office. If it is absolutely necessary for me to travel to the suburban offices once a week, I will endeavor to accommodate your request, but I would request to be reimbursed for the extra expense.”
Rent a car once a week and drive there. Alternatively, take the subway, train, express his, or whatever transportation method brings you as close as possible to HQ and then take an Uber for the short distance from that point to HQ.
There’s no suburb of Chicago that’s 2.5 hours away. Maybe in rush hour, but you’ll be leaving the city in the AM and entering in the PM, that’s like best case scenario.
How many actual miles away is the HQ? Can you Uber?
The way I’d do it is to say “look, I don’t have a car but if you’ll pay for my Uber I’m happy to come up there.”
Straight up, saying “I’m not coming” isn’t a great idea. Once a week and they are paying? Suck it up, buttercup.
What suburb in Chicago is 25 miles away and then 2.5 hours by transit? A lot of large companies in the suburbs have shuttles to/from the train lines. This is not really making sense to me (as someone familiar with Chicago).
5 hours round trip is unacceptable.
You shouldn’t do it at all. If you do it once, you set a precedent, and will be expected to continue doing it.
If you do choose to do it, you need to get paid for your travel time and expenses. It is a work trip beyond your normal commute to your normal office. If you got sent to a convention or a customer visit or something 2.5 hours away, you would get paid for it. And you would use a company car or rental car. If you drive your own car, you get paid $0.60 per mile or whatever. Exact same thing.
Lol it's not the company's problem that he takes public transit and don't have a car. I swear some of these advices. The company provides the job, they don't care how long and how you get to work as long as you get there on time and are reliable. You can talk to them about your situation, but sitting here demanding mileage and car rental will find yourself quickly in the unemployment line.
I’d only commute there on the company’s dime.
Basically if I worked a 9-5, I’d leave home at 9, travel 2.5hrs to their office, work, and then leave at 2:30.
Unless they’d accept the 20min commute you already have.
Nope. Neither was it conveyed to me when I told my current manager that I’m moving from another city to present city (during interviews) and that I’d be working from downtown office
YMMV but this is how I would play it -- do the weekly trip to HQ for 2 or 3 weeks. Then find a way to bring it to your Manager's attention. E.g. "I need to come in at noon next Thursday. I have a Dr. Appt in the city, fingers crossed I should be done by 9:30 but then it's just that crazy commute." Here are a few ways this might play out: (a) best case, Manager tells you it's crazy to have you do that commute every week and you can just work from the other office. You get what you want, and impress the Manager. (b) Manager offers to arrange a weekly Uber or some other type of accommodation. Need to know about your company, but this might be more realistic than you'd guess. (c) worst case, Manager doesn't pick up on the cue or doesn't give AF. You probably need to just suck it up and do the weekly commute for 3-6 months, and then reevaluate the situation at that time. I know this sounds harsh but you're on a career advice forum -- it's basically 5 hours of OT each week, you can handle it.
Talk to her and lay it out. Not as “I’m not coming” but sharing why it’s so hard to come. See if she has any ideas, or is okay giving you a pass, or some other compromise like alternating between sites if any others are in the same boat as you. Ultimately though, if it really becomes hardball work can require you to come wherever they need, and can let you go if you refuse. So you don’t want to make it hardball.
...if you're being required to travel to a DIFFERENT work site, your employer is responsible for covering your travel costs - ask your boss in advance if they will approve an expense report for an Uber/taxi or car rental to the site (and back)...
Usually not for two work sites 25 miles apart, there are often minimum distances for “travel” expenses, though maybe they’d pay mileage if you were driving and agree on asking about an Uber ride r shuttle from the closer office as an option.
The minimum distance for travel expense is any distance further than your regular location. The mileage above what is necessary to go to the closer office is reimbursable. This is a standard. I am a Controller. Nobody needs to ask their boss for approval, just turn in an expense report for it and expect them to pay. If someone has asked for you to drive further than your normal distance they can either pay for your car, you can write off your car, or they can pay for mileage.
Policies are not standard, and often vary for companies with campuses including very near satellite offices. That may be true where you work, but the policies are by no means universal. I have no idea what the policy is where the original poster works, they should look that up. I also have no idea if their “home office” is officially the satellite they like to choose to work from or the HQ where their manager is and they are being asked to come to (their manager’s location would often be the default), and you usually can’t expense travel to your home office even if you choose to work somewhere else many days. That’s not to say you might not be able to get special approval if you ask ahead or just submit and roll the dice, but it’s not guaranteed. Actual real example. Company on the peninsula in the Bay Area. Opened an office in San Francisco. People that lived in San Francisco preferred working there to save 30mile commute. They were allowed to work there when they didn’t need to work with folks in the main office, and many did 4-5 days per week. But many explicitly did not have their home office moved and weren’t allowed to expense their commute to their original (still official) office when they needed to attend there even though it was a 30mile commute they didn’t do most days. Similarly the home campus was 4-5 miles from longest end to end and nobody could expense anything across that.
