My son had a minor asthma attack tonight. In Minneapolis, we've been advised to shut windows, turn off air conditioners so that we can breathe inside our own homes and avoid going outside. The heat index is expected to be in the upper 90's tomorrow. The current air quality index is 520 (hazardous). Downtown parking is limited and taking public transportation requires standing outside, waiting for the bus/lightrail and the walking several blocks to get to the office.
It's incredible to me that we have had to normalize and navigate new infectious pathogens, violent government occupations of our cities and global warming events such as this and yet the MC requires us to strictly adhere to 1990's style work requirements.
I've been following the rules. I dress business casual, take the bus downtown or pay $20 a day for parking, walk a few blocks and then I sit alone and interact with no one except the clerk at the nearby coffee shop for the entire time I'm there. I don't work with a single person at my hub. And I work in STEM, so there's no reason whatsoever for me to be there if none of my coworkers are there. The time, effort and money it costs me to go sit by myself, under florescent lights in a mostly empty office space feels at the very least absurd and at most, intentionally cruel.
I already know the MC won't address this or show that they care in any way. This might be the last straw for me. I can't take one more obstacle in the way of simply doing the job I was hired to do. I'm a single parent, the air outside is hazardous and I'm currently stressing about meeting my RTO metrics for July. This is beyond stupid. It's malicious.