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I am a currently project coordinator for a major pharmaceutical company, and I will be returning from a 6 month long maternity leave in a few weeks.
My company offers several different telecommuting options and brags that it is one of the best places for working mothers because of their remote options. A few months before I went on maternity leave, HR held a seminar to make the employees aware of these resources. They encouraged people to telecommute and they reassured us throughout the seminar that, "as long as it's OK with your manager, then it's OK with us." Hearing this while 7 months pregnant was a huge relief. I was actually offered another position at a different company, but I did not take it since my current job offered these great options and I wanted to be home a few days a week with my baby.
About a month ago, I contacted my manager and asked for permission to work from home a few days a week - I asked him first before going to HR because the seminar led me to believe that this was the proper protocol. I explained all of the reasons why I wanted to work from home and even offered to write up a proposal if needed. I told him that I would work a full week when I returned, and then would proceed to work the requested days from home the following week. FYI - I already work 1 day a week from home, so I initially asked for 3 days a week, figuring that it would be easier to negotiate 2 days instead, because that's ultimately all the days that I wanted.
My manager told me that he understood that it's hard to find adequate care for your children, (him being a father himself), and said that he didn't have a problem with it as long as HR doesn't have a problem. I was elated because according to the information from the seminar, if he was OK then HR would be OK.
WRONG. He called me back 2 hours later explaining that HR told him that it's not customary for people to work from home 2 or more days a week. He also said that visibility is important. He said that HR is willing to allow me to work 2 days a week from home for a month only, and after that, I would go back to working only 1 day a week from home.
This is extremely frustrating to me for many reasons. Aside from the seminar getting my hopes up, why would they go through all this song and dance to not even allow it in the end? But the fact that many people in my own department and throughout the company work 2-3 days a week from home is what truly irritates me. The teams and accounts that I work with are all overseas, so me telecommuting would actually benefit our team because I would be able to get faster and more 'real-time' feedback from the teams since I would be working early mornings.
I was depending on working from home a few days a week. Aside from the the fact that I want to be home with my child, the cost of daycare/ nanny services in northern NJ is staggering. We got wait-listed for the daycare that we applied to and after interviewing several people, the nanny that I hired can only work 3 days a week.
So once the 1 month passes, how can I negotiate to keep working from home 2 days a week? Can I ask that instead of giving me a bonus this year, to allow me to work the 2 days from home instead?
Any and all help, suggestions or ideas would be much appreciated.
Is the seminar or the telecommuting policy available somewhere to see what the policy actually says? Can you talk to HR to get clarification? Are there multiple HR people who may interpret the policy differently?
@gust - yes, the company is huge so I'm sure the policies get interpreted differently. I took a screenshot of the different options, but I don't have the entire seminar @ hand. I'm sure I could get it somehow (hopefully anyway).
I was thinking of going to HR directly, but I'm worried that my mgnr will take it as I'm going over his head
@gus2 - yes as I mentioned in my OP that the fact that many people in my own department and throughout the company work 2-3 days a week from home is what truly irritates me.
They held the seminar to encourage ppl to take advantage of these options & the company has been featured on many sites & mags as 1 of the best places to work for working mothers b/c of these options. This is what is confusing to me
@gus2 - since it seems like my mgnr changed his mind after he spoke to HR, do u think that I should speak directly to that person in HR or go directly over their head?
I was also thinking of asking my mgnr for a meeting w/us & said HR person once the trial month is up, I'm hoping that it will deter a he said she said scenario
But the fact that many people in my own department and throughout the company work 2-3 days a week from home is what truly irritates me.
I'm curious about this part. Is this a case where because you asked for an official answer from HR, this is the response you got, whereas everyone else is just working from home unofficially? I've worked at many big companies where people just worked from home without any official approval. HR doesn't need to know everything.
Is your physical presence in the office needed more than others/other departments for a business reason?
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