New job opp - long commute to suburbs - is requesting WFH for a few days a week reasonable or even worth it?
I am considering an interesting job opportunity that would require a cross-country relocation to a city I am very interested in living in. The problem is, the office is in the suburbs, and the allure of this relocation would be living in the urban parts of the city itself. The commute would likely be 1-1.5 hours each way in rush hour, something that I know would not be sustainable.
The position itself requires some out of state travel and a lot of local market travel to tour properties, so i would only be using the office for 2-3 days a week anyway. I am considering asking if I could work remotely for 2 days a week to help offset that daily commute. I have no interest in living in the suburbs (yet).
Does anyone do this currently or have any thoughts on this? It's a family office. It sounds like a reasonable ask, but I am also worried about the potential effects of not getting a full amount of facetime,
I live 1.5 hours during rush hour from our office, but I choose to work from 6 to 3, so it only takes 45 minutes. They may be more willing to let you shift your working hours a bit than work from home.
One of my friends did the reverse commute from NYC to CT for a while and absolutely hated it, but I also think he just hated the firm he worked at. Would you have to drive out or could you take a train where you could work during the commute? That would make a big difference for me. Regardless, I doubt it would be a huge issue if you WFH a few days per week (especially now that it is becoming more normal).
Not sure if you are talking about the NYC metro region (with job being somewhere like Northern NJ, Westchester/Conn., or Long Island), but "reverse commuters" are a thing for sure around here. I would see if you can gain any insights to see how common it is for people to live in the city and do as you suggest. Frankly, I think it is okay to share this concern/item with them.... "I am very interested but really want to live in the city, do you have other people doing the reverse commute?" Then I would ask to actually speak with someone and see how it works.
That said, even pre-COVID, working 2 days at home when not traveling is very common in NYC region. I did exactly that, and many of us "suburb commuters" do this for similar reason (just reverse the flow). I never asked permission, it was just normal and almost expected. Granted, I am more senior than associate (as are most/all of the suburb commuters). Now, it will remain the norm for awhile I'm guessing.
All that said, with a new job, I would strongly advise as much face to face time as possible, for like the first 3 to 6 months at least. Once acclimated to the firm/team, slipping out 1-2 days is really common. I mean, Fridays may act that way from day one (tends to be common in NYC from time to time).
Final point, if you make this a "sticking point" for accepting the job, it may look bad (or may be fine, esp. post COVID). If you just "do it" you may find its already part of firm culture, you are not likely the first to want to do this or pull it off. Suburban residents do this all the time, they also hate 1.5 hr commutes and seek to minimize.
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