IRISH TIKTOK STAFF have told The Journal that they fear becoming “absent parents” due to hours-long commutes as a mandate for all employees to return to its Dublin office has come into force after years of hybrid working.

Over 200 workers have delivered a petition to the firm urging it to drop the new rule. 

The majority of TikTok’s workforce of 3000  had to return to the office last week after  they were informed two months prior that the policy change would come into place.

“We recognise this is an adjustment, and we are committed to supporting you through the transition,” a spokesperson for the firm told employees. 

TikTok employs nearly 3,000 members of staff in Ireland, although it laid off in the region of 300 staff in March of this year and has carried out multiple rounds of quiet layoffs since then. 

Employees who have been working from home since the pandemic, including those living in counties outside of Dublin, have voiced their opposition to the policy change. 

In a petition delivered to their employer, they argued that having a work from home option has been particularly valuable for those who don’t live near the office. 

“Many have chosen to live farther away to mitigate high rental costs or due to the unavailability of centrally located housing. This results in long commute times, extending the total time commitment required each day and negatively impacting work-life balance,” the petition said. 

Workers with children react

An employee who has worked for TikTok for over two years told The Journal that for them as a parent, returning to the office will reduce their quality of life. 

“It will challenge my finances drastically, as my public transport and gas expenses will increase to almost double,” she said.

I spend a total of four hours commuting to and from the office on a normal day. It involves one hour on the motorway, plus an hour on public transport. 

“Currently, with the three-day week in the office, I can work with my partner to arrange childcare, but now despite the fact that we are lucky enough to have full-time creche daycare, the creche’s opening times aren’t long enough for me to do a nine hour shift plus four hours of commuting, and I just don’t know how I will sort this out or if they will be flexible at all with it,” she said. 

She added that the time spent commuting will reduce the amount of time she gets to spend with her child. 

“That will impact my own mental health as I deal with the feelings of guilt and helplessness. It gives me so much anxiety to think of just how absent I will be as a parent,” she added. 

Another mother who works for the firm said that she will now have a three hour commute under the new rules, and that she fears that she will no longer be able to be as present a parent for her disabled child as a result. 

“A 5-day return to the office will make it nearly impossible for me to stay in my job. It feels like I’m being pushed out without redundancy, simply because I’m a parent and a carer,” she said. 

The woman who has worked for the firm for over three years said that the full return to the office is causing her a lot of anxiety. 

“It will essentially exclude me from being a present parent. My child needs consistent care, and I cannot balance that with commuting and full-time office attendance. The stress and uncertainty are affecting my family. 

This staff member currently has approval to work from home for a certain period of time, but the exemption is set to expire by a certain date, and she is worried that a new request will be refused.

“I’m struggling to eat and sleep properly, my coffee intake has gone up, and I’m losing weight from the stress. I’m worried that if my reasonable adjustment request doesn’t get future approval, I will face disciplinary action,” she said. 

One employee in their late twenties with an autism diagnosis told The Journal that they requested to continue to work from home ahead of last week’s en masse return to a five-day in-office week, but their request was refused on the grounds that they did not have a medical need to be at home in the firm’s view.

“I’m neurodivergent so I suffer from a lot of sensory issues, and so the exact type of lighting they have in the office and the noise of the office bothers me a lot. I asked for an exemption based on my disability, and it was refused,” he said.

“They said I’m physically capable of getting into the office, so there’s no reason not to,” he added.

Over 100 TikTok employees have joined the Communications Workers’ Union (CWU), in part due to the impact of returning to the office. 

John Bohan of the CWU said that many employees work outside of Dublin, and that many will now spend hours commuting. 

Under the Work Life Balance Act from 2023, Irish workers have a right to ask to work from home if you have worked for your employer for six months. 

Employers have to consider your request and give ‘reasonable business grounds’ for a refusal. 

The law has been described as toothless as though the WRC can review decisions, they have only awarded compensation to employees who were made to return to the office in a few instances. 

TikTok uses a ‘MyRTO’ system, which stands for ‘my return to the office’, to ensure compliance with its policies. 

Previously, this system, which includes the use of swipe badges, was used to enforce a three-day return to the office, which is in Dublin 2.

One employee attempted to take a Workplace Relations Commission case against the firm over the return to office policy, but it was dismissed as TikTok demonstrated that it considered that employee’s work from home request within legal guidelines. 

The Journal asked TikTok for comment.