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Dropbox Converts to Permanent WFH

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Re: Dropbox Converts to Permanent WFH

#91

Slack + Dropbox: Let's embrace WFH Microsoft: Getting tired of WFH. Shows who really believes in their own "Team" tools and remote working software :)

Not sure what you’re talking about. Microsoft came out with their plans to let employees work remotely days ago. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24728887

A few days ago their CEO was quoted in an article saying WFH doesn’t work and he can’t wait to get everyone back to the office.

Re: Dropbox Converts to Permanent WFH

#92

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…

> which is problematic for building teams and culture; Why? I've been remote for about 8 years. I don't think I've had any problems building relationships. The only thing you miss from the office is the time spent screwing around with co-workers. I guess you could consider that "Team building".

The best friends I've made in my career were from remote only teams. I guess you could say full remote is problematic in the sense that so is in-office for building relationships/teams. It's a trade off and I suspect the winning strategy is the one that is invested into the most, rather than one being inherently better than the other.

Re: Dropbox Converts to Permanent WFH

#93

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 disaste…

> But if you're single, staying cooped up alone at home can be a disaster.

During COVID I would say this is more of a problem but in my 8 years of remote work I don't really miss the office at all. In normal times you can get out if you want to head to a coffee shop or something. We do video calls which seems to help some of the team members feel better about the situation. Having a commute was absolutely the most stressful thing for me.

I do most of my socializing outside of working hours. Being alone and remote doesn't seem to effect me but I'm also super introverted. I understand this may effect extroverts differently.

Re: Dropbox Converts to Permanent WFH

#94
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.

I suppose I don't feel overpaid, given that I'm living in a 1BR apartment. And now with my office closed, I'm somehow supposed to find a dedicated space in my tiny-ass apartment where I can: a) Setup the same configuration of laptop, multiple monitors, a desk phone, and an Ethernet jack into my router. b) Sufficiently insulate the background noise on the hours of Zoom meetings I'm expected to join every day from my g…

It really changes the whole "I live with someone" situation. A 1BR with a partner may be reasonable when you each go to work for 8+ hours a day. A 1BR when you're both working from home, taking meetings and calls, etc, is a completely different story. It means a 2BR is really a requirement for most people who are in a relationship IMO, and that's a massive cost difference, many thousands a year.

Re: Dropbox Converts to Permanent WFH

#95

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…

> which is problematic for building teams and culture; Why? I've been remote for about 8 years. I don't think I've had any problems building relationships. The only thing you miss from the office is the time spent screwing around with co-workers. I guess you could consider that "Team building".

We've been doing a couple of things now that everyone is wfh. We have these mixer meetings on Friday where you meet with people you never work with normally, in small groups, and talk about what you're working on. We also have online trivia contests and other games sometimes it just shoot the breeze (as sanctioned, boss scheduled meetings).

As someone so has worked from home a lot over the last 20+ years and had been working from home for a few years prior in a business where everyone else was in the office (until this Spring), I appreciate the extra time hanging out.

I was fine before but part of that is that I transitioned from full time in the office to wfh when my spouse was relocated.

Re: Dropbox Converts to Permanent WFH

#96

Companies who go permanent WFH must be saving a fortune on leasing space costs. If these savings don’t make it to the employees who’re using their private space for office work for free, then it’s really bad.

Not only will they save money on office space but many of these companies are requiring employees to take pay cuts if they move to a lower cost area. Like all the sudden your value to the company changes because you moved?

Re: Dropbox Converts to Permanent WFH

#97
post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>co-workers aren't friends, bosses aren't friends, clients aren't friends, work relationships aren't friends. It really saddens me whenever I see this (apparently common) sentiment on HN. Through every job I've had, I've met some of my very best life-long friends. My wedding party is over half people that I met at work. A couple of my former bosses are people I see every couple of months (pre-covid) and are invited t…

I think it's important to make the distinction that while you can be friends with your colleagues it's very important to also have friends outside of work. Having friends from work is great, but if you only have friends from work then you have nothing outside of work which isn't healthy (for example, if things start going poorly at work then it can feel like you are trapped).

I disagree. At any of my previous jobs when work started going poorly, my friendships were, if anything, a boon to me because I had a support system that immediately understood my work situation and challenges. They were immediately in a position to help because of their close proximity both to me and the challenges at work I was facing. After leaving one job, the relationships with my "work friends" were invaluable to me in helping me find another job since they were in the same field and had connections I could leverage.

Outside of work, my "work friends" and I go out to eat, go play sports together, hang out at each other's houses, etc. We talk about work sometimes because it's obviously a common interest, but our friendship doesn't revolve around it, and if someone severs their relationship with the employer that we have in common, it does not mean our friendship also severs.

Re: Dropbox Converts to Permanent WFH

#98
post #73

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…

This really is the way to do it in my opinion. Collaboration is one of the hardest parts to do remote (though I think VR could make this better)

Let's start with fixing the barely perceptible delay in regular video conferencing that causes the, "No, you talk" thing we all enjoy.

Re: Dropbox Converts to Permanent WFH

#99

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.

> You know, coffee shops, restaurants, etc need to survive.

in general, yeah, but do the shops and restaurants that exist to serve downtown / office park workers need to survive? I'm not convinced that WFH changes the net demand for these services. if these businesses move away from places people commute to and move into places where people actually live, I would consider that an improvement. I'd much rather spend my food budget on happy hour at a local pub than a rushed 30 minute lunch.

Re: Dropbox Converts to Permanent WFH

#100
post #86

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…

Interestingly, the commissioned study opens with a productivity argument being much more than any of those perks: > Loss of focus due to distractions translates to an estimated annual salary cost of US$34,448 per person in lost productivity, or US$391bn for US companies in the sectors analysed, equivalent to 28% of baseline salary payments

that argument is idiotic. from my personal experience, at least, I had FAR MORE interruptions when I was working in the office than I have when working from home.
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