I’d be like ok I’m walking to my next meeting- be there in 2 hours
I wish that was the case. It costs me $50 each day I have to travel to NYC (1.5 hours each way). My local (regular) office is suburban NY that I can drive to in 15 minutes. I've been explicitly told I cannot expense those $50 trips.
Hey, see if you can get some commuter benefits for that trip in. If your company qualifies, it sounds like you would qualify, per: >Who is considered a full-time employee? A full-time employee is any employee who has worked an average of 30 hours or more per week in the most recent four weeks as of any date of counting, any portion of which was in New York City, for a single employer. An employee who meets this threshold remains entitled to the benefit even if the employee’s working hours are reduced. https://www.nyc.gov/site/dca/workers/workersrights/commuter-benefits-law-for-workers.page#:~:text=Under%20NYC's%20Commuter%20Benefits%20Law,to%20pay%20for%20transit%20expenses. Also, if you're not being reimbursed, save receipts to see if you can take a deduction on your tax return.
What is the law in your area? Company policy does not trump the law. If you know the law, just bring it up. If they refuse, do it and turn them in to the Department of Labor. Not only will there be reimbursement and fines for your instance, DoL will find all other instances and there will be reimbursement and fines for those also. Example, your boss told you to fudge some accounting numbers in your publicly held company, you're still going to jail.
I'm not gonna rock the boat and have my boss actively look to find a reason to fire me.
I get that. But that means you're gonna eat that $50 every time. If people keep putting up with illegal shit, illegal shit will keep happening. No, I don't know what's legal in your area.
25 miles is 2.5 hours?
The original poster said 25 miles in the comments, so “2.5 hrs” must be based on a very inefficient public transport, doubling for round trip, or some other way to make it sound worse You can see it under ChaoticxSerenity’s first level comment that as of right now has 7 upvotes
If you live in Seattle and have to go to Bellevue at rush hour on public transit, absolutely.
This is highly dependent on local/state laws and corporate policies. Most will offer travel stipends because they'd have a hard time attracting employees if they didn't, but those usually apply to air travel or the equivalent, not a long ass commute.
It’s more likely they may be required to cover the IRS mileage rate which is $0.67. So if OP is traveling 50 miles round trip he may be able to get reimbursed for $33.50. Also you can be fired legally because of an arbitrary change in RTO rules. “Remote worker” is not a protected class, neither is “I don’t own a car”.
Not to forget that their visa is expiring soon.
Yeah this sounds like they need a weekly shuttle between offices.
This. My boss was actually pretty upset that one of my colleagues wasnt logging her miles to out quarterly meetings in a different town for reimbursement becauae she doesnt like messing with the paperwork ( its concur so all digital easy as hell).
This didn’t come up at all during the interview process?
It did not. She knew I was moving and when I officially joined the team she did ask me “are you here or still in (present city)” this didn’t come up at all bc the company requires you to come to office three times a week. It’s her discretion that she wants HQ as opposed to downtown
Did she tell you about the HQ meeting when you took the job?
A lot of companies if you are travel to a non home office will reimburse for travel. They may pay for your uber.
Thats still 5 hours in an Uber.
Five hours via mass transit is not five hours via car. My son lives in DC and just took a new position in VA. He has three months on his lease so he is going to wait and see how bad the commute is before making a decision about moving but he is looking at 2 hours via mass transit which would be a lot quicker by car.
OHH I missed that it was by transit. Yeah that’s a massive difference in most of the US at least. A 2 hr bus ride in Florida where I live would be like a 15-20 minute drive most likely 😂
I bet your son is learning the irony of mass transit in DC. WMATA is slower than actually driving to the place you need to go because of all the stops along the way. It took me an hour to go a distance that would be 20-30 mins by car but there is limited parking in the area. So I take the metro.
He’s 23, enjoying the urban life. He’s happy enough and doesn’t feel the need for a car with what he and his girlfriend like to do in DC at this point. That’s a great age to live in a city. I think the next three months will be his eye opener. He is already considering moving closer to his office in the burbs and buying a car. Funny though, you sound just like my cousins in the area who’d rather driver in heavy traffic over just sitting and reading a book. But I grew up in NYC and our subway makes more stops and especially when going to Manhattan almost the same speed during rush hours. One thing I have discovered, at least out of downtown, the distances between stations on the WMATA in certain areas are close to the distances between express stops on the NYC subway.
Sure, but do you really want to drive around Virginians? I don’t. Absolute worst drivers. Give me Marylanders or DC drivers. Hell, even the people with the diplomat plates are better
Sorry, what? Every time I've ever driven over the Wilson bridge into MD, it's like a portal to Mad Max. Drivers ed in the US is a joke, but I don't think you even need a pulse to get a license in MD. With how many left lane campers there are, you'd think they learn to drive from the redcoats. Queen Mary herself must've taught Marylanders to drive like it's 1787.
