Maybe somebody has some insight into this: why does this succeed in getting people to quit, since that’s the obvious gambit? Why do people not just refuse to come back and get fired for insubordination or whatever? Do you not get unemployment benefits for getting fired for that reason (ignoring that unemployment is a pittance compared to their salaries), or are they packaging these people out with attractive severances or something?
Honestly, IDK. My company is moving their office slightly further away from me. This will add much more commute time because of the location though. I’m already looking for a new job but if I don’t find one by then I’m certainly not going in. We worked 100% remote for over 3 years. I’ll find out what the consequences are.
My situation will be a bit different though since the office location is moving. Seems unreasonable that they’d be able to deny unemployment because of that.
Depending on the country you live in, you should check for mobility clauses in your contract. In many EU countries moving the location of your work requires an employer to come to a “reasonable” agreement with the employer or treat the request as a redundancy (with redundancy pay etc).
It’s usually just enough severance to make it worth it. It’ll be like a month of pay maybe which is worth 6-8 months of unemployment.
And honestly…if they offer a month or two of health insurance on top, you have to take to avoid the cobra fees.
It’s usually an easy choice to take severance.
