Anyone FORCED to come to the office Wednesday regardless of the weather? (Atlanta: hotel, home)

[I'm Retired Now]

All the talk about everyone staying off the roads on Wednesday reminds me how naive the media is about business. Back when I was working full time, I was forced to come into work many times during blizzards and ice storms. The boss told me and my coworkers that if we did not come into work we would be FIRED.

Any Atlanta residents told they HAVE TO come into work Wednesday regardless of road conditions?

[lorilove]

I don't believe there are as many mean greedy employers as you think. That is not to say that there are not some stupid inconsiderate bosses and some of them work for really great employers.

I know at my sisters office, the admins are managed by someone remote and not in Atlanta. They had trouble getting permission to close the office and leave early but it had more to do with the decision maker from up north being out of touch with the issue. The professionals are managed by someone else and had no problem leaving early. I find it foolish that no one local could jump in on behalf of the admins. But this is an example of a generally good employer but bad decisions being made by one individual.

[midtown mile girl]

The governor has declared a state of emergency. If you are not a public safety worker or work at a hospital, you are supposed to stay home when the ice starts.

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by midtown mile girl

The governor has declared a state of emergency. If you are not a public safety worker or work at a hospital, you are supposed to stay home when the ice starts.

I'm not sure that folks are supposed to stay home. Generally, a state of emergency is dependent on the emergency itself. A war, a 9/11 attack and the like may give rise to heightened executive powers. A storm, on the other hand, likely does not give the executive branch the right to suspend civil liberties; however, it likely gives the executive branch the right to suspend certain public services, such as school operations and road access in order to allow emergency vehicles and road clearing equipment unfettered access. Your point, however, is well taken - folks oughta stay home if possible.

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by I'm Retired Now

All the talk about everyone staying off the roads on Wednesday reminds me how naive the media is about business. Back when I was working full time, I was forced to come into work many times during blizzards and ice storms. The boss told me and my coworkers that if we did not come into work we would be FIRED.

Any Atlanta residents told they HAVE TO come into work Wednesday regardless of road conditions?

Glad you are starting a thread on this. I've already said that whenever the weather is serious enough, then except for emergency officials, people should have the right to stay home from work. Let's hope that none of this happens. Because if it does, anyone who is punished for not going to work tomorrow should raise some serious hell.

[I'm Retired Now]

But the same people who think that everyone should stay home (the media) will report on the retail businesses and restaurants that are open. The same places that force employees to make their way into work regardless of risk, or they will be fired!

[erick295]

I've seen a lot of people miss work for all kinds of reasons but I've never heard a manager threaten to fire anyone outside of movies and TV. If you hear that a lot you probably need to stop making enemies.

[ATLTJL]

I can speak to this.

My employer told us all to be smart and do what makes us feel safe. HOWEVER, there is IMMENSE PRESSURE to make it into work, despite the fact that there is absolutely nothing about being at the office that can not be done from home. We are very technologically advanced and use video conferencing all the time, and we all have laptops equipped with the software and cameras. We have some clients in cities that we have never even met, we just use video conferencing.

I started to go to work this morning. When I left at 8am, sleet started hitting my windshield and it was accumulating on grass and on parked cars up by me. I said skrew this, turned around, and went home. I worked from home, and I figured if they don't like it, they can suck an egg. In normal circumstances, I would have gone to work, but in light of what happened 2 weeks ago, I decided not to risk it.

---------BUT-----------

I have also worked for a 24 hour business, where workers are expected to report to work no matter what. HOWEVER, that business has a robust storm plan and provides housing for stranded employees at a nearby 4-star hotel that is within easy walking distance. Employees stranded at work cover for employees that are stranded at home, so whichever one you are depends on when you were due in.

SO, I think it's fine to ask people to report to work so long as you have some kind of plan to keep them safe once they are there. Of course, not everybody can do this....you might have kids, or a dog, or some other reason why you would not be able to be away from home for 3 days. These people are accommodated.

If you have a job where you can just as easily work from home, or in a business where a missed day is no big deal, then I think employers put themselves at great risk by pressuring or requiring employees to report in. Not only could it be a court case, it can only lead to horrible reviews on Glassdoor and make it extremely difficult for that employer to recruit quality employees in the future.

[ElleKaye]

I have never been threatened with firing for not showing up to work. I work from home sometimes to though so it's not going in is giving me a break.

At my first job, there was a hurricane coming to the area. Anyway, my manager said we should call the next morning to confirm whether the office would be opened or closed. I worked on the 18th floor of a bldg surrounded on two sides by water. Oh please, I never called to check because there was no chance I was going to work that next day. After the waters receded two days later and we could get in the parking garage without a boat, I went in like nothing happened so I'm assuming that message said they were closed.

I know jobs can sometimes be hard to come by and you do what you have to do. I may not always err on the side of caution, but I'm not willing to risk life and limb.

[OneTrickNet]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

I have also worked for a 24 hour business, where workers are expected to report to work no matter what. HOWEVER, that business has a robust storm plan and provides housing for stranded employees at a nearby 4-star hotel that is within easy walking distance. Employees stranded at work cover for employees that are stranded at home, so whichever one you are depends on when you were due in.

I have a friend who works at CNN and this is typically how they operate. For persons in non-critical positions, they can work from home or whatever. For folks who support the network operations/on-air stuff they usually can get a company-sponsored stay at the Omni or something. Or, if you're required to work but can't make it in, the people already there will cover with some sort of schedule swap agreement.