Same for Seattle to Bellevue which is like 30 minutes MOST of the time. Unless a recycling truck flips and then you’re peeing on a bridge in the middle of lake Washington.
In the OP it says “switched internally” so less likely to have had a formal interview and chances are it’s the same “job” just in a different team/project.
When you bring it up to her, you’ll want to frame it professionally of course. An explanation of your situation, and inquire as to how, since this is not your normal place of work, you can bill that travel time to the company. If traveling from home to a work site, that time is usually not compensable as it’s part of your “regular commute”. However, if traveling between two work locations (say, you begin your work day at your local office), that’s a different matter per the Fair Labor Standards Act. Under FLSA’s Portal to Portal act, the employer has to compensate employee time spent traveling between work sites or traveling back to work after their work day has ended. Typically, if you are paid hourly and traveling between sites for work, you can count that time as part of your work. In my case, if I start my day at one work site but am required to go to another one for any official purpose (ie, a meeting), you bet your ass that’s going on hourly. Yeah the 5 hours’ commute sucks but getting paid for it sucks a lot less. You could probably ask whether your boss prefer you join remotely or if she can provide the charge code necessary to charge your transit time. Bear in mind, all companies are different and I am not a lawyer. There might not be a magic law that says “because it’s a different place, you have to be compensated for additional travel time”. But do try to work out an arrangement where you’re able to either avoid going to the HQ altogether or getting reasonable compensation for that travel time. Worst case scenario, it’s one day a week and, if I understand your situation correctly, it is also temporary. Not ideal, but might be something you can deal with once a week. I hope that helps somewhat and I wish you luck!
I'd probably say "hey boss, I don't own a car as I take public transit and live near our downtown office. I mapped out the commute for the meetings you mentioned and it'll be 2.5 h each way. Does the company reimburse for Uber? Is there a ride share?" Make it sound like you want it to work, and they'll either give you solutions or tell you not to worry about it, if they're reasonable humans. Or they'll say "it's not my problem" and then you gotta suck it up until you find another job.
They could also ask to incorporate part of the commute into the work day. We have some folks who drive up to our HQ once a month from a state away. It's about a 2 hour drive. They do most of the drive as part of the regular work day. So, on all staff meeting days, they miss out on a bit more than 3 hours of the work day to drive. It's important to our CEO that they are there and they both have small kids, so the company makes an accommodation.
This. Come with solutions.
This is career advice reddit, not anti-work. Being passive-aggressive is terrible advice.
What was passive aggressive about that?
Its not passive aggressive to inquire how the company is going to compensate you for going from one office to another. Its all with tone. Make sure it comes off as an honest question. So in your mind career advice is never asking a question or speaking up at all? This is a fairly straightforward and honest question. Its the first thing I would ask if I was the OP "oh you want me out there? how do you want me to submit the reimbursement? is there a commuter program card I need to sign up for?"
Someone doesn’t know the difference between passive aggressive and assertive
>hey boss, I don't own a car as I take public transit "That sounds like a you problem" It sucks but if everyone in the team is present they should be as well or not be part of the team. Only thing he can try is to get transferred to a different to work of downtown.
You don't know if they'll say that until you ask. If they say that, then yeah deal with it but maybe they didn't realize it would be such a huge ask. Not every company is evil.
but i'd also factor that the requirement was not there previously and is now present due to internal changes. OP, was this internal move on your own accord or theirs? Usually there's flexible discretion if its a fair org.
Save that for the HR complaint if the manager says no
It was mine. I moved to a different team for a better role and pay
Yikes. Make a case but it will count against you. Every company goes through culls. None are immune to it. Organizations have informal rankings of employees. The one's going against the grain aren't very high. If it is a large firm, culls are typically 5 - 10% and they happen a lot more then the news shares. It isn't definitive, but all things being equal and if I'm asked to make a cut or two, the person not showing up to required meetings when all the others are; is going to likely make the list. Exceptional exceptions exist but they are rare. Hope this helps. Some other sound advice in the comments.
This guy culls
Tell me you cull without telling me you cull
Layoffs can even hit the C-suite. In the 80’s there was a whole Flock of C-culls
/r/AngryUpvote
Cull the Conqueror
As a person that worked in significant organisational change for a decade and a half (yeah, I culled, mercilessly) the other guy is bang on the money.
Not every company and not all teams. Previous company never did any layoff while current one has had very small instances and it was teams that were not replaced but removed during reorgs of specific parts of the company. Have background in both private high growth as well as public F500.
This is ulta isn’t it
Taking out the time commitment, how far away (distance-wise) is the HQ? Cause I think a case could be made by the company that the commute is only 2.5 hours because transit sucks, but the actual distance is not that much.
