In September, Ron Telemarque was given 11 days to make a difficult decision: leave his job at Paramount Skydance — or prepare to work from the office five days a week. He’s confident he made the right choice.
For the first half of this year, Telemarque commuted to the office two days a week in his role as senior manager of deal finance strategy. When management changes tied to the company’s merger bumped that up to three days for his team starting in September, Telemarque and his wife began preparing a childcare plan for their four-year-old daughter on the days he’d have to make the 90-minute, one-way commute.
But on September 4, their plans were scrambled. David Ellison, who became CEO in August following the merger’s closing, issued an ultimatum to most employees: return to the office five days a week starting in January, or accept a severance package by September 15.
“They dropped the bomb: ‘Hey, it’s five days a week — take it or leave it,'” Telemarque said.
Over the past year, Business Insider has spoken with more than a dozen workers like Telemarque who have been affected by return-to-office mandates. Several large employers — including Amazon, JPMorgan, AT&T, and Microsoft — have rolled back remote work policies, prompting some employees to reconsider where they live, how they manage childcare, and whether to stay in their jobs.
While some workers are happy to return to the office for camaraderie and a change of scenery, others have requested flexibility from their managers or parted ways with their employers. At Paramount, about 600 employees accepted severance packages after the company announced its new five-day office policy. In the September 4 memo to employees, Ellison said that “in-person collaboration is absolutely vital to building and strengthening our culture and driving the success of our business.”
Telemarque shared the personal and professional factors he weighed when deciding whether to stay at Paramount — and how he feels about that choice months later.
Deciding whether to commit to a 5-day commute
When Telemarque joined Paramount, then called ViacomCBS, in 2021, he worked remotely with the understanding that he’d eventually be required to follow a hybrid schedule. This ultimately meant commuting to the company’s Manhattan office two days a week, starting in early 2022.
Telemarque said the two-day commute from Stamford, where he and his wife began renting in 2020, included a 20-minute walk to the train station, a 45- to 50-minute train ride, and another 20-minute walk from Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan.
He said the commute was manageable from both a personal and childcare standpoint for him and his wife, who works remotely as a full-time marketing director. Telemarque would drop off their daughter at preschool and handle other childcare duties on Mondays and Fridays, while his wife covered those responsibilities on the days he commuted.
“With that kind of work style, I could do it because my commute, though long, still felt doable,” said the 41-year-old.
However, Telemarque wasn’t sure he could manage a five-day commute. It was a question he was forced to confront in early September, when he learned he had 11 days to decide whether to accept a severance package — which, for him, included two months of pay — or prepare for a full-time return to the office in January.
One major consideration was how a five-day commute would affect the time he spent with his daughter, whom he already saw less in the mornings and evenings on the days he commuted. He added that his job sometimes required evening work, but the ability to work from home had made those days more manageable. Under the new policy, he figured he’d likely be spending more of those late hours in the office — and away from his daughter.
“For me to be at the office, that means I’m going to get up early, probably not see my kid, and then when I come back, they’re probably in bed,” he said.
Another consideration was how the new schedule would affect his wife, who would have to take on more childcare responsibilities. While her ability to work remotely provided some flexibility, Telemarque said there’s a chance she could also eventually face a return-to-office mandate.
There was also the question of whether they’d be willing to move closer to Manhattan to shorten his commute — a decision that could mean breaking their lease before it ended the following August, finding a new home, and enrolling their daughter in a new school.
Making the decision — and trying to move on
As Telemarque weighed his options, he said it felt like the September 15 decision deadline was approaching fast. He struggled to get comfortable with the lifestyle adjustments a five-day commute would require — and how he and his wife could make it work.
Beyond the logistics, Telemarque said he also felt uneasy about the direction Paramount was heading under its new leadership. He found it somewhat frustrating that he had performed well enough to earn a promotion in a hybrid environment — yet couldn’t retain that flexibility under the company’s new expectations.
Ultimately, he decided to take the severance package and leave the company.
“I didn’t have enough time,” he said. “So my best bet was to take the package.”
Telemarque said he worked through the end of October before officially parting ways with the company and turning his attention to finding his next role.
Over the last few months, Telemarque has been targeting roles related to strategy, finance, and distribution within the media and entertainment industry. He said he’s focused on remote and hybrid roles, but would be open to a fully in-office position if the commute was short enough and the compensation made it worthwhile.
Telemarque said he’s still looking for an offer and that he’s feeling some financial pressure to find work.
“It’s stressful having to network and trying to get a job,” he said.
But even as his search continues, Telemarque still feels leaving Paramount was the right choice.
“I feel good about my decision, but the predicament I was in was unfortunate,” he said. “If I had had a better option, would I have made it? Yes. But that was the best outcome.”
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