Few people are on the fence about working from home, as you usually either hate or love such an arrangement. Employees in this redditor’s company seemingly belonged to the latter category, as they had some sort of a remote work policy available even before Covid hit.
However, after the pandemic ended, one person—the CEO—was extremely eager for everyone to work from the office together. That was until the CTO used malicious compliance against him. Scroll down to find the full story below.
Working from home is something you either favor or dread
Image credits: Zen Chung / Pexels (not the actual photo)
This person’s company had a relaxed work from home policy, which their CEO wanted to change
Image credits: Khalida 11 / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Product School / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: mdlapla
Image credits: Peter Olexa / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Many people decided to continue working from home even after the pandemic ended
Nowadays, there seems to be two distinct camps when it comes to remote work, those who love it and those who dread it. For the former, working from the comfort of their home and not having to make small talk with colleagues during lunch is the best thing that has happened to them in their careers, while for the latter, having their personal space this intertwined with their professional one feels like one of the circles of hell.
While during the pandemic, there wasn’t much of a choice, many people opted for staying in their homes even after it ended. To this day, statistics seemingly show a larger group favoring working from home than going back to the office full time.
According to a Pew Research Center survey from 2023, as much as 35% of people who have the opportunity to work from home full time use said opportunity. This is down from 43% in 2022 and 55% in 2020 when some people arguably didn’t have as much of a choice, but up from the pre-pandemic levels, when roughly 7% of people worked from home.
Image credits: Vlada Karpovich / Pexels (not the actual photo)
To some people, working from home is positively linked with better mental health
Other data from last year reveal that the overwhelming majority of employed individuals want at least some form of remote work. A 2023 survey carried out by FlexJobs found that for 95% of respondents, an ideal work environment entails working remotely at least to some degree – 54% would like to do that full time, while 41% would prefer a hybrid arrangement. Only 5% that remain would love to spend their time back at the office.
FlexJobs’ survey also sheds light on some of the benefits that people working from home experience, many of which were reportedly linked to better mental health. For example, working from home doesn’t require commuting, which is a huge stressor for nearly nine–of-ten employed individuals.
The survey also found that more than a third of surveyees reported less burnout, healthier food choices, and reduced anxiety and depression. Roughly 30% said they felt improvements in regards to sleep and exercise, as well as an improved overall physical health.
For the OP, their living arrangement was another contributing factor to wanting to stick to working from home. In the comments under their post, the redditor shared that they left a tiny apartment in Madrid for a nice house with a garden and a pool for the same price outside the city, and they couldn’t see themselves going back. That meant that if the CEO’s wish was to come true, the OP would likely have to move back to the city or to commute – two options neither of which are arguably that appealing. Luckily, they didn’t have to as the CTO’s malicious compliance against the CEO seemed to have worked.
Fellow netizens shared their thoughts in the comments, the OP replied to some of them
