To think some of my coworkers are being unreasonable

[Novemberrain10]

My colleagues and I work for a large corporate company that like many in the pandemic had to allow us to wfh in the space of one night, then in 2022 they introduced a hybrid module of 2 days a week in the office which is the perfect balance.

They are selling one of our buildings (where we work from) as it's in a city center and want everyone to report to the main head office which is about 5 miles down the road from our current office, mainly to save costs and 'new working methods' means they do not require all this room.

Admittedly the head office is not the easiest to get to without a car, but driving it's down a fairly big A road for an extra 5 miles from current work place and there are a few back roads that get to it also so always alternative routes.

We are having fuel difference paid for us for 6 months to help us and allowed to trial different start times etc, it's not a redundancy situation but I believe if colleagues who do not drive and can prove they have major logistical issues to get to the office a package may be offered to them.

I feel for my colleagues who do not drive don't get me wrong however some of my other colleagues are moaning like it's the worst thing in the world and the company don't care about it's staff for uprooting them etc, there's one colleague who lives not too far from me albeit closer than me to the HQ and does drive and she has moaned the most and to be honest I'm getting really fed up of it

From an outsiders point of view do you feel this change is really terrible ?

The way I look at it is its a minor inconvenience for 2 days where an extra 10 poss 20 minutes are added to the journey, I don't think there will be a huge difference in fuel cost for most either , obviously a bit more but it's literally 2 days , I'm this far away from. Shouting ITS NOT THE WORST THING IN THE WORLD

Plenty of people commute that far every day. Plenty of people relocate for work . If it doesn't suit someone then they can leave. It isn't a big ask.

I think YABU because this obviously doesn't affect you much but at my last job, where I was already driving 45 minutes to work, the balancing act of dropping off/picking up DS from school in one direction, DD from nursery in another, and DH from work, before going in the opposite direction to my own job, with the same in reverse in the evening, was already a tightrope to get to the kids before after school club/nursery finished; moving the office 5 miles further away would have done me in and I think when you're happy and settled in your job and workplace, especially with the current jobs market, that "suck it up or get a new job" is a shitty attitude to have. Work sound like they're trying to be accommodating, but these people might now need to do all sorts of juggling to make their livelihood work, when before it was working fine for them. You just don't know. So why not have some empathy and let them get it out of their systems? The ones who really can't cope with the change will ultimately have to find new jobs and the ones who come to terms with it will stay, but right now it's an upheaval that might be a lot tougher on others than it is on you.

Change is unavoidable and adaptability is key. Sounds like your employers are stepping up (as they should) to help support the change.

Tell your colleagues to read the book 'Who Moved my Cheese' by Spencer Johnson.

I understand your frustration. Since the pandemic my employer also offers hybrid working; one of my colleagues decided to move really far out of the city so they could afford a bigger house and now whinges constantly about the cost of commuting… last time she moaned I pointed out that she CHOSE to move and her commuting costs are nothing compared to how much I pay for my mortgage (much smaller house but commutable distance to my workplace). People are such children sometimes.

For some people the change just won't work, but it sounds like your company are at least taking a decent approach.

At my last place of work, we got a week's notice we were moving offices and it was really badly thought out - no parking, nowhere near enough desks for the number of people who used them, and no allowances made at all. Lots of people left as the approach of senior managers who decided it left a lot to be desired!
The no parking was a particular issue because the job that most of us do required us to be in and out of the office during the day, using our cars - it wasnt possible to do the job without a vehicle. It made the whole thing very impractical.

5 miles twice a week? Jesus Christ. What is wrong with these whinging moaners?

I have a 180 mile commute three days a week. Anyone moaning about doing 20 extra miles a week would get a big fuck off from me.

I think your company is being more than reasonable and your coworkers should stop moaning. I'd just deflect any whinging though and not get involved.

My company shut down my local office and shipped us all 35 miles away.
They only offered redundancy if your journey was increased by 30 miles or more one way and paid full travel (same distance conditions as above) year 1, 50% year 2.
They pretended to consult us but it was bullshit.
9 years later our old office (which we own) is still boarded up. We lease the building we are in now. Madness, they lost a lot of good people too.
I think 5 miles is fine personally. People should ask themselves if,I was unemployed and a job came up at this location, would I turn it down due to distance?

DH’s old work closed his office and made all but a small number of staff redundant, relocating the rest to another office 30 miles away. The relocated staff were clearly pissed off but any complaints were shut down by their colleagues who were actually losing their job.

In saying that, workplaces in locations inaccessible by public transport are the pits. Not everyone drives or wants to.

Our head office moved 200km! Moaning about a few miles seems ridiculous.