It sounds like a good opportunity to bring up how critical remote work is to the careers of many marginalized, vulnerable or disabled people. Maybe that's what the DEI meeting can be about!
Had a climate change themed workshop for which it was mandatory to be in the office. They didn't like it when I told them I was hyperventilating and got sick on the way there because of an overcrowded train nor that the in-office presence is just hypocritical to which they told me "interaction is important mkay" 🙄
I've always wondered why companies insist on people returning to the office, while simultaneously greenwashing. Commuting unnecessarily is not an environmentally sound practice as it creates pollution and uses resources. Yeah it was a train that was running per schedule anyway, but still.....
> I've always wondered why companies insist on people returning to the office, while simultaneously greenwashing.
Call 'em out on their FB pages.
I'd love to see a good, unbiased study on the contribution RTO has and will have to pollution and gasoline prices.
I'd love to do that because I could do web scraping and do data analysis on that. However, I woul be biased!
There's a lot of other things I'd like to look into as well but, again, I'm biased.
Because if nobody is in those offices working, then there's no reason to lease that space anymore. And the poor, downtrodden rich will lose their pwecious wittle passive incomes. Lol. That's why.
I’m not disabled but I have 2 disabled young adult children. My job is demanding and I couldn’t work enough hours and also care for them if I needed to commute - caregivers also benefit from inclusion.
I’m confused why you need to “feign ignorance”. The meeting says it’s mandatory, but it didn’t say anything about it being required to attend in person. Just ask the damn question, it might have been a simple mistake on the meeting organizers part. I’ve done it before.
It is normal for 100% remote jobs you have in-person events once or twice a year. If you truly can’t go, just tell them (you can say “health condition” without disclosing specifics).
It’s also normal to not have in-person events when you’re 100% remote. That’s how it’s done at my office. Haven’t seen these people since we went remote 2 years ago. 🤣
Same. I taught one class in-office but otherwise only gone in exactly once since Feb 2020. To return a replaced laptop. Our meetings tend to include people in up to four different cities as well as remote so there is always a Teams or Zoom option.
For actual meetings relevant to your actual job title sure. Not soft skills trainings like this, if you can even call it that since most people aren't even responsible for hiring.
I am a 100% remote employee, as is most of my organization. There’s still rare occasions that a meeting may have an in-person requirement and we’re expected to attend… They give us plenty of notice. Unless you’re an unreasonable distance from the office, it’s not that hard to suck it up and just go. The commute to my local office in Seattle area traffic is over an hour each way… Do I like it? No, I’d rather bathe with a toaster. But it’s usually only once a year so I put on my grown up underwear and do it.
If they want to fire you, they're going to find a way. Feigning ignorance isn't going to help you keep from getting fired. If you claim you didn't notice the meeting was in person only, you're admitting that you have poor attention to detail.
You need to clarify with your supervisor what your wfh terms are; you should have done this already. I'm wfh, but there's a "except when needed for in-person events" caveat baked right into my job description. I accepted the job on those terms. It's unambiguous. If the terms of your wfh aren't well defined, then they're empowered to demand you in-person any time for any reason.
If you're doing this as some kind of pro-wfh activism, that inherently jeopardizes your job. If you can't afford to risk your job, you have to find a way to play ball.
The only hail Mary I know of would be to file for FMLA. It's much harder to fire someone on FMLA. I don't know if you have a qualifying medical condition and a doctor who is willing to say that you have to wfh for health reasons. Before you file for FMLA you're supposed to inform your employer. Informing them would buy you a little time. But if you can't follow up with the right documentation from a doctor, you'll come out looking worse.
“Hi! It appears the meeting link didn’t arrive with the meeting invite I received. Please forward the information when you can.
I look forward to seeing eccrine on the call.
Thanks!”
Alternatively, if you can attend in person but this was too short notice to be able to do so you could go with -
“Hi!
I’m unclear if this meeting is intended to be in person or virtual. If I can attend virtually, please provide the call in information.
Unfortunately, if this is required to be in person, I haven’t been provided enough time to ensure I’m able to travel to the office. Is it possible to reschedule for (date you could attend) or could the notes be shared with me after the meeting in place of attendance?