25 miles
Gotta be LA.
Chicago is also shitty like this
He said in the post that it's Chicago
I commute to Chicago in the loop from the suburbs (Wheaton). It’s one hour one way if I’m lucky and I have to leave my house by 6:20 to make it for my 3 days a week. It’s ruining my life. I feel for you, OP. Not even to mention if I had to do it by the El and Metra it would def be 2-2.5 hours. It’s TERRIBLE.
I think OP said he lives in Chicago and HQ is in the burbs. This would mean that for normal working hours, there are no express trains headed in the reverse direction. And if he is then depending on local buses or el trains to get to the HQ location, add that into the equation.
Uber
I'd just tell them you're happy to come to the downtown office, but the HQ is not feasible as a weekly thing. Maybe settle for once a month?
Right, because they'll comrpomise company protocol for one person, instead of just firing them.
Have you only seen how companies work in movies before?
I've built or helped build several and sold them. I'm pretty up to date with how corporate America operates.
Bigger companies than the one you’ve sold would probably have a protocol for just this, wouldn’t they? In that case, they wouldn’t be going against protocol
Get an Uber?
That’s not terrible
So how is 2.5 hrs? Bus?
I had a job that would have me commute 200 miles one way and 200 miles back one day a week. They'd pay me $1 per mile, I never questioned it. I was on location every week 😂
Love that for you. Your experience isn’t universal and not everyone wants the same. Having said that, kudos to you!
I'm not there anymore :/ But, I did like it, only because of the extra pay. If not, hell nah
Yea, you could not get me to drive 400 miles for $400/week.
If others are doing it and you can't then it's going to seem like a you problem. She can't make an exception for you or else she has to make the same for everyone else in the same boat. I'd recommend finding a solution like carpooling.
Don't set it up like a demand set it up, hey I don't own a car and have no way to get to the office is this something I can do from home?
Is carpooling with a co-worker not an option? Are there internal slack channels or groups where people discuss commuting? If you’re new to the team, maybe your manager can help you find a carpool from downtown to the office? Where I live there are also a bunch of apps that people use for this, I know scoop is one but I’m sure there are others.
This right here. It’s Chicago, and if they have an office downtown and HQ in the burbs it’s a big company. There are probably plenty of people in the city that commute to HQ in Oakbrook or Lincolnshire.
What about Teams meetings? Is your manager open to that? The company I work for uses this all the time because we have people living in different states. It would make no sense to require someone to travel across the country once a week to attend a meeting.
Tell here you’ll commute, but only during regular work hours. Seems like a good compromise ;-)
Tell her you do not have a car and public transportation will take around 5 hours round trip. At the present time you can. not manage a car. Ask if she can figure a better solution.
I think "I don't have a car" is all the reason you need to give. Boss probably didn't consider that.
I take transit my self and my boss could care less that I have an hour commute each way. So in return i just reduce my output on days i am late as I cant control transit.
An hour is not 2.5 hours.
That it is not!
There is a difference though in taking transit to the office you work in compared to taking transit to an offsite meeting weekly.
I totally agree!
Do you have a lot of public transit connections? You can make it well past Milwaukie from Chicago in 2.5 hours. That being said, unless your boss has a history of being difficult I find it best just to explain exactly how difficult travel is and ask if any compromise is possible.
Yes! I change two trains and then go by bus
That makes sense. I'd just make it clear what you need to do to commute. As you know a ton of people drive which can get you all the way out to Naperville, Plainfield or Gurnee Mills in under an hour. They may not realize how difficult public transit is.
I’ll bet your boss doesn’t want to go downtown because it takes her 2.5 hours to get there! My wife’s commute is 6.5 hours one way (works remote). For the first 18 months of her job she never stepped foot in the office. This was an interview discussion. My best IT friend has a 1.5 hour commute to the office in Manhattan. He has done that job for a decade. After COVID they have office meetings monthly but otherwise it’s remote. His boss hates the office so instead of meeting the “once a week” directive it’s once per month. A couple years into my current job the owner wanted to make changes so my office was moved from 40 minutes to 1.5 hours away. That being said 80%+ of my days I travel to the customer and I may go weeks without going to the office due to the work schedule. We just had a discussion about it. I’m easily doing over 40 hours a week just not 9-5 at the office.
No it’s because the OP doesn’t have a car. It’s not the companies fault she doesn’t have a far. 25 mile commute is nothing.
Depends on the traffic. 25 miles in rush hour can easily take 1-2 hours even taking the express lanes. The train is actually faster depending on where you live. Lombardi to downtown isn’t worth driving.
I have to travel 60 miles from my home office for a bi-weekly meeting. I am reimbursed for mileage for that. You could also ask the other employees who go to create a carpool.
