How to work remotely even if your company wants you in the office

A few weeks ago, a friend and I grabbed coffee on the Upper East Side.It was a crisp, glorious day, so I asked if she wanted to take our orders to-go and wander around Central Park.Sure, she said, but could we head south along Fifth? She needed to swipe her work badge in Midtown HQ to appear compliant with her company’s thrice-weekly in-office requirements — and then hop on the N/R train right back home to Astoria.Several years into hybrid work schedules, my pal isn’t the only one getting creative with skirting company policies.

And, as news broke recently that Amazon is demanding all its worker bees return to the office, remote and hybrid employees of all stripes are starting to get a bit nervous that the return-to-office summons will be landing in their inbox, too.Ahead, experts share their best strategies for getting around butts-in-chairs mandates.This advice comes from Joshua Bienstock, JD, LLM, an associate professor in the Department of Human Resource Management at New York Tech, who has been a practicing employment and labor lawyer for 30 years.First, you’ll want to make sure you understand your company’s hybrid work policy.“Some mandates might have built-in flexibility, such as the option to swap in-office days or work from home for specific reasons,” said Bienstock.Next up, you’ll want to speak to your manager.

Engage in a candid dialogue about the policy’s flexibility, advised Bienstock.“Some managers might be more lenient or open to individual arrangements,” he said.Dr.

Kyle Elliott, MPA, EdD, tech career coach of CaffeinatedKyle.com, based in Santa Barbara, Calif., agreed that some employees are circumventing stringent return-to-office mandates by gaining their individual manager’s buy-in to work remotely full time.Of course, it may be hard to obtain a so-called “hushed hybrid” work schedule if your boss is strictly by the book.Take note that this practice can also “leave fellow employees resentful if their manager is l...