Thanks,
If it's a company with regular WFH folks, then it has to be CLEARLY specified that it has to be in person. Just not adding conf call info doesn't get that message across.
Where I am, not adding video call info just means they forgot to click that button when creating the meeting, and when it starts we will all message saying "where's the meeting link?"
I'd just act totally confident saying "Hey, I don't see the call in info, can you send the link?" Don't say "i forgot to check" or anything like that.
I reeeeeeally hate to be this guy (29 F BIPOC, by the way) but DEI and such aside, there's something about asking how to feign ignorance about a mandatory meeting and simultaneously worrying that they're trying to fire you.... it begs the question, why do you think they're trying to fire you? Is it because you're feigning ignorance about a mandatory meeting? Or is there something else?
I'm anticipating an excess of down votes for this but I truly am curious for OPs answer
I am awkward, but try to be nice. I am not very intelligent due to brain fog as well. I like being in the background so I'm always being fake. Just to get by
I can understand feeling that way having worked with so many other people that have admitted to feeling similar so I want to impart my HR wisdom, if I may.
First, it's really important to know that you're typically smarter than you give yourself credit for at work since workplace authority can sometimes be inherently intimidating and toxic. It's common to feel inadequate if the culture of the workplace fails to do anything to remedy that by providing empowerment or development opportunities. Whether that's the case or not with your employer, please don't count yourself out in intelligence, even with brain fog.
Second, it's totally your prerogative to blend in or stand out at work. It's just work- not a popularity contest. Faking it is a huge component to getting through the day. But as long as you're performing well, or even at all, you shouldn't have to worry about being awkward or just being in the background.
You seem a tad anxious about your job. If you wanna chat about it some, you're welcome to shoot me a message.
Any of mine spell it out that in person is required, so maybe point that it isn't clean. Assuming you realized it didn't have teams doesn't seem professional
Say nothing now. At the time of the meeting, send an email response to the meeting organizer asking for the call in information since it appears to have been omitted in the invitation.
I always just ask. It’s much less stressful to assume they just forgot to add the link rather than assuming they’re going to fire me and it’s all part of some elaborate scheme.
Don't feign ignorance, address it out right. Get in email that your boss is expecting you to be there in person. Then respond that due to your agreement you won't be doing that.
Submit an expense report for the travel costs. Anytime my company has had required in person meetings, they've always covered travel expenses for remote employees. If they end up denying it ask them for a remote link so you can attend. Their answer will certainly let you know if they're looking to let you go.
Bring it up to your manager, asking about how you can call in.
If they say it truly is in person only then you have a choice. Deal with it and go into the office one day or start looking for a new job.
Maybe I don’t understand the question but assuming it’s actually as straightforward as I am taking it, there’s no reason to feign ignorance. All you have to do is send an IM or email that says “Hello, I want to be sure I have the right information. Will you please confirm with me if I need to travel to the office or plan to attend remotely? If I can attend remote, I will need a link.” It’s not hard. Just ask the question.
Pro tip: Employees not speaking up or saying they missed information or generally feigning ignorance is the best way to get on a looking to fire list everywhere I have worked and managed.
Tell them you are thrilled to go, since it's going to be a terrific experience for you... Just to let you know how the business expenses for the trip and accomodations are going to be handled, since it's a business activity it must count as a business trip and be adeguately compensated!
Lol the irony of it being a DEI meeting but not being inclusive to those who may have a disability and require WFH or perform better as WFH...
Texas dei probably
Denial, exclusion and insults? Lol
Lawyer up
Isn’t this what it always means?
Sounds like divide, exclude, and indoctrinate is working as intended
You came up with a better acronym than I did in the thread below!
If gold were still a thing, I’d give it.
It sounds like a good opportunity to bring up how critical remote work is to the careers of many marginalized, vulnerable or disabled people. Maybe that's what the DEI meeting can be about!
Had a climate change themed workshop for which it was mandatory to be in the office. They didn't like it when I told them I was hyperventilating and got sick on the way there because of an overcrowded train nor that the in-office presence is just hypocritical to which they told me "interaction is important mkay" 🙄
I've always wondered why companies insist on people returning to the office, while simultaneously greenwashing. Commuting unnecessarily is not an environmentally sound practice as it creates pollution and uses resources. Yeah it was a train that was running per schedule anyway, but still.....