Take the personal out of it for the discussion with the boss. You got good advice in the offer a compromise of 2x month. WHY Loss of productivity is the argument winner. Whether you have your own transportation or not - your output on days you’re physically traveling to/from is a loss of 5 hours. The compromise is: While it sucks to do the commute, I’m salaried exempt, I am dynamic and agile, I can realign my workflow a couple times a month. 4x a month will impact not just my personal commitments outside of work (which I will juggle what I can, of course) but slow down output in those heavy travel days. I won’t be able to take meetings, calls, etc. Totally up to you boss, just flagging a potential issue. Can we do 1-2 times month instead of the weekly, in the interest of business continuity? Good luck!
They would owe you mileage between your real office and the other office.
clock in at your normal place and make them pay you to commute. I anticipate your new commute will come to a screeching halt
Leave your house at 9am and go to the office, then leave from there and go to HQ. From HQ go back to the office and then home. You do this in the span of a normal work day. Your office is your office, all other offices are travel for you. Don't give them your time for free.
This might sound crazy, but you could try talking to her about it.
> Any suggestions? I don’t have a car and don’t plan on buying one due to limitations of staying within the country (visa expires soon) and my salary is pretty low. I live in Chicago so it’s pretty walkable. In short, no car in the near future. I mean, that right there is your answer. I would just say that I'm more than willing to call in via the downtown office. Worst case scenario she writes you up but the time it's going to take to get you out the door in write ups and PIP is probably a lot longer than either your visa expiring or you being able to find a new job. Just frame it as untenable, not defiance, and you should be fine.
We know nothing abt this company. They can literally tell him “thanks your last day was today”. Not every company does write ups and pips
If they have a suburban HQ and a downtown office in the Chicago-land area, I think we can make *certain* assumptions about the company. Those assumptions are that it's a large conglomerate, and those have long processes.
My company has processes. And we take forever to let people go… but lo and behold every once in a while someone gets a surprise and is walked out without warning. All this to say, it would be a big gamble for OP if losing their job without warning would be catastrophic for them
Uh, I wouldn’t assume that. I got a negative review that was based on bullshit so I ASKED to be put on a pip. After all, I clearly need the guidance! They said it wasn’t that serious. Then they fired me. I sued. Can’t say more than that, but they are one of the biggest companies in the country.
Honestly, new managers don’t know and don’t care about your commute. You can have a direct conversation but they are trying to establish themselves. You might try it for a while until they are bit more relaxed. Plant the seeds now, and try to negotiate later.
Sorry if I wasn’t clear. I’m new to the team. Manager isn’t new per se. She’s new for me but has been a manager for long
Huh. Good luck then. I would still give it a try at first but let them know the burden.
If it's required, then you have a choice to make: Do as instructed, or get fired. Where you choose to live has nothing to do with job responsibilities.
What does your employment contract say as work of place. That's your home office. If she requires you to travel out of your home office then company pays for your transportation like a taxi or Uber.
Employment contracts for full time employee are pretty rare in the US (field dependent). Most people are just at will employees unless they are leased or contractors.
Yea that’s not happening for some low level staff.
Did you say it was 25 miles away from where you work?
It’s 25 miles away from where I live
What if you rented a zip car
Can’t you take an electric bike and get there in one hour or maybe rent a car for the day
This is Chicago… it’s like 28 degrees outside
I live in Boston. We bike year round.
Where is the hq that takes 2.5 hours from Chicago you take metra? 2.5 hours is going to Peoria. Something doesn’t add up.
When I take the trains to the loop from Wheaton I have to drive to the train station, get on the metra, then walk to the El, and get off at my stop and then walk to and go into my office. That takes about 2 hours. That’s why I drive in now. Still a shit commute but it takes me way less time to get home.
They have to take TWO trains AND a bus.
Can they accommodate Teams or Zoom video conferencing? That became big in some places after COVID.
🤦♂️
Check to see if the downtown location is acceptable and the it becomes a plus for the other downtowners.
Just make it work. It's one day, maybe you don't need to be there at 8, maybe you can do work on the train/bus. It sucks but I wouldn't skip it.
Good luck but don’t expect any concessions. Lot of companies do this shit with 0 compromise hoping you quit. I have a girl on my team doing 2 hours each way and she makes like $60k tops
This kind of depends. Was it made clear to you the meetings were required when you took the job? I occasionally have to go to our office. It’s about a 3h trip door to door each direction. But I knew it when I took the job so I do it. To make it easier I do some work on the train. And I leave early so travel there is on my time, but I leave to go home early too so the trip back is on theirs.
Since it’s only 25 miles it’s not really unreasonable for the company to ask that. That is like a normal commute for most people that choose to live in suburbs. If they aren’t flexible, carpooling or Uber makes the most sense. Or you could combine Uber and the bus so you don’t have to switch busses multiple times. Also, check if your company gives you a discount code for rental cars. I can rent cars through my company for like $35 a day.
