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Billionaires Want People Back to Work. Employees Aren’t So Sure

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Re: Billionaires Want People Back to Work. Employees Aren’t So Sure

#71

Post by cmarschner »

cushychicken wrote: post #8

What if, at the tail end of all this, a bunch of people find that they've tried remote work and decided: "Hey - this fucking rules! " In part because they've realized that they can complete their core work duties in less time, with less distractions, and zero commuting. Maybe - just maybe - this could be the unplug that helps people prioritize the things that they enjoy over their work. I recognize that's a viewpoint…

It seems that remote and office work both have their pros and cons, and they are complementary. So how about a world where you can go back and forth? I've worked from home about once a week before the crisis, and I might make that twice in the future. At the same time I'm missing the ability to do sessions at a whiteboard and just learn what others are doing by just walking around, or simply having lunch with colleagues.

Re: Billionaires Want People Back to Work. Employees Aren’t So Sure

#72

Post by munk-a »

magma17 wrote: post #15

Some of us look after our employees.

Yea, I mean a lot of businesses are terrible, but there are good cases as well, including all those businesses that budgeted and paid for equipment to allow their employees to remote once this became a clear issue in early March.

Re: Billionaires Want People Back to Work. Employees Aren’t So Sure

#73

Post by lend000 »

There are a lot of factors at play here, and it's highly unlikely anyone has enough information to know the exact optimum response.

From a pure health perspective, physical isolation is taxing both physically and mentally. Not everyone has a home gym; is 6 months of sedentary behavior going to cause more cardiovascular complications than coronavirus in the same at-risk groups?

Economics also has health and well-being effects for the many people.

When we flatten the curve, we extend the length of sedentary behavior but reduce the number of people turned away from the hospital. However, as a previous article [0] describes, if we end up turning 90% of people away anyway, because the virus is just too contagious to control, will sedentary people have weakened immune systems or encounter other complications at a rate that challenges the benefit?

As another person who doesn't really know: if I were the feds, I would be using this time to mass manufacture masks and testing for every single American to wear daily, and once those were produced and delivered, reactivate significant parts of the economy, with voluntary precautions.

The mask culture in Japan may be contributing to the slower spread. It will go down as a great gaffe all the people who shamed others from not wearing masks in the western world.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22598009

Re: Billionaires Want People Back to Work. Employees Aren’t So Sure

#74

Post by randlet »

gonehome wrote: post #48
Traster wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely, I'm getting very tired of the constant hacker news posts telling me that working from home is the future, that I'm getting twice as much done in half the time. I'll tell you what I have, I have chronic back pain from my uncomfortable dining room chairs and chronic anger at the fact I can't get timely answers to my quesitons. Some people like working from home, fine, but for many of us it's just not right.

Maybe just buy a decent chair? I picked up a liquidation sale Aeron on Craigslist - totally worth it. Also I’ve found it easier and faster to zoom since everyone is remote (don’t have to try and find an open meeting room).

Better yet, switch to standing!

Re: Billionaires Want People Back to Work. Employees Aren’t So Sure

#75

Post by cultus »

TheBlight wrote: post #26
asdfman123 wrote: post #7

Okay, so if we let the infection rip, what's their plan to deal with the massive wave of people suffocating on their own phlegm? Dig a trench?

I know this won't be a popular take but I haven't seen any compelling data to indicate what we're dealing with is any more deadly than a cold. No one has any idea how many people have been infected by this virus. It is assuredly many many more than current tests have revealed as the only people being tested are healthcare workers and at-risk individuals. I wouldn't be surprised if over a million people in the U.S. ha…

Are you just militantly unaware of the news or something?

Re: Billionaires Want People Back to Work. Employees Aren’t So Sure

#76

Post by theturtletalks »

Ididntdothis wrote: post #29
holler wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's funny, I've been working remotely for the past 4 years and now more than ever, I miss going to an office and being around more people. Working remote has some amazing benefits, and I've certainly taken advantage of them, but eventually I've realized that decreased social interaction is something to consider. That said, I'll probably keep working remote.

I dream of a small office with a few people near to my home within cycling distance. If I have to choose between a big office and home I will choose home.

I used to have a membership to this small co-working space. I could walk there in 5 min from my apartment, had 24/7 access, free snacks and drinks, etc. Sadly, they ended up renting the whole space to one company.

I wonder how hard it would be to start a small, community co-working space.

Re: Billionaires Want People Back to Work. Employees Aren’t So Sure

#77

Post by freeqaz »

JMTQp8lwXL wrote: post #54
JshWright wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's likely the exact opposite will happen. People are being thrown into seriously sub-optimal remote working experiences, and their productivity is likely to suffer for it. This will result in companies being less likely to consider remote working a viable path.

Forced working from home while during a pandemic. It's nothing like working from home under more normal circumstances.

If productivity turns out to be similar (or better) despite this handicap, I'd be genuinely curious to see how companies respond!

I'm personally very pro-remote (have worked remote at corporate gigs before) and it'd be great to see more companies adopting it. There are some seriously big benefits and, if the tooling keeps improving, I think it could be a real competitive advantage for companies.

Re: Billionaires Want People Back to Work. Employees Aren’t So Sure

#78

Post by rsweeney21 »

Ididntdothis wrote: post #35
TheBlight wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know this won't be a popular take but I haven't seen any compelling data to indicate what we're dealing with is any more deadly than a cold. No one has any idea how many people have been infected by this virus. It is assuredly many many more than current tests have revealed as the only people being tested are healthcare workers and at-risk individuals. I wouldn't be surprised if over a million people in the U.S. ha…

How do you explain hundreds of people dying every day in Italy?

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S120197121...

Re: Billionaires Want People Back to Work. Employees Aren’t So Sure

#80

Post by chickenpotpie »

JMTQp8lwXL wrote: post #54
JshWright wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's likely the exact opposite will happen. People are being thrown into seriously sub-optimal remote working experiences, and their productivity is likely to suffer for it. This will result in companies being less likely to consider remote working a viable path.

Forced working from home while during a pandemic. It's nothing like working from home under more normal circumstances.

I live in one of the COVID-19 infection centers and I have to say I'm a little distracted by all of it. It's hard to focus when I'm worried about where I'm going to be able to get food and not being able to relax on the weekends because I can't go outside.
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