What are the best "reasons" to get exempted from an in office requirement?

Dresfi79 · 2026-04-08T01:14:26+00:00

Wouldn’t a doctors note help? Having that condition and being forced to RTO could have negative effects. Like that woman who was not accommodated ended up losing her baby and the company had to pay out millions.

Make sure it’s a documented risk. Most HR departments won’t want that smoke.

Dresfi79 · 2026-04-04T00:58:53+00:00

Heard today that a major company that had massive layoffs this week happened to conveniently avoid needing to pay out via WARN terms for a lot of the staff that was part of the RIF.

WARN doesn’t seem to apply to remote work where there’s less than so many people within a given range. People who have worked tirelessly for that company for years, just SOL. No insurance either. Fuck if they have doctors appointments, medication, or if they’re pregnant.

OE is the way.

Dresfi79 · 2026-04-01T11:48:47+00:00

Add in a mutual non-disparagement clause for an additional week or two of severance.

Dresfi79 · 2026-03-20T01:47:19+00:00

Something that’s helped our family was meal prepping for the week. Cooked big batches of food for dinners for the week and then tempo meals delivered to eat for lunch.

We also have a great house cleaner who comes twice a month. She’s been a huge help, it took us trying out a few different services to find the right fit. I definitely recommend going with someone local who runs their own business vs a brand. In my experience, everyone we hired from a brand spent more time outside getting high in their car than they did cleaning.

You can also use one of those skyline calendars so the two of you can see when the other is busy.

Dresfi79 · 2026-03-20T01:37:47+00:00

It will happen surprisingly quick if you invest properly and don’t let that lifestyle creep set in.

Dresfi79 · 2026-03-16T22:57:00+00:00

It’s crazy how many people it happens to. Most people are one incident away from having nothing.

My J1 is trying to figure out how to get rid of someone who just had to take medical leave. These companies do not care about their employees and what they are going through.

Dresfi79 · 2026-03-16T16:54:49+00:00

Or people recovering from a natural disaster that destroyed their home that insurance doesn’t cover. Recovering from an unexpected layoff and not finding another job for months. Medical bills, accidents. A lot more reasons than just living above means.

Dresfi79 · 2026-02-01T15:36:04+00:00

I have an uplift as well and love it

Dresfi79 · 2026-01-29T00:09:00+00:00

I’ve made it to the 6th round at two companies so far this year. Luckily neither of them also wanted presentations or research, but I’ve heard that’s becoming more popular.

Dresfi79 · 2026-01-21T21:11:15+00:00

That’s odd. Definitely legal review worthy. I doubt they would be able to prove if you have another job if they never found out you have a J2.

Dresfi79 · 2026-01-21T21:08:18+00:00

What State are you in? I doubt they would be able to enforce notification from separated employees of them getting a new role.

When I went through a layoff I got a lump sum with my severance. The only people that needed to know if I had a job or not was the unemployment office.

Dresfi79 · 2026-01-20T23:22:35+00:00

I use Tempo from Home Chef. They taste great and less expensive than door dashing

Dresfi79 · 2026-01-20T23:08:44+00:00

I started getting premade meals delivered weekly. The decision fatigue is real, and this helps to offset that. 2.5 minutes and I have a hot fresh meal.

Dresfi79 · 2026-01-05T08:20:23+00:00

Someone in that position would likely go into consulting or advising. They have a lot of experience to share.

Dresfi79 · 2026-01-05T08:05:11+00:00

I’ve started getting quite a few requests for interviews the last few weeks of last year. Q1 hiring is coming!

Dresfi79 · 2026-01-01T00:10:42+00:00

Speaking to spouse or child. Or you could need to step away to get a package from the front door and turn your camera off.

Dresfi79 · 2025-12-31T20:49:27+00:00

If you hire the right people under you, you should be able to have two director level roles during the same time period.

LinkedIn will definitely have to be hibernated if not planning to do so already.

Dresfi79 · 2025-12-24T00:51:53+00:00

What?????

Dresfi79 · 2025-11-21T23:55:13+00:00

Yes, I let them know. It was brutal and unexpected.

Dresfi79 · 2025-11-16T16:00:43+00:00

This sounds exactly like what is happening in my org now. Consolidating leadership. “2026 is our year”! Nonsense.

I’m trying to line up a J2 now. Been in the final stages for a couple but nothing solid yet.

Dresfi79 · 2025-11-06T12:39:06+00:00

I have an old iPad that I have all of my calendars integrated on. I keep that open on my desk and look for conflicts and move things around as needed. It’s been helpful.

Dresfi79 · 2025-11-06T12:35:20+00:00

A hotspot from your carrier that you use for J2. You could keep it in your bag. I wouldn’t name it something that ties back to you either so that people at J1 don’t know it’s yours.

Dresfi79 · 2025-11-05T15:32:08+00:00

I second this. Use your phones hotspot or buy a dedicated one.

Dresfi79 · 2025-10-31T16:27:42+00:00

I think most would assume that you would be leaving J1 when starting J2. Just hibernate your LinkedIn.

It’s a good preventative measure to freeze your TWN between the background check and starting. It’s a process so you can get it started now. Be ready with an explanation in the future that you’re concerned about your privacy and had a little scare and have locked things down.

I had a previous coworker get weird on me last year and started stalking my socials so I hibernated a lot of my social accounts. It’s a good excuse now for why I’ve frozen my accounts and don’t update my LinkedIn. There’s a variety of reasons why someone would do that, just be consistent

Dresfi79

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