Ask HN: Why isn't remote work advertised as a pro environment initiative?

In many countries yes.

Exactly, that and issues like the lack of greenery that's consistently linked to poorer mental health outcomes, increased stress, etc.

It's also incredibly lonely at times - despite being constantly surrounded by people - which I figure can warp your mind much like too much solitary confinement can. I don't say this from personal experience (un)fortunately, I say this as someone who has a family member that is a confidant of a billionaire from the middle-east (whom I'll refer to as Bob.) The family member is one of their close staff - travels with them everywhere and is in close proximity, daily - and possibly their most intimate friend as a result of this close proximity for the better part of 40 years, and the below.

In Bob's life he is surrounded by sycophants waiting for handouts, never wanting to be seen to annoy Bob nor lose his favour. Bob does not know who to trust. He has had those that he considered real friends and deeply trustworthy turn out to be thiefs and liars. A former school friend was secretly living in one of Bob's holiday homes _for years_, successfully evading detection by Bob by using his friendship to know where and when Bob will be. He was using his ties to Bob (and Bob's success) to gain favour in his own business and was using some of this money to bribe Bob's staff into silence. Apparently the friend went full "villain in disguise reveals his secret vendetta" when Bob asked if the friend needs help. Bob was heartbroken.

Maids, servers, and other staff are stealing things all the time - Bob maintains and reviews an inventory of stolen property with his security detail, with monthly targets... theft of his belongings is an ever present cost to Bob. e Bob's own family live an excessively sheltered life. His young children's best friends are their personal body guards - former military personnel that must be present around the clock as a stipulation of their kidknap/ransom insurance. This isn't a perceived threat, either. Bob's eldest son was abducted on at least one occassion, by a policeman no less.

Bob's life is managed for him. His staff manage his diet, his wardrobe(s), his social diary, of course his work engagenments take him all over the world often with little notice. He is never entirely certain where he will be and when. He is a slave to his diaries.

Bob spends the majority of his birthdays alone, on the phone to my family member, often crying about how lonely he is.

All that for money seems like a lot to sacrifice. There's also a fascinating effect that happens when the cost of things are literally of no consequence. Sentimentality is the only measure of value and material objects are just.. nothing but utilities.

Anyway, I would safely assume being a billionaire is not all doom and gloom, but it certainly has a different set of life-problems.

Go into the office for enhanced collaboration they say. Everyone I work with is in different countries, so being in the office gains nothing. Being at home is much nicer.

I don't think it's that weird, there not a lot of differences between people at the top or at the bottom.

It's the fact that they were idealized that makes this dip into their intimacy so strange.

But basically, those communications look a lot like ones that I would have with my own friends. And when I was a students, we were careful about spending 10 euros. Now, we have casual chats about buying a sauna for the garden, and if you think about it, it would sound crazy to someone making minimum wage.

If I had billions, I would talk as casually about huge amounts for actions with big consequences, because I'm still ...me. And I would still make jokes like "you have my sword" since we quote LOTR for fun, not because of social status. What? You thougth billionaires were taking all their texts seriously?

Also, calling people out for making mistake that cost you is kinda what everybody sane does. And apologizing to people when you made a mistake is not being submissive, it's being decent. Again, it reads like text I would send myself.

All in all, it seems pretty standard human behavior to me.

Now you may feel shocked that regular humans have so much power, but remember:

- a lot of luck is involved

- some skills like managing stress or being persistent may matter more than a lot others and those people may have much more than the average person

- this is by design in our system, the problem therefore is not that humans are humans, but that our system promote profiles that you don't think deserve it

- nevertheless, managing tesla or spacex is not something most people would succeed at, so there is probably some human traits those texts are not showing that make them capable of doing billions of dollars of operations