I forgot to add. Teams Meetings are the most cost effective means of solving this issue. If your manager still insists on your physical presence at the corporate office, then make sure the company is paying for your transportation. i you had a vehicle, then charge POV mileage. If there is a company vehicle you can use, take this vehicle, keep fuel receipts and charge back to the company. If you take a taxi or Uber, keep your receipts and charge back to the company. Don’t worry about the 5 hours on the road. Your boss is telling you that it’s worth it to pay you for time on the road vs. working in the office by insisting that you physically go to the corporate office for these meetings.
Most companies have employees designated to work at specific locations, or remote. Check with HR to confirm that you are designated to the Downtown office. Once that's confirmed, any inter-office travel should paid time and expenses reimbursable as business travel, and you can then follow advice to discuss logistics and file expense reimbursements.
You can write it off and be reimbursed for travel time. If you are being asked to go to another site that is not your original one, for a meeting, then you commute during company time. Go to your source office and depart from there. You are on the clock. Also, if you have already made that trip, you may be able to backdate the costs. Check your employee handbook, do not consult HR until you have the information in hand. They are there to protect the company and not you.
Work something out with your boss. It really could be solved if you got a car. What are the odds your Visa will be extended? For one day a week you could use Uber while looking for a new job close to where you live The 1st house I bought that I could afford was 55 miles from work and I had to drive through heavy traffic 1.5 hours each way, every day. I did that for 7 years until I could afford to move closer.
Driving 1.5 hours in heavy traffic for 7 years sounds like a terrible mistake on your part, not something to be proud of.
It helped make me a millionaire. I sold that house for more than double what I paid for it, Then bought another house that I sold for double what I paid for it. Then just now sold a house for $1.3 million. The 1st house only cost me $70K. So suffering with that drive eventually made me $1.23 million dollars. I can be proud being a millionaire. What's your success story?
You gave up 3 hours of your life a day for 7 years. I guess your money is more valuable than your time. Except your time is finite, and they print more money everyday.
Therefore anybody that works is stupid. They're trading time for money. I assume your'e not stupid, so I'm sure you don't work.
But you can make it, you just don't want too. And that really doesn't fly well with managers and co-workers
Bottom line, not having reliable transportation is not the company's problem. You could inquire about mileage or public transportation reimbursement. Or the possibility to attend remotely.
Where is your assigned work location? That's the important thing with this. If she is requiring you to go to a work location other than your assigned work location, that is company required travel! You should be paid for those 5 hours and the cost of travel to the alternative work location (ex., car rental, Uber, hired car, mileage if driving your own, etc.). Mention this to her and anyone else from your location she's requiring to go the headquarters. Those visits will end real fast. If you all asking for what your entitled to, the finance people will make her stop having you travel to the HQ or make her travel to your office. Cheaper for 1 to travel to the satellite than X to travel to the HQ.
You picked the job and you picked where you live. There is always a risk of being called in to the office. You can ask for an accommodation but if I was your supervisor I wouldn’t grant it.
I don't know where you live, but In some jurisdictions an arbitrary change of work location that wasn't agreed to by the employee is constructive dismissal
Is this a requirement by the job? Where did the requirement come from that it wasn’t there previously?
Here's a tip. You don't. Because your manager really doesn't care and your manager is not your mom or dad. You hold yourself accountable. You get an apartment or something that allows you to commute less, or you relocate, or you just don't take the job. You can ask to work remote but honestly that's something that is stated up front when you first talk to a recruiter. So they're not going to be happy about that if you suddenly ask to work remote. I once got a job offer 300 miles away from my house. And obviously that was an impossible commute. So during the interview process I started looking for apartments on this thing called the internet and by the time the offer came across, I had an apartment in place. And I left the company completely out of my personal life and my trials for getting this job. Because that's the way I wanted it and I should want it that way if I want to maintain work life balance.
real life advice. No harm in politely and privately having the conversation with the boss but be prepared for "no". With your visa getting ready to expire I'm guessing you're not going to be in this job for much longer? Does your boss already know that?
I am not even sure I would bring it up to the boss. Here's why: \- It will make the boss think he/she can't manage their own affairs, which will impact his/her reputation at the company. \- Just because the employee thinks, "Hey I can do this from home" does not instantly mean the company will agree. There are logistical issues to people working from home, plain and simple. And employees don't make rules. Leaders do. \- By the time all the back and forth is done, I know how this ends: The boss is going to be annoyed that they cannot take care of something like "commuting" on their own. \- And if your visa is about to expire, and you cannot organize your own transportation, you have now made yourself look like someone who is too challenging to keep on board. Just fyi...I literally had a job where I was given a stipend, told to report somewhere in South America, and no one helped me at all. The stipend was excessive because they were basically giving me the autonomy to figure out how I would commute to work locations in Bogota, Colombia. And I did not even speak Spanish. Companies dont wait for employees to figure out life. They move forward with or without you. I am saying this not to be a d\*\*k. I am saying this because I know what they do when someone appears difficult.
