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Google's push to bring employees back to offices, some say they'll rather quit

businessinsider.com

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Re: Google's push to bring employees back to offices, some say they'll rather quit

#21

Post by dboreham »

dcolkitt wrote: post #7

It seems strange that Google management would push so hard on this. Nearly everyone I've spoken to has reported that WFH productivity has been equal, if not better than pre-pandemic. What possible upside could there be that justifies forcing the issue and hurting morale by pissing so many people off? Sure, maybe there's an argument that a fully remote company has a hard time propagating a coherent corporate culture.…

Because above a certain level managers derive their sense of self-worth from the number of physical people surrounding them?

Re: Google's push to bring employees back to offices, some say they'll rather quit

#22

Post by splithalf »

underseacables wrote: post #5

I travel a lot because I’m in sales, so I’m constantly in and out of the office. I very much want to return to the office, because for me it’s a homebase, where I can connect with my colleagues. It just hasn’t been the same and I feel that my workflow has diminished without the communal nature of the office.

So you are getting paid while you are not in the office, but you would make it so that others don’t have that ability?

Re: Google's push to bring employees back to offices, some say they'll rather quit

#23

Post by ssully »

akmarinov wrote: post #10
underseacables wrote: post #5

I travel a lot because I’m in sales, so I’m constantly in and out of the office. I very much want to return to the office, because for me it’s a homebase, where I can connect with my colleagues. It just hasn’t been the same and I feel that my workflow has diminished without the communal nature of the office.

I don’t travel at all, just a developer in front of a screen 8 hours a day. I very much prefer to stay home and get to work by getting to my desk instead of fighting traffic. To each their own, but remote work is now a perk that some companies will offer and others won’t, not offering it will effectively cut out a fairly large percent of devs that don’t want to go back.

Similar boat here. When we were still in the office, I would go to a handful of meetings, and then the rest of my actual working time was spent alone in a solo or shared office space. Going forward, a hybrid approach where I could go in a day or two for bigger group meetings and then do my actual work at home would be preferred.

Re: Google's push to bring employees back to offices, some say they'll rather quit

#25

Post by hpoe »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #16
dcolkitt wrote: post #7

It seems strange that Google management would push so hard on this. Nearly everyone I've spoken to has reported that WFH productivity has been equal, if not better than pre-pandemic. What possible upside could there be that justifies forcing the issue and hurting morale by pissing so many people off? Sure, maybe there's an argument that a fully remote company has a hard time propagating a coherent corporate culture.…

> Nearly everyone I've spoken to has reported that WFH productivity has been equal, if not better than pre-pandemic. Certainly not the case for everyone. Many people are struggling to be productive at home, alone. Jobs that require more coordination are also at risk of slowing down. WFH is great for some, but it’s not a panacea.

How many of them have slowed down b/c of the pandemic vs WFH? I can imagine a job being a lot harder if suddenly your children are home all day, heck my kids aren't even school age and my wife is home fulltime and I still sometimes have my little ones come in asking for juice or to help them put on their shirt, or something like that.

Not to mention the additional stress and isolation that comes from all of the pandemic management measures, and the omnipresent low level fear. Honestly if WFH has even remained steady with in office in this hostile environment to me that is a pretty big indicator it is better for businesses.

Re: Google's push to bring employees back to offices, some say they'll rather quit

#27

Post by spoonjim »

dcolkitt wrote: post #7

It seems strange that Google management would push so hard on this. Nearly everyone I've spoken to has reported that WFH productivity has been equal, if not better than pre-pandemic. What possible upside could there be that justifies forcing the issue and hurting morale by pissing so many people off? Sure, maybe there's an argument that a fully remote company has a hard time propagating a coherent corporate culture.…

“Productivity” is not something a person can measure themselves. Sure, some people may be closing bugs faster than when in the office. But productivity manifests itself in different ways over longer time periods. Is there a strong corporate culture? Are junior staff being mentored and trained? Are new product ideas like Chromecast being thought of and shipped?

The individual employee is not going to be a reliable indicator for any of these questions.

Re: Google's push to bring employees back to offices, some say they'll rather quit

#28

Post by ralusek »

heliodor wrote: post #8

"I'll quit!" they say. It's about as empty a threat as telling the customer service person that you'll sue the company.

People quit Google all the time. Big companies in SV actually have pretty short average retention times.

Re: Google's push to bring employees back to offices, some say they'll rather quit

#29

Post by whateveracct »

dcolkitt wrote: post #7

It seems strange that Google management would push so hard on this. Nearly everyone I've spoken to has reported that WFH productivity has been equal, if not better than pre-pandemic. What possible upside could there be that justifies forcing the issue and hurting morale by pissing so many people off? Sure, maybe there's an argument that a fully remote company has a hard time propagating a coherent corporate culture.…

management doesn't feel useful unless they can see their team's butts in their seats
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