To quit without a job lined up - WWYD?

[Fishflopper]

I have been in my current role for 18 months. Homeworking with in person meeting 1-2 times a month. I haven't ever enjoyed the role, there's alot of office politics but the homeworking has been a massive pro for work life balance and I've been able to shield myself from the gossip and dog eat dog culture.

Last month return to office was floated. Discussed with boss, told them I wasn't keen due to kids and the office conflicts and was told the expectation would be 1 day in my local office 15 mins frome home.

Today I have been told return to office is compulsory from 1st April and the expectation is that I am present in all offices weekly not just my local office 5 days a week. Non negotiable.

The furthest office is 2.5hrs and i have no idea how im going to commute, do school runs, do housework, have quality time with the kids and have little time to make arrangements. I have no idea how I'm going to manage.

I seriously considering walking away and saving myself the hassle. But I have nothing lined up. Am I crazy? WWYD?

Which office are you based at? Surely if they expect you to travel to other offices this is done in work time and paid for by the company? Even working from home unless they specifically said work hours were flexible you should have been working proper hours and not caring for children in that time so I would not mention all the other commitments you have in work time. Personally I would not travel 2.5hrs in personal time but apart from that I would be trying to find a new job before quitting in this financial climate

I would start by looking at your contract. Is the remote working mentioned in the contract? was the job advertise as remote?

Because I would be really angry if I had accepted a job based on the fact that it offered home working only for that to be removed a few months after. I would feel that I was mislead and would indeed quit.

They knew you lived 2.5 hour when they hired you and it is completely unreasonable to suddenly expect you to commute every day. I assume you would not have taken the job in the first place if t wasn't for the remote working.

I would speak to ACAS. One issue is that this sudden change in work patterns would potentially affect people with childcare responsibilities, who are more likely to be women, the most and you might be able to argue that it is discriminatory.

I would start looking for another job now. After April 1st start using up all your sick and annual leave. Hopefully you find something quickly.

Usually your contract would specify a home office. But like others I would consider both a) office working 5 days a week and b) working in multiple locations to be unreasonable. I would start looking for something else…. Good luck….

Whilst I would quit on principle, you may not find anything else home working.

Here in East Anglia, the only solid full-time remote job I found was paying the minimum wage and on top you had to provide your own equipment undergoing device suitability at application stage - people were clearly crazy desperate and applications reached past 1499.

I would start job hunting and make it clear that you will only be commuting to your local office unless commuting further than a certain time (say 30-40 mins) is done during your working hours. They're not going to be happy but a long commute is an unreasonable expectation out of the blue IMO. Don't struggle to make it work on your side. Apart from anything else the fuel cost is going to be a killer for the long distance offices.

Everyone I know that has quit a job without another to go to has done well out of it got a better job, more pay etc.

not having a job focuses you on job hunting.

Surely the answer to this is how badly and how soon you need money? If the answer is badly/soon then since you know how to do your job, you can prioritise/focus on getting a new one whilst keeping the income rolling in. If the answer is you can float for a year then sure, give notice.

I wouldn't quit yet but I'd start looking elsewhere