Prompt: "A song about keeping warm"
Selected by Sara
"I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter"
Connie Francis
single, 1962
This is as good as any post to openly complain about my current situation. Last Friday, while I was on PTO, having an adorably wholesome day of having lunch with my grandma and daughter, I got an email from HR. I was put on a non-compliance list for return to office (RTO). If I did not comply in the next 30 days there would be consequences "up to termination." Well Merry Fucking Christmas to you too.
I won't lose my job because I will show up and comply. So now, each week, I must be in on Monday, work three days in the office, and then NOT work two consecutive days from home. I will pay $13.78 a day in parking and spend anywhere from 52 to 95 minutes commuting ONE WAY. My small form of protest (and within compliance limits) is that I will only do the commute during my work day. I will not be wasting my personal time. If they want me to drive in, then it's going to be during my billable hours.
What is so frustrating about this RTO policy is that it's for the shareholders, it's to have an easy way to deem someone "non-compliant" and fire them. It's to keep their money tied up in million-dollar real estate assets, it's for tax credits. It's not for me. I know I'm just a cog in the wheel here, but what was truly nice was having the flexibility of being at home. There is no time to do anything these days. It takes effort and money just to relax and take care of yourself. Having the hours at home to do a quick wash or be able to start dinner right at five are truly life-changing. But, alas, here I am sitting in my little 2012 Hyundai Accent I bought when I was 23. Just letting my precious time be wasted.
I will give the silver lining that I'll be in the city more and have been able to reconnect with friends in person. But, I will never tell my company that. They can kick rocks.
5 comments:
Lots I can relate to here, obviously. But something you highlighted really hit home for me today—how we are all just cogs in this fucking machine, man. It's like, that was always the case, and we always knew it, but maybe it was kinda unspoken before. RTO makes it very much spoken, and it hurts, yo. Hang in there, fellow commuter.
So what's the play here? You a podcasts girl? Radio? Streaming audio? Silence? "Read" an "audiobook?" How you gonna wile away the minutes
The answer is committing to the next 60 weeks of Record Club.
Let me follow up that I spent 90 minutes to the city only to get a call from daycare that Elise is being sent home sick. WHAT A WORLD.
Nate - I like to listen to the album of the week, one podcast (celebrity memoir book club), and then sometimes I’ll even disassociate to the radio. Send recs for any.
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