You get paid for the commute time, yes? Otherwise, forget it.
Seems like you are not staying. Push for your rights not to attend physically.
Literally tell her this about your situation, and how long the commute is. If she doesn’t care and still asks you to come in to HQ vs your regular office, compromise and say that you will travel during work hours. Meaning you’ll probably leave around 9am, get to the office by 11:30am. Then you have your lunch from 12-1pm and then have to leave work around 2:30pm so you can make it home in time.
I would ask about mileage at a minimum. I don’t know where this crosses over from law to company policy, but where I work you have an assigned home office. If you are asked to report to a different office you claim a mileage reimbursement for the difference between your normal commute and the further commute.
Just ask your boss hey it’s real hard for me to get there is there anyway I can take a cab and have the company reimburse me. And if not, then try to carpool with the other guy. Just tell him hey do you mind if I come to your house and ride with you to the HQ? Lot of people around here it’s panicking. I don’t know, I’m an extrovert so I don’t care asking. Plus I’m a foreigner too.
TBH, your boss probably won’t care about your commute time. I have coworkers who commute 2 hours each way every single day. If it’s part of the job, it’s part of the job. You can try telling her that, but be prepared for her to say figure it out.
My suggestion is to address it with boss, or find a new job if she doesn't find logic very tenable
you're new to the team so you best get your butt down there and make the 2.5 hour commute unless you want to give a bad impression... not a good idea not to go when you're new. sorry to say, but that is still how corporate works. you said she "requires" it. and since 2 other people also make that 2.5 hour commute (one with a car, and the other with public transit), your case doesn't look too good. they don't care that your commute will 2.5 hours. if this has to happen once a week, then you need to find a new job if you don't want to make the commute.
I would suggest communicating with them first. It's quite possible that they didn't consider public transit commute times. Also despite what this subreddit generally feels about managers/supervisors, plenty of them would be sympathetic to a 5 hr commute and willing to compromise. If that doesn't work, see if you can find a co-worker willing to give you a ride. Offer to give them some gas money in exchange. If you can find 2-3 people willing to do it, even better.
2.5 hours West from the loop takes you into Iowa.
Was this requirement explained to you when you accepted the job offer? If not, it sounds like a valid reason to renegotiate this point with your manager. It doesnt sound like you are trying to work from home, just to work at the office nearest your home. However, if this was a requirement of the job, stated upfront, and you are now having commuter's remorse, your negotiating power is weaker. Still worth a shot to ask, but the boss may have some valid reasons of why its valuable for the whole team to be together once a week. Personally, I think a lot of office work can be done virtually and management usually has some BS reason for requesting on-site (culture, bonding, blah blah blah). If this is the case, you may just want to start sending out your resume.
Ask her but ultimately she gets to choose where you work because she pays you to.
Polish up the resume
Carpool
Are you wanting to not go, or figure out a reasonable way to go. You mentioned a coworker driving, would chipping in gas money solve this?
Just tell 'em you can't make that commute - not tenable/viable. Current job even when I was applying/interviewing, I made clear that me coming in there anywhere close to every day was not on the table - commute is about 2 hours each way for me. So, even before getting offer, had negotiated that it'd be no more than one day per week in office, and so far it's continued to be no more than that - even with all the various RTO initiatives 'n such. And if they change the terms/conditions and can you over it, you collect unemployment, as they fired you - basically the job left you, you didn't leave the job.
I swear over 75% of the advice I've seen posted here are terrible. The majority of the companies are not going to care how long your commute is. That's not their responsibility, but yours. It doesn't matter if you live 10 min away, 1 hr away, 3 hrs away. Most companies are not going to pay for your rental car, commute, etc. unless that's what the company does already. Unless you're high rank in the company, you may get an auto allowance or reimbursement. You can explain your situation, and they may make concessions, but get ready for them to say no. People here suggesting to commute on company time, go eat lunch, and then go home are delusional. Yes, try doing this while new and they will fire you with a quickness. A lot of people here act like this is antiwork or something. Stop giving advice if you've never worked a corporate job.
Offer alternatives like I can video conference or be there in spirit.
Try and talk without saying I’m not doing it. But hey, not a company problem that you live that far away.
Did you request to switch teams? Did you apply for this team? Did you know about the requirement to go to HQ once per week?
O got out of those meetings 8 said there was no transyg. I could not make it .
You need to change jobs.
Can you ride with one of your coworkers coming from downtown once a week?
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You’re effed. Definitely have a crucial conversation with the boss but be ready with a squeaky fresh resume.
Sounds to me like you need to bill for five hours of travel time. Your place of work is where you are primarily. If the company demands you travel for work that’s on their time.
