Living too far from work = don't come in/late in poor weather. Discuss.

[Scubanewbie]

I think there will always be users of any company policy.  It's on the company to design a policy that makes it as fair as possible to all.  IMO that's usually that REQUIRED personnel come in (and get an incentive for making it work) and others don't if it's truly going to be awful.  If it's marginally bad, WFH if possible and take PTO/vacation if you can't and still choose not to drive.  I'm generally pretty fearless when it comes to driving, but I grew up in WI and put good tires on my little Civic (which I think drives fantastic in snow).  I didn't judge my teammate 10 years ago for not driving in maybe 5 times per year due to storms...because I found out he was a nervous/phobic driver in snow/ice.  He wasn't a slacker, he just hated driving in bad weather.  And offered to take PTO when it came up.  Luckily we didn't have jobs where anyone picked up his slack, it was just waiting for him the next day.  I did score brownie points with my work-a-holic boss at the time for being the only ones in the office on a particularly bad day, but I was also young/childless at the time.  Honestly my guess is if there's a person TRULY taking advantage of the situation, they're making you crazy for other reasons. 

Someone who is otherwise a conscientious employee but doesn't drive in bad weather = not a problem. 
Someone who takes advantage of every opportunity to slack off (including bad weather days) = a problem

[Knitwit]

I really think this depends on the culture of where you live.

When I lived on the east coast of Canada, everything there would shut down if more than about 8 inches of snow fell. This was even with snow tires, sufficient plowing equipment, etc.

I live now in central Canada and here, you would be ridiculed if you took a "snow day" for any amount of snow or cold. Eight inches of snow here means "leave early".  People are often late after the first snowstorm of the year, as if they forgot that snow means that traffic will be slower, but lateness after any subsequent snowstorms is treated the same as lateness in the middle of summer.

I can see how things would be vastly different for places that are not prepared or equipped to handle large amounts of snow. I can understand how an inch of snow in a place where it never snows can be devastating, especially when it comes to driving in it. Winter driving is a skill (it's more than just winter tires!).

[RetiredAt63]

Even in areas that have real winters, snow removal (good or bad) can have major effects, and so can a few vehicles that are not prepared.  I drove 90 km after a snowstorm (to Ottawa) with no problems, and then took 20 minutes to take an off-ramp that normally took about 30 seconds.  I saw a major on-ramp closed in Montreal (off Cote de Liesse onto the Met, for those who live there) because a truck and a van both got stuck - between them, no-one could get through.  Traffic ended up backed up almost the length of Cote de Liesse.  So even in areas that usually cope well with snow, some streets can be impassable because of local issues, and if you are stuck, you are stuck.

It also depends on the kind of snow - a few centimeters of really wet heavy snow (you know, the shovel and have a heart attack stuff) can be more trouble than 20 cm of light fluffy snow.  But it makes great snowmen.

And this is so on topic, we are expecting 20-30cm tonight and tomorrow, and I am retired.  No places I have to be - gloat.  If it isn't too sticky, there may be some cross-country skiing out back tomorrow afternoon.

[jorjor]

I used to go in no matter what. Now...screw that. I work from home when it snows. I don't want to ride my bike around cars in slippery conditions and limited visibility, nor do I want to drive around everyone else. I prefer to be in the office most days since I like the direct interaction with my teams, but I don't really need to be present in the office all the time to do my job. My company set up my home office with the exact same computer/monitor/phone setup as in my office. We have people who work from home most or all of the time. No one cares.

[Gerard]

I much prefer my colleagues alive, but I don't care if it takes them four hours to get to work because of where they live. Maybe eventually they'll learn something from the process.

What should I have learned from the process?

Probably nothing. Your situation sounds like it was a Perfect Storm of crap, jakejake, and I'm glad you got through it.

My colleagues, though, with tenure and high-paying jobs, should have learned not to build mcmansions in the sticks and then expect a bye on their slack work attendance, especially as our workplace is in a city with excellent cheap housing options within easy walking distance.

[nottoscale]

This came up for me yesterday, crazy snow/sleet/ice storm.  I biked in and got sideways glances from my co workers. The storm kept going all day and at quitting time I was getting on my bike gear to ride home.  I got called stupid and told to take a cab and all this other stuff.  I have a helmet, enough lights to decorate a Christmas tree, and have biked in snow for years.  I understand you can't trust other drivers but a bus could kill me on a clear spring day too. 

Boss man and I were talking at the end of the night and he saw my rain gear half on. He said charge a cab to the company (and back in to the office in the AM) or sleep in the office. So I wimped out and took the ride home.

[therethere]

I am well in favor of the policy of work from home in inclement weather. I am happy that my work abides by this. Almost everyone works from home if it snows more than a few inches and it is encouraged. I only live 3 miles from work and I used to feel like I had to come in. But in reality, the 3 miles through downtown is usually in much worse condition than the roads in the burbs which get sunshine and are plowed. I no longer feel obligated and stay home along with everyone else.

