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'Role was initially fully remote': Employee says company now wants 115 km daily commute
A company's shift from work from home to hybrid work left one employee facing a 115 km daily commute.
A company's shift from fully remote work to a hybrid arrangement has prompted one employee to reconsider their job. The employee, who said they were hired for a work from home role, shared that they are now expected to travel around 115 km a day for two consecutive days every week.
The employee turned to Reddit for advice ahead of a job interview, wondering whether the long commute was a valid reason to mention while explaining their decision to switch jobs.
The post was shared on Reddit with the title, "2 days of commuting, 115 km/day. Is this a valid reason for job change?"
The employee wrote, "I'm a Marketing Specialist with five years of experience and have been with my current company for one year and four months. This is my third company, by the way."
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They added that there had been no clear communication regarding appraisals. The bigger concern, however, was the company's move from a fully remote setup to a hybrid model, which now requires them to travel about 115 km a day for two consecutive days every week.
The employee also revealed they had an interview lined up for another fully remote role and asked fellow Reddit users, "Is it valid to mention the increased commute as one of the reasons for looking for a job change? Or please help me with smart answers."
Later, they shared an update after the interview.
"So the interview happened and, obviously, they asked the highly anticipated question. I said there are lay-offs going on in my very small company, which is true. Then I slyly inserted that they have opened an office that is 60 km away," they wrote.
The employee added that when asked why they were only looking for remote jobs, they clarified, "Not remote, but at least a feasible commute is what I'm looking for. Let's see what happens next. Thanks, kind people of Reddit, for engaging!"
Read the full story here.
Reddit users weigh in
One user wrote, "Common for Delhi to Gurugram and Delhi to Greater Noida. This is why I took release from my older projects. I never understood why companies have very far-off offices."
Another commented, "What if the next job also starts as fully remote and then management does its thing?"
A third advised, "Always cite career growth as the reason. Also, tell the company you're interviewing with that you're genuinely interested in what they do and not just the remote flexibility."
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One Reddit user offered a different perspective, writing, “Just be careful how you frame it. A 115 km commute twice a week works out to roughly 900 km a month. If this was a regular office job, that would be around a 40 km daily commute, which honestly isn't that much.”
Another summed up their own experience by saying, "I'm crying as I travel 54 km per day, five days a week."
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
