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Why do so many people want us back in the office?

paulitaylor.com

51–60 of 624 posts

Re: Why do so many people want us back in the office?

#51
post #8

I don't care about "us" going back to the office but I definitely want to go back to the office and I am far from alone in this.

Can you discuss why you want to go back to the office?

Not OP, but many reasons. I miss socializing with colleagues, I also like sitting in a room surrounded by other people also working and finally my office has better ergonomics.

Re: Why do so many people want us back in the office?

#52
post #36

I think ideally it should be up to the employee to return when they feel safe. That being said, I look forward to going back to the office. It’ll be nice to see people again —- few people bother to turn on their video on zoom anymore for anything other than one-on-ones, myself included, and that is starting to feel alienating to me. I don’t think it’s wise having a policy that you must have video enabled, though, it’…

Interesting. For whatever reason my team keeps video on for all meeting unless there are bandwidth issues. But I agree now that it would be far worse if folks didn’t show their face regularly.

I don't have a webcam on my work setup, no one uses video, it hasn't bothered me at all.

Re: Why do so many people want us back in the office?

#53
I think what this is taught me is that we need both.

It is too much to be in the office all of the time because sometimes "life" happens or you need the ability to have some silence and concentrate.

It is too much to be remote all of the time because software is a team sport and to function optimally, we need to have great human relationships and communication, and those are better done face to face.

We need to find the "happy midpoint" between these two extremes as a working culture.

Re: Why do so many people want us back in the office?

#56
I wish people didn't see it as a binary option. "The office" vs "Remote". And no I'm not talking about suggesting alternatives like "work from home". I'm talking more about let's look at it through the lens of "employer control" and "individual empowerment".

The article points to some statistics about the benefits of remote work. But I think those benefits are more derived from enabling individuals to decide what is best for them and their company. Alot of what is described in "Bullshit Jobs" was reversed overnight, and we're seeing the benefits of that. Location has nothing to do with it.

Re: Why do so many people want us back in the office?

#57

It's about control. Many managers like to micromanage everything and everybody very much, but that does not work very well remotely. They want to make sure, or at least to be able to make sure, that their workers, well, work. Many are afraid to loose that kind of control, because that's the only thing they can do best.

Is this restricted to first line managers? Or do second line managers micromanager first, directors second, etc. Thankfully have managed to avoid this sort of manager so no first hand experience.

Re: Why do so many people want us back in the office?

#58

It's about control. Many managers like to micromanage everything and everybody very much, but that does not work very well remotely. They want to make sure, or at least to be able to make sure, that their workers, well, work. Many are afraid to loose that kind of control, because that's the only thing they can do best.

Yeah if anything this pandemic made that abundantly clear. Those in favor of control ran out of any scapegoats. The remote work debate was never about location.

Re: Why do so many people want us back in the office?

#59
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you discuss why you want to go back to the office?

I’m not the parent poster, but I agree with their preference. It’s psychological. I focus better with a clear delineation of work in a work setting and personal life in a home setting. Even the physical transition of the commute helps me switch over. This is something that has eroded in the last six months even though I’ve tried to substitute it with practices like an “office” room. Additionally, I am definitely a pe…

I get the want for distinct physical spaces to change contexts, though considering we're 20+ years into a world of employer issued laptop and mobile phones, making the delineation between work and non-work is very much up to each of us as individuals. This is as a small as not checking work email outside of work hours and as large as finding a space that you yourself work best in even if that means not home or your employer's office.

Re: Why do so many people want us back in the office?

#60
post #16

I don't care about "us" going back to the office but I definitely want to go back to the office and I am far from alone in this.

It seems lately that most accounts arguing in favor of going back into office immediately are throwaways. I wonder why that is 🧐

I'll toss my account into one of those being in favor if offices. Feel free to check the account creation an karma.

Different people have different preferences.

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