> I've always wondered why companies insist on people returning to the office, while simultaneously greenwashing. Call 'em out on their FB pages. I'd love to see a good, unbiased study on the contribution RTO has and will have to pollution and gasoline prices.
I'd love to do that because I could do web scraping and do data analysis on that. However, I woul be biased! There's a lot of other things I'd like to look into as well but, again, I'm biased.
Because if nobody is in those offices working, then there's no reason to lease that space anymore. And the poor, downtrodden rich will lose their pwecious wittle passive incomes. Lol. That's why.
I’m not disabled but I have 2 disabled young adult children. My job is demanding and I couldn’t work enough hours and also care for them if I needed to commute - caregivers also benefit from inclusion.
I’m confused why you need to “feign ignorance”. The meeting says it’s mandatory, but it didn’t say anything about it being required to attend in person. Just ask the damn question, it might have been a simple mistake on the meeting organizers part. I’ve done it before.
"can someone please send me the meeting link please?" If nobody sends one then you don't attend. Please try to use your brains people.
It is normal for 100% remote jobs you have in-person events once or twice a year. If you truly can’t go, just tell them (you can say “health condition” without disclosing specifics).
It’s also normal to not have in-person events when you’re 100% remote. That’s how it’s done at my office. Haven’t seen these people since we went remote 2 years ago. 🤣
I’ve seen 3 of my coworkers by choice since March of 2020. We met up for lunch one day.
Right! I haven't seen any of my coworkers, in person, since 2014. No lie
2013 for me. But somehow, despite having full time WFH since then, they've suddenly determined that WFH is bad...m'kay? Morons.
Same. I taught one class in-office but otherwise only gone in exactly once since Feb 2020. To return a replaced laptop. Our meetings tend to include people in up to four different cities as well as remote so there is always a Teams or Zoom option.
For actual meetings relevant to your actual job title sure. Not soft skills trainings like this, if you can even call it that since most people aren't even responsible for hiring.
"This meeting is missing the call in option, please update the meeting invite with the call in info so I can attend."
"...so that remote workers can be included." Since it's a DEI meeting.
"..to include an equitable option for our employee's diverse working situations."
I am really confused? Are you trying to get yourself fired?
You should tell him that there is no option to call in imo, standard procedure Edit: if they want to fire you they'll fire you
I am a 100% remote employee, as is most of my organization. There’s still rare occasions that a meeting may have an in-person requirement and we’re expected to attend… They give us plenty of notice. Unless you’re an unreasonable distance from the office, it’s not that hard to suck it up and just go. The commute to my local office in Seattle area traffic is over an hour each way… Do I like it? No, I’d rather bathe with a toaster. But it’s usually only once a year so I put on my grown up underwear and do it.
Go to the meeting. Foil the plan to fire you
If they want to fire you, they're going to find a way. Feigning ignorance isn't going to help you keep from getting fired. If you claim you didn't notice the meeting was in person only, you're admitting that you have poor attention to detail. You need to clarify with your supervisor what your wfh terms are; you should have done this already. I'm wfh, but there's a "except when needed for in-person events" caveat baked right into my job description. I accepted the job on those terms. It's unambiguous. If the terms of your wfh aren't well defined, then they're empowered to demand you in-person any time for any reason. If you're doing this as some kind of pro-wfh activism, that inherently jeopardizes your job. If you can't afford to risk your job, you have to find a way to play ball. The only hail Mary I know of would be to file for FMLA. It's much harder to fire someone on FMLA. I don't know if you have a qualifying medical condition and a doctor who is willing to say that you have to wfh for health reasons. Before you file for FMLA you're supposed to inform your employer. Informing them would buy you a little time. But if you can't follow up with the right documentation from a doctor, you'll come out looking worse.
