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Dropbox Converts to Permanent WFH

businessinsider.com

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Re: Dropbox Converts to Permanent WFH

#31

Post by puranjay »

As someone who has worked from home for a decade, I predict a mental health apocalypse in the near future. Working from home permanently requires support infrastructure not everyone has access to. It also requires a different approach to work altogether which, again, not everyone is capable of adopting.

If you have family, work from home is great. But if you're single, staying cooped up alone at home can be a disaster.

Re: Dropbox Converts to Permanent WFH

#32

Post by christiansakai »

Curious, what makes this move (and all the rest of the WFH companies) permanent? Won't in the future when things go back to normal the cities will pressure the companies to have their employees go back into offices to make the economy moving? You know, coffee shops, restaurants, etc need to survive.

Re: Dropbox Converts to Permanent WFH

#33

Post by dhouston »

To be clear (if you only read the headline :)), not entirely remote. Solo work at home, collaborative work in "studios", basically reimagining the offices into collaborative/convening spaces that you go into from ~once/week to once a quarter depending on team/role.

Remote-only cuts out the in-person experience entirely, which is problematic for building teams and culture; and ad hoc "WFH whenever you feel like it" gets a sort of worst-of-both-worlds situation where you neither get the same kind of flexibility nor the sense of community you typically get from an office (since a large percentage of the team isn't there on any given day, and folks that come in the office less tend to be at a disadvantage in terms of visibility & recognition).

Re: Dropbox Converts to Permanent WFH

#35

Post by gridlockd »

svrtknst wrote: post #20
jopsen wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I somehow don't feel sorry if overpaid tech workers, like me, have to buy a desk and chair. It's not like you need new office furniture very often.

it's a bad precedent when workers pay the company they're working for

You may not realize that the $500 chair, the ping pong table and the beer fridge effectively comes out of everyone's paycheck.

Re: Dropbox Converts to Permanent WFH

#36

Post by mxcrossb »

geerlingguy wrote: post #7

WFH saves money for the company, I just hope that some of the expensive (to the company) perks like prime real estate, free meals, exercise programs, etc. can be translated into at least a minimal budget per employee of: Internet connection reimbursement, annual budget for workspace improvements (ideally with a large initial budget, like $1000 or more for desk, monitor, chair, etc.), and possibly some other perks. Bu…

I wonder if the tax implications are more complex since the employee can presumably keep that equipment after clocking out (or quitting)

Re: Dropbox Converts to Permanent WFH

#39

Post by jjmarinho »

mam2 wrote: post #2

So it's been definetely proven that WFH is cheaper for compagnies ?

Dropbox has 2500~ employees, and obviously this is just an anouncement. In some years we will have a clearer understanding of the tradeoffs.

My suspicion is that companies that will fully embrace the "internet way" of doing things will have success.

Re: Dropbox Converts to Permanent WFH

#40

Post by wtvanhest »

dhouston wrote: post #33

To be clear (if you only read the headline :)), not entirely remote. Solo work at home, collaborative work in "studios", basically reimagining the offices into collaborative/convening spaces that you go into from ~once/week to once a quarter depending on team/role. Remote-only cuts out the in-person experience entirely, which is problematic for building teams and culture; and ad hoc "WFH whenever you feel like it" ge…

I'm sure you have talked to your exec team at length about the pluses and minuses of that type of structure. That structure feels like a great trade-off that gives employees enough flexibility to reduce their housing costs, while also keeping the culture in place.

Would you mind sharing some of the thoughts your team had while you explored the options available? It feels like such a good move IMHO, I'm very interested in learning how you got there.

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