Return To Office Postponed : Thank you Boss!

Couple of weeks ago, I and my colleagues are all surprised by the Return to Office memo, effective November 8, 2021. We are all startled by the news because we are definitely not yet ready to expose ourselvess and our families to the covid-19 virus.

I actually posted an article with all my sentiments and worries about the return to office memo. You can find it here.

Right after the email announcement, our Manager organized a meeting to make a formal announcement about it. He told us to consolidate all our concerns and questions regarding the Return to Office notice.

And so my colleagues and I gathered all our concerns and sent it to our Manager. Below are the concerns I have raised.

My manager then sent me an invite for a one on one call (meaning, the meeting ia just between him and I). It was tuesday last week. During our call, I've raised my concerns of having no stay-in helper to take care of my kids while my husband and I are away. It is too difficult to get a stay-in helper nowadays due to pandemic. No one wants to stay away from their families.

I need to have a stay-in helper because my schedule is from 3AM to 12 noon on Mondays and 6AM to 3PM from Tuesdays to Fridays. My average commute time is 2.5 hrs one way. That means, I have to leave the house at around 3:30AM the latest. And my husband usually leave at 3:00 AM to go to the market to buy goods like veggies, fruits, fish, meat, etc that he will sell in our little store.

Also, I told my Manager that since I am commute going to and coming from the office, I've had a lot of exposure to the virus. And I might be the carrier of the virus in the office as well.

To be able to reach the office, I'll have to take 1 tricycle from our subdivision to the main road where I have to ride a jeepney till the bus station/stop over terminal. Buses from Cavite are not allowed to enter Manila anymore so I have to alight somewhere in Pasay City, most likely in the PITX terminal and from there, I need to ride another bus to Ayala Avenue and from Ayala Avenue, I needed to ride BGC bus. So all in all, I need to ride 1 trycicle., 1 jeepney and 3 buses. Which expose me a lot to the covid-19 virus. And we all know that some of the public transportations here in the Philippines are not compliant with the covid-19 protocols.

If anyone from our team caught the virus, all of us will have to isolate and undergo 14 days quarantine as per the IATF recommendation. That means, the manpower might also be at risk if that happens. In our team, 7 out of 10 headcount are from here in Manila branch. So the team coverage will definitely suffer if the worst case scenario hits us.

Furthermore, I am also afraid of the covid-19 virus because two of our neighbors died due to it already. So it is not a joke. And once it entered your home, it is difficult to escape anymore.

We've patiently waited more than a week for a response on all our concerns. And yesterday (tuesday, October 19, 2021), My manager sent the announcement that the Management decided to give the final decision to the team Managers whether they will require their team to report to the office or postpone it till the situation improved.

Luckily, my Manager responded in favor of us. He allowed us to continue in our work from home set-up.. Wohhooooo!! We are soooooo happy!. All of us are celebrating about it now.

We are so lucky to have a very considerate Manager who think of our welfare over any other else. As a matter of fact, I also told him during our one on one that our productivity actually mutliplied (almost doubled) when we started the work from home set-up. It is due to the time we are able to save from travelling to and from the office.

As soon as I've seen the email last night, I immediately sent my Manager a personal Thank you chat.. I am just so thankful that he considered our concerns and gave us work from home extension.

Sorry I cannot provide a snapshot of the announcement due to company policy.

I guess that would be it for now. I am just so haooy with the news and I cannot wait to share it with you. Thanks for your time as always.

Before I end this, let me share with you the click I did on one of my flower from my little garden. With a simple quote to remind you to always keep calm and just smile. It's contagious! Believe me.