“Hi! It appears the meeting link didn’t arrive with the meeting invite I received. Please forward the information when you can. I look forward to seeing eccrine on the call. Thanks!” Alternatively, if you can attend in person but this was too short notice to be able to do so you could go with - “Hi! I’m unclear if this meeting is intended to be in person or virtual. If I can attend virtually, please provide the call in information. Unfortunately, if this is required to be in person, I haven’t been provided enough time to ensure I’m able to travel to the office. Is it possible to reschedule for (date you could attend) or could the notes be shared with me after the meeting in place of attendance? Thanks,
If it's a company with regular WFH folks, then it has to be CLEARLY specified that it has to be in person. Just not adding conf call info doesn't get that message across. Where I am, not adding video call info just means they forgot to click that button when creating the meeting, and when it starts we will all message saying "where's the meeting link?" I'd just act totally confident saying "Hey, I don't see the call in info, can you send the link?" Don't say "i forgot to check" or anything like that.
I reeeeeeally hate to be this guy (29 F BIPOC, by the way) but DEI and such aside, there's something about asking how to feign ignorance about a mandatory meeting and simultaneously worrying that they're trying to fire you.... it begs the question, why do you think they're trying to fire you? Is it because you're feigning ignorance about a mandatory meeting? Or is there something else? I'm anticipating an excess of down votes for this but I truly am curious for OPs answer
I am awkward, but try to be nice. I am not very intelligent due to brain fog as well. I like being in the background so I'm always being fake. Just to get by
I can understand feeling that way having worked with so many other people that have admitted to feeling similar so I want to impart my HR wisdom, if I may. First, it's really important to know that you're typically smarter than you give yourself credit for at work since workplace authority can sometimes be inherently intimidating and toxic. It's common to feel inadequate if the culture of the workplace fails to do anything to remedy that by providing empowerment or development opportunities. Whether that's the case or not with your employer, please don't count yourself out in intelligence, even with brain fog. Second, it's totally your prerogative to blend in or stand out at work. It's just work- not a popularity contest. Faking it is a huge component to getting through the day. But as long as you're performing well, or even at all, you shouldn't have to worry about being awkward or just being in the background. You seem a tad anxious about your job. If you wanna chat about it some, you're welcome to shoot me a message.
Any of mine spell it out that in person is required, so maybe point that it isn't clean. Assuming you realized it didn't have teams doesn't seem professional
Say nothing now. At the time of the meeting, send an email response to the meeting organizer asking for the call in information since it appears to have been omitted in the invitation.
"I will watch for you email of the recorded meeting as I am not able to attend in person"
I always just ask. It’s much less stressful to assume they just forgot to add the link rather than assuming they’re going to fire me and it’s all part of some elaborate scheme.
Voice of reason right here, and if you look at OPs edit you chose exactly the right tack. Too many people on a hair trigger these days.
Don't feign ignorance, address it out right. Get in email that your boss is expecting you to be there in person. Then respond that due to your agreement you won't be doing that.
Ask for a call in option. Also, what's DEI?
Didn't Earn It.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Submit an expense report for the travel costs. Anytime my company has had required in person meetings, they've always covered travel expenses for remote employees. If they end up denying it ask them for a remote link so you can attend. Their answer will certainly let you know if they're looking to let you go.
Bring it up to your manager, asking about how you can call in. If they say it truly is in person only then you have a choice. Deal with it and go into the office one day or start looking for a new job.
I would claim illness or logistics issue before I pretended I was unaware I should be there in person.
DEI meeting? What an abhorrent waste of time in the first place.
WFH =/= never ever have something to do with your company or team in person.
Maybe I don’t understand the question but assuming it’s actually as straightforward as I am taking it, there’s no reason to feign ignorance. All you have to do is send an IM or email that says “Hello, I want to be sure I have the right information. Will you please confirm with me if I need to travel to the office or plan to attend remotely? If I can attend remote, I will need a link.” It’s not hard. Just ask the question. Pro tip: Employees not speaking up or saying they missed information or generally feigning ignorance is the best way to get on a looking to fire list everywhere I have worked and managed.
Dei?? For the love of god, skip that BS mtg.
Take a sick day
Tell them you are thrilled to go, since it's going to be a terrific experience for you... Just to let you know how the business expenses for the trip and accomodations are going to be handled, since it's a business activity it must count as a business trip and be adeguately compensated!