‘Lost one of our best employees’: Startup founder on how refusing a WFH request cost him heavily, netizens weigh in

An Indian-origin co-founder in Dubai has revealed that a refusal to allow remote work led to a resignation and a change in company policy. In a LinkedIn post, Malik A, co-founder of Virtualpartner, shared that one of his best employees had asked to work remotely on Fridays. He said the employee’s work was mostly independent, but he decided not to approve the request.

“I thought if I said yes everyone would ask. The office would be empty on Fridays. It would spiral out of control,” he wrote. Malik said the employee did not argue and simply accepted the decision. “The employee didn’t argue. Just said okay,” he shared.

\The CEO said that the employee resigned two months after the incident and mentioned the rejected work-from-home request in her exit interview. She said it was not the main reason for leaving, but it was the moment she realised that her manager did not trust her.

Malik also explained that the employee had been commuting two hours each way, and Friday traffic was especially difficult. He admitted that allowing one remote day could have made a big difference in her daily life.

“I said no because of a problem that didn’t even exist yet,” he wrote. After the experience, Malik said he changed his approach to workplace flexibility. He now approves every reasonable flexibility request. He added that the office has continued to function normally, and employees have not misused the policy.

 

The post triggered discussion online, with several users sharing their views.

One user wrote, “It’s funny how companies suddenly start listening only after someone resigns. When employees are still around and trying to address real problems, their voices often go unheard. Happens almost everywhere. Glad you saw the importance of flexibility — not everyone does.”

Second user noted, “Good read! Until everyone starts changing their mindset and start trusting people, especially if they have good track record. Things won’t change. Just like tech, people are evolving as well. We can’t expect tech to evolve but people not to.”

A third user commented, “Rules are for the people you don't trust. For everyone else, you need results. It’s wild how often we fear the ‘chaos’ of flexibility only to find that autonomy is actually the greatest driver of accountability. Better to have an empty office on Fridays than an empty desk on Mondays Malik A. !”

The fourth user added, “Out of curiosity, if no one is in the office on Fridays but everyone is still getting their work done and showing up the rest of the week, what difference does it actually make?”