Got hit with the RTO stick today

Cybersecurity gov contractor in DC near the White House. We were at two days/week in cramped ‘hotel’ style desks. CISO got us moved to much better space only two blocks away. After briefing us on the office move they hit us with the RTO hammer – we’ll be going to four days/week in office once the move happens.

The real problem for me is the commute costs: $25/day in tolls and $25/day for parking means $1000/month. Can’t handle Metro (terrible motion sickness), and my attempt to skip half the tolls today ended up doubling the commute time. I hit up my company for some relief but was told that’s gonna be a ‘no’ dogg.

The job is great – the company is cool, the boss folks are cool, the work/tech is interesting enough. It would be a bigrisk going anywhere else, and that’s assuming there is an anywhere else. I haven’t been looking but I hear it’s really nasty out there. If I left I would leave the Federal sector entirely.