Worst thing I had experience.
- I recently started a new job at a company that advertises a hybrid working model. I was told during my interview and when I was hired that we would be operating on a three-day-a-week in-office, two-day-from-home requirement, with potentially needing more in-office time at the beginning during training.
I’ve been here for almost three months now, and getting days to work from home has been a battle for not just me, but the entire team. For context, the entirety of the office except our team seems to be working from home two days a week, if not more.My team members who have been here for 2+ years have just recently been “allowed” to work from home one day a week. My direct boss wants the whole team to have WFH days, but her boss is VERY old school and gets angry when we do. If one of us is home, the boss’s boss will make a show of going to their desk and loudly complaining that they’re not in.
- I took a week off and set my status to “on leave.” I still brought my laptop, just in case.
By day two, I had three messages asking “quick questions.” By day four, I was joining a meeting from a hotel room because it felt easier than pushing back.
When I got back, my manager thanked me for being “so responsive.”
That’s when I realized work-from-home hadn’t given me flexibility; it had quietly erased time off.
- HR pitched remote work as freedom.
Work from anywhere, manage your own time, trust-based culture.
The first time I logged in from a café instead of my apartment, my manager asked why my background looked “different.” A week later, she suggested I keep my camera on more often so they could “see engagement.”
Apparently, working from home didn’t mean working from any home. It just meant working somewhere they could still watch.
- I have been working from home for 2 years already. A few days before a big meeting, I asked to keep my camera off.
Personal reasons.
My boss replied, “Working from home doesn’t mean working from your pillow.” Fine.
Meeting day came. I logged in and waved hello. The room went dead silent.Behind me was a hospital monitor, beeping softly. I was in a hospital bed, IV lines clearly visible. No explanation.
The client froze.My boss laughed awkwardly and told me I could turn my camera off after all.
After the call, he said I was “unprofessional” and had embarrassed him. I reminded him I’d asked to keep my camera off. I just followed the rules.
- I work remotely, and they installed a tracker on our laptops that logs everything.
One day I stepped away to make coffee and got an email saying I’d been “idle for 10 minutes” and would need to explain.
I replied that I could if she shared the full activity report for the whole team. After that, things went quiet. Later she called me, crying.She admitted she knew I still had unused time off and that the tracker showed it. She said she was barely holding things together herself, trying to manage work with a newborn at home, and didn’t know how to handle all of it. She asked me not to escalate it or mention anything to coworkers.
The tracker stayed, but the emails stopped.
It was the first time I realized how much pressure was rolling downhill.
Working from home didn’t break work culture, it just exposed it.
When the boundaries disappear, so do a lot of protections people took for granted. If any of these stories felt familiar, you’re definitely not alone. nd if these stories sound familiar, you might also relate to this one about what happens when someone finally pushes back: My Boss Treated Me Like a Servant Until I Finally Pushed Back