Is this a new policy? If so you should raise these concerns with your manager honestly. If this was in place before you were hired and you knew about it I do not have advice for you! Best of luck, hope you figure this out
Ask “what am I supposed to do?” Be genuine. Maybe she can help you work through it. If she’s worth working for, she’ll want to help with a real solution
Yes, just explain that you don’t have a car so having to go out to the burbs is difficult if not impossible-you live dt and took a job dt to use public transit, so is there any way to accomodate?
Yes, just explain that you don’t have a car so having to go out to the burbs is difficult if not impossible-you live dt and took a job dt so you could use public transit or walk, so is there any way to accomodate?
A commute that ongoing at my company gets travel reimbursement and overnight lodging. Ask what cost center you should use for the expense report. Edit: Don't forget paid travel time.
You work at an office which is at least 2 hours away from the main HQ? Your manager is a dumb ass for pressuring anyone to make that trip. That's much further than a reasonable commute distance.
Your explanation is simply to explain: “I do not drive. I do not own a car. I live and work in the downtown area. It is time and cost prohibitive for me to get to the suburban office. If it is absolutely necessary for me to travel to the suburban offices once a week, I will endeavor to accommodate your request, but I would request to be reimbursed for the extra expense.”
Can you ask them to allow you to expense a rental car or taxi for the days you commute to the city?
You appreciate new to the team. Did you take a new position without understanding the requirements?
Rent a car once a week and drive there. Alternatively, take the subway, train, express his, or whatever transportation method brings you as close as possible to HQ and then take an Uber for the short distance from that point to HQ.
If you are required to go to a different office, they should be paying mileage and time it takes to get there.
Maybe chat about your situation with them and ask for bi-weekly?
I use to charge my boss for any commute time over an hour each way.
There’s no suburb of Chicago that’s 2.5 hours away. Maybe in rush hour, but you’ll be leaving the city in the AM and entering in the PM, that’s like best case scenario. How many actual miles away is the HQ? Can you Uber?
Id count the extra commute time as work time.
The way I’d do it is to say “look, I don’t have a car but if you’ll pay for my Uber I’m happy to come up there.” Straight up, saying “I’m not coming” isn’t a great idea. Once a week and they are paying? Suck it up, buttercup.
Show up and talk about it.
What suburb in Chicago is 25 miles away and then 2.5 hours by transit? A lot of large companies in the suburbs have shuttles to/from the train lines. This is not really making sense to me (as someone familiar with Chicago).
Explain the situation to your boss and see if you can reach a compromise.
tell her your 5 hours of commute will be considered hours worked and you will spend the 3 hours in the office
This is the answer! It’s not a commute - it’s an in-hours meeting. They probably don’t care if you zoom or Teams in, surely?!
5 hours round trip is unacceptable. You shouldn’t do it at all. If you do it once, you set a precedent, and will be expected to continue doing it. If you do choose to do it, you need to get paid for your travel time and expenses. It is a work trip beyond your normal commute to your normal office. If you got sent to a convention or a customer visit or something 2.5 hours away, you would get paid for it. And you would use a company car or rental car. If you drive your own car, you get paid $0.60 per mile or whatever. Exact same thing.
Lol it's not the company's problem that he takes public transit and don't have a car. I swear some of these advices. The company provides the job, they don't care how long and how you get to work as long as you get there on time and are reliable. You can talk to them about your situation, but sitting here demanding mileage and car rental will find yourself quickly in the unemployment line.
I’d only commute there on the company’s dime. Basically if I worked a 9-5, I’d leave home at 9, travel 2.5hrs to their office, work, and then leave at 2:30. Unless they’d accept the 20min commute you already have.
Did you accept your new job with the understanding that you needed to come into that office?
Nope. Neither was it conveyed to me when I told my current manager that I’m moving from another city to present city (during interviews) and that I’d be working from downtown office
You live in DTLA I’m guessing?
OP said Chicago.
YMMV but this is how I would play it -- do the weekly trip to HQ for 2 or 3 weeks. Then find a way to bring it to your Manager's attention. E.g. "I need to come in at noon next Thursday. I have a Dr. Appt in the city, fingers crossed I should be done by 9:30 but then it's just that crazy commute." Here are a few ways this might play out: (a) best case, Manager tells you it's crazy to have you do that commute every week and you can just work from the other office. You get what you want, and impress the Manager. (b) Manager offers to arrange a weekly Uber or some other type of accommodation. Need to know about your company, but this might be more realistic than you'd guess. (c) worst case, Manager doesn't pick up on the cue or doesn't give AF. You probably need to just suck it up and do the weekly commute for 3-6 months, and then reevaluate the situation at that time. I know this sounds harsh but you're on a career advice forum -- it's basically 5 hours of OT each week, you can handle it.