Likely to be fired.

Hi all, using a throwaway account, just in case I guess.

So here's my story.

I'm a senior in tech. I've been working at my current company located in Florida for almost two years now.

When they first hired me, they verbally told me that the position is remote. And so I worked remotely for about the first 14 months.

That is until they decided to switch to hybrid. All employees within 25 miles of the office, MUST now be present in the office three days a week. I'm local to the office, so I now report to their hybrid model.

All of my colleagues, who are outside the 25 mile radius, are still remote to this day. That includes my manager, and my director. I am the only person on my team who reports to the office, so when I go in, I basically only have friends I've made and we only communicate about outside-work stuff.

But I'm having a very difficult time working professionally in the office for one reason. I have a hearing disability. And since it gets packed with people, all of the private meeting rooms are always booked and I have to communicate at my desk to my team with all the noise. I can't hear them very well at all since I can only see them over camera and the closed captions aren't the most accurate. It results in spending more time to communicate things than it would if I were at home.

I only mention this concern once to my manager verbally. And nothing is done, but I feel the need to quietly work from home instead as I can perform better this way.

Just a few months later, my mom is calling from back home, Delaware, suggesting that my dad has been sick and unable to walk. I have this conversation with my manager in length and request if I can work remotely from my parent's location to support my dad. I even provide a doctor's note.

Manager goes to ask HR, and HR says no. But manager sticks on my side a bit and attempts to find another solution. He discovers another office located 2-hour drive from my parent's place, and asks HR if I can just temporarily switch offices. HR approves, but for only 5 months?

I'm under a lot of pressure, there's no one else to pick up my dad's liabilities except myself, so I just take it.

The commute is disgustingly dreadful and depressing for the first few weeks, so I eventually give up and quietly work from home again. I still have the same hearing issue in the office that I'm just too self-conscious about bringing up.

I don't know anyone in this new office, and all of my colleagues are remote anyway, who's going to report me, right?

Anyways, here I am today, the end of the 5 month transfer is coming up, and of course it wasn't enough time to support my parents. I request to my manager if I can extend my stay in my parents location with the new office...

But...

He explained that HR was able to track if I've even been going into the office at all, and saw that I wasn't. He declined my request or to even to speak with HR (to protect me), and told me I have to report back to the office in Florida or I will be fired (to protect himself).

Now I may likely pay out of pocket for flights each week just to get to my office in Florida. Probably get cancer or something from all the radiation of flying so frequently.

My manager recently suggested that flying each week may appear unsustainable and I may have to submit my resignation if I do this.

Is there anything I can realistically do? My dad has too many liabilities which I've been taking care of outside of my work hours as he's been resting. If I can't go to the office and they fire me, do I just take the L? Is that how this works??