[Jakejake]

Your situation sounds like it was a Perfect Storm of crap, jakejake, and I'm glad you got through it.

My colleagues, though, with tenure and high-paying jobs, should have learned not to build mcmansions in the sticks and then expect a bye on their slack work attendance, especially as our workplace is in a city with excellent cheap housing options within easy walking distance.

Thanks for that, and sorry I got snippy with you.

[ABC123]

This whole issue makes me chuckle.  I grew up in Wisconsin, so I learned how to drive in the snow.  But I now live in Tennessee.  We don't get much snow, therefore we don't have the road equipment to deal with it.  Several years ago, the company issued everyone laptops.  Now, if there is even a possibility of bad weather, we are expected to take our laptops home.  I work in an office, so what we do can be done anywhere.  Last winter, we had a bunch of snow and ice followed by 2 straight weeks of below freezing temperatures.  Since it never got above freezing, the ice never melted.  And the standard snow policy in this part of the country is that you just wait for it to melt -- snowplows are few and far between.  I live on the main road in my neighborhood, and it was 7 days from the time the snow/ice first fell to the time when the first plow came through my road.  And it wasn't even a snowplow, it was a backhoe that was pulled into service to scrape the roads.  It was a mess, but I was very glad to be able to stay home and not have to venture out into all that. 
   The schools here get cancelled for the least little flurry.  Growing up, we could get a foot of snow at midnight, but the plows got out and we were in school the next morning.  The kids here get far more snow days than we ever did up north.

[big_owl]

I dream of big snowstorms as an excuse to stay home.  In 2009/2010 when we had the three snowmageddon storms in the DC area I had to miss 2-3 days of work for each storm.  Technically I "worked" from home....but that really just meant that I played around out in the snow.  We don't have a snowblower so shoveling my 200ft+ driveway of 30" of snow on a steep hill by hand was a 2-3 day task as it was anyway. 

Some people at work bragged about how they got in with their monstrous trucks, but it was impossible for me to drive in my WRX, the snow was up to the hood of the car...no amount of snow tires can solve that.

But guess what, I studied hard, got an engineering degree where I am paid on salary and give plenty more "free time" to the company than I get back.  If anybody has any problems with me staying home a couple days a year because I live far away and don't want to deal with the weather then tough shit - eat a dick.

[mm1970]

I dream of big snowstorms as an excuse to stay home.  In 2009/2010 when we had the three snowmageddon storms in the DC area I had to miss 2-3 days of work for each storm.  Technically I "worked" from home....but that really just meant that I played around out in the snow.  We don't have a snowblower so shoveling my 200ft+ driveway of 30" of snow on a steep hill by hand was a 2-3 day task as it was anyway. 

Some people at work bragged about how they got in with their monstrous trucks, but it was impossible for me to drive in my WRX, the snow was up to the hood of the car...no amount of snow tires can solve that.

But guess what, I studied hard, got an engineering degree where I am paid on salary and give plenty more "free time" to the company than I get back.  If anybody has any problems with me staying home a couple days a year because I live far away and don't want to deal with the weather then tough shit - eat a dick.

I was in DC for the Blizzard of '96. It was a fun one.

We were having a going away party on a Friday night for a guy who had been with our government office for 40 years (and he was not fully retiring, he was going into consulting). Anyway, big wigs including Captains, Admirals, and other civilian leaders flew in from ALL OVER for his party, which was held at a hotel across the street from work (coincidentally, where my wedding reception was, and also coincidentally, 1 mile from my apartment).

It started snowing on Friday night, and did not stop.

Most of the people who flew in got stuck.  For days.

Over a 10 day period, the government was closed for 9 of them (one day was a Federal holiday, but the rest?  Snow.)  We had back to back snowstorms.

I had two friends from two different offices (one mine, one at the Pentagon) decide to go into work on a "closed day". 
The Pentagon guy took the metro, but then the rails froze over and it shut down.
The coworker guy drove his Cavalier, but his car stopped running and the wipers stopped working.

They BOTH called me asking if they could come hang at my place.  I said sure.  It was a tiny studio, and a mess, and in full view of the Pentagon.  They both made it home eventually later that day.

But man, it got old eventually.  I ventured out to go to a stamp show for my step-dad. But weather was so bad even Pentagon City Mall (a block from my apartment) was closed most of the time.  I couldn't even go to a movie.

http://wjla.com/weather/blizzard-of-1996-anniversary-crippling-d-c-snow-17674

[big_owl]

I dream of big snowstorms as an excuse to stay home.  In 2009/2010 when we had the three snowmageddon storms in the DC area I had to miss 2-3 days of work for each storm.  Technically I "worked" from home....but that really just meant that I played around out in the snow.  We don't have a snowblower so shoveling my 200ft+ driveway of 30" of snow on a steep hill by hand was a 2-3 day task as it was anyway. 

