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Last Straw

This story about an employee quitting because she was being prodded to show to work in person is understandable. For the past year and a half she had opportunity to live a very different kind of life and the comforts of being able switch off the camera and take a mental break. There is no way getting up to an alarm, dressing up, commuting to work and being in work-mode around a large number of people all day can seem more enticing. 

"..If anything, the past year has proved that lots of work can be done from anywhere, sans lengthy commutes on crowded trains or highways. Some people have moved. Others have lingering worries about the virus and vaccine-hesitant colleagues.

And for Twidt, there’s also the notion that some bosses, particularly those of a generation less familiar to remote work, are eager to regain tight control of their minions.

“They feel like we’re not working if they can’t see us,” she said. “It’s a boomer power-play.”.."

It is a privilege to have a job where working remotely is a viable option. Many among us were never given a chance to exercise it and for no good reason. Employers no longer have a compelling reason deny this option - people are not interested in partaking corporate culture nearly as much as having agency over their time. Till the pandemic hit, they were running around like hamsters on a wheel, when in fact there was the choice all along of running free in the yard.  

I know this from experience, no matter what age your school-going child, they experience a sense of comfort coming home to a parent, a chance to talk about their day and maybe get a simple home-made snack. A parent who missed those opportunities to bond with their kid in the past, will not want to let go of what they earned during the pandemic. 

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