Bad Timing

 On the first day of the year, TCM showed back to back Godzilla movies.  That day also happened to be the day that Japan suffered a 7.6 magnitude earthquake.  It was bad timing for TCM.  Of course their programing is planned months in advance (or maybe more) and there was no way that they could have known that an earthquake was going to happen in Japan that day.  Could they have changed their programming?  Perhaps.  But it was a holiday.  Bad timing.

Here in the Northeast of the US, we had our first real snow on Sunday.  It hadn't snowed in my area in over a year, so it was a big deal.  It was also a big deal because it was snow, rain and some ice.  It was not awful, but it was a mess, especially as this area has gotten a lot of rain over the past several months.  I didn't go to the office on Monday because of the left over snow and ice.  Yes, I'm an old lady and I don't want to slip and fall on my way to the bus stop.  Tuesday into Wednesday a nor'easter covered the northeast portion of the country.  The rain was to start midday, get worse with high winds in the later afternoon and then really kick into high gear in the evening, with possible lingering showers into Wednesday.  The temperature would rise as well, meaning the left over snow would quickly melt as the rain poured down.  Again, the ground was already saturated, so flooding was a given.  On top of that, the moon was new, which means tides would be higher.  (Trying not to panic about the shore.)  Rather than deal with this mess, I decided to work from home again.

Mid-afternoon, an email came in to my office mailbox saying:  "Good afternoon. Based on the current anticipated inclement weather forecast (Heavy Wind & Rain, Flooding) and the State of New Jersey's decision to activate a State of Emergency , the Leadership Team wanted to remind everyone to use discretion for your evening commute today January 9 and tomorrow morning January 10. We recommend you reference your local news source for additional updates or click here to see the current weather.com forecast. 

We remind you to prioritize personal safety and travel safely. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to your manager or HR Business Partner."

Makes sense, doesn't it.  Especially as local rivers will not crest until later Wednesday and continue to be an issue into Friday.  (Which also happens to be the day when we are supposed to get more rain!)

However at the end of the day (just before 5) this email came in:  "We’re excited to welcome many teams back to the office more frequently in 2024 as we renew our focus on returning to the office in the new year. Please take a few moments to watch an update from our senior leadership team about the company’s vision and values regarding working together in office.

"Your manager and our HR Partners are available to assist you with any questions and we look forward to being together more in 2024."

Bad timing?  Tone Deaf?  Seemed to me a little both.

The video that I viewed talked about teams coming into the office (not really giving props to those of us who have been consistently doing so; and I KNOW who those people are), but mostly focused on the fact that too many people were NOT coming in.  In 2024 not coming is is not going to be negotiable and we will be hearing more about the plan soon because we are better together.  (As I type this I am alone on one of our two floors in Newark...yes it is early, but...)

Better together?  We are officially closing our NYC office this spring.  (In actuality, it's already been closed and those who worked there but who live in NJ have been "encouraged" to work in our Newark office.)  For me, as always, the majority of the people I interact with on a given day are NOT in the area.  Even before the pandemic, when I worked in a different location, most of the time I was the only person in my company/division in the actual office.  My boss at the time (and the man who hired me) lived in the midwest.  The sales people I worked with were all over the place.  The production team was in several different time zones.  And although I now work with different/additional divisions and new (to me) people, again, most of them are NOT here.  Better together?

This winter has also been one of health challenges for many.  (Not just me)Yup, everyone’s sick. COVID, flu and RSV spikes hit N.J.  Despite that, those that I work with have been pushing through.  Not necessarily going into the office because there was just too much work to do.  I've been officially logging in around 9 hours a day, but truth be told it's more than that.  Due to the year end close, many worked over the weekend.  I didn't work, but I did check in several times to make sure that everything was cleared out.  On Monday, at the very last minute, a program which had (apparently) been erroneously assigned to someone else, was flipped to me.  It had to be processed in 10 minutes and I didn't have all the information I needed.  Yet, working together (though not in the same physical space), I managed to get this pushed through (albeit 3 minutes after the supposed deadline).  Could I have done this if I were in a office?  Most likely not, as I would have been on a bus home and not seen it.  I can say with confidence that I get more done, when I am NOT spending an hour commuting each way. (This takes into consideration my walk to the bus stop, waiting for the bus, bus ride, waiting for the light rail, light rail ride and walk from Penn Station to my office.)  I think this would probably be the case for most people.  (Although I cannot state that as fact.)

I do understand the importance of being in an office.  (You spent a lot of money getting this up and running...you need to have butts in those chairs.)  It IS good to having face to face meeting (sometimes).  It is nice to socialize.  But it's not the best way to get things accomplished.  And to say that the new plan is non-negotiable does not give me the warm fuzzies.  It doesn't make me feel like a valued employee.  I care about my work, why doesn't my employer (NOT my manager or her manager or even her manager), care about me?

Bad timing.  Bad practice.  Bad taste.