Some people at work bragged about how they got in with their monstrous trucks, but it was impossible for me to drive in my WRX, the snow was up to the hood of the car...no amount of snow tires can solve that.

But guess what, I studied hard, got an engineering degree where I am paid on salary and give plenty more "free time" to the company than I get back.  If anybody has any problems with me staying home a couple days a year because I live far away and don't want to deal with the weather then tough shit - eat a dick.

I was in DC for the Blizzard of '96. It was a fun one.

We were having a going away party on a Friday night for a guy who had been with our government office for 40 years (and he was not fully retiring, he was going into consulting). Anyway, big wigs including Captains, Admirals, and other civilian leaders flew in from ALL OVER for his party, which was held at a hotel across the street from work (coincidentally, where my wedding reception was, and also coincidentally, 1 mile from my apartment).

It started snowing on Friday night, and did not stop.

Most of the people who flew in got stuck.  For days.

Over a 10 day period, the government was closed for 9 of them (one day was a Federal holiday, but the rest?  Snow.)  We had back to back snowstorms.

I had two friends from two different offices (one mine, one at the Pentagon) decide to go into work on a "closed day". 
The Pentagon guy took the metro, but then the rails froze over and it shut down.
The coworker guy drove his Cavalier, but his car stopped running and the wipers stopped working.

They BOTH called me asking if they could come hang at my place.  I said sure.  It was a tiny studio, and a mess, and in full view of the Pentagon.  They both made it home eventually later that day.

But man, it got old eventually.  I ventured out to go to a stamp show for my step-dad. But weather was so bad even Pentagon City Mall (a block from my apartment) was closed most of the time.  I couldn't even go to a movie.

http://wjla.com/weather/blizzard-of-1996-anniversary-crippling-d-c-snow-17674

Wasn't 1996 the year of the "perfect storm"?  I thought I remember news about that from when I was younger.  I lived in Michigan up until 2004 so didn't experience any real snowy nor'easters until 2009/2010.  In Southern Maryland we had 29" on the first storm and then 23" on the second and 19" on the third.  I love snow so it was like heaven.  Unfortunately unlike Michigan the snow down here is super heavy and wet and is impossible to shovel.  Plus it always seems to occur when the ground is warm so the driveway forms this 1" layer of slush under the heavy snow which makes it very difficult to get a snowblower to work properly on.

[golden1]

Normally in Boston it is pretty frowned upon to miss work for snow unless it is a foot or more, or blizzard conditions during rush hour.  In fact, it is considered a badge of honor to get to work in the worst conditions. 

Last winter blew a lot of that out of the water, especially for people who rely on public transportation.  The T died for a month, basically, because we just didn't have the resources to keep up with multiple blizzards back to back. and a lot of people missed a lot of work.  Our company cancelled for 4 days last winter, which is unheard of, basically because of blizzard conditions making it impossible to drive, or the state closing the major roadways or issuing travel bans or advisorys.  However, a lot of people just could not make it in, and some were out for many days at a time because they just had no way to get here. 

I have lived here for 30+ years and I have never seen anything like it, and I hope to never experience a winter like that again. 

[Daisy]

Storms and floods are a great reason to work from home. I have a job that can be done remotely a lot of the times. And many meetings are held on hangouts because of people from other cities calling in.

Any excuse to work from home is welcomed by me.

Lots of rain? Perfect. Note that my area floods easily so I don't want a stuck car situation complicating my life.

Hurricane watch, not warning? Perfect. I have to get my and my elderly parents house ready for storm. Usually office off days are only for an actual hurricane warning.

8 or 9 am call on hangouts? Especially on a Monday morning? You can bet I am doing that from home. Not my problem that the company sends so much work to Asia 12 hours away. I'm doing that call from home instead of driving in rush hour traffic. The alternative is to drive in rush hour traffic and find a quiet room by myself at work to do the call from...not gonna happen.

SWAMI-HOOD and FU money is fabulous.

[Gerard]

snippy

Hey, you were borderline snippy at worst. And I got to practice not being snippy in responding, a skill I need.

I've been thinking about this thread recently, after hosting my sweetie's mom for a week. She was able to turn any weather report other than full sun into OMG Looming Disaster, eventually devolving into this conversation:
Sweetie's Mom: Do you think Sweetie will be able to get to work today?
Me: Yes. By wearing boots.

It reminded me that even "real" obstacles like snowstorms actually exist in multiple parallel universes, depending on our attitudes and the tools we have to deal with things and our ability to decide for ourselves what counts as a problem.