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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

#61

Post by throwaway6734 »

artembugara wrote: post #38
spoonjim wrote: post #20

Google doesn’t care if most employees quit, they are replaceable. The few that they do care about, they will arrange unofficial exemptions for.

1. I'd assume that a cost to replace 1 SE employee at google is close to USD 1,000,000 2. It's hard as never before to hire someone to from from the office (US tech giants are hiring many H1Bs) So, I disagree. It can become a long-term crisis.

Based on the competitiveness of googles hiring process I imagine there's a pretty big pool of candidates for them to choose from though.

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

#62

Post by newsclues »

mox1 wrote: post #51
Someone1234 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You say that like senior management typically makes decisions based on data and facts, rather than the reality where they just shoot from the hip using their "gut." By the same logic implied here, we cannot trust senior management to know what they're doing. PS - Also Google's measures of productivity are terrible, that's why they keep starting/killing new projects ever other week, and killed their golden goose in th…

Can't trust the senior managers of one of the largest revenue generating companies on the plant? With probably the highest Revenue per employee ever in the history of modern business (if not highest, up there). I dunno, seems like they are doing ok at their jobs....

They seem like they are doing a good job because we don’t have anything better to compare to.

America is one of the best countries in the world, therefore its leadership has to be smart and competent.

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

#63

Post by DubiousPusher »

Friends and family keep asking me if I'm moving out of my metro area or if I'll move to the deep xurbs. But I've held off any such machinations exactly because of this. My employer has embraced WFH beyond the pandemic but all it takes is a couple bad quarters and a new CEO deciding that working from home is "part of the problem" and "work from the office" is part of some shiny new turnaround plan.

And you never know when you might need a job and the best you can come up with is one with a company with this kind of control freak attendance culture.

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

#64

Post by throwaway823882 »

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.…

> What possible upside could there be

Taxes? Could be that municipalities gave them huge tax write-offs assuming they would bring lots of jobs to the area, and now they may have to write all that off if they don't bring people back.

Management is also terrified of not having hands/eyes on people. They are already so disconnected from people and have no concept of how to manage remote work, that they literally feel powerless without an office to monitor/control their workers in. They can monitor when you sit down at your desk, monitor your internet access, phone calls, structure meetings, and enforce culture. Remote work forces them to admit that they won't have nearly as much control over their workforce.

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

#65

Post by zomgwat »

jfim wrote: post #50
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. Out of curiosity, how many of the people you have spoken to have kids? From my perspective, it seems the people without kids seem to handle working from home okay, but the ones with younger kids at home seem to struggle a lot.

I have young kids and WFH. They go to childcare/preschool during the day. For me, a flexible WFH schedule has been extremely helpful while starting a family. That said, I understand not everyone’s WFH environment is the same.

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

#67

Post by skeeter2020 »

Someone1234 wrote: post #39
spoonjim wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“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 ind…

You say that like senior management typically makes decisions based on data and facts, rather than the reality where they just shoot from the hip using their "gut." By the same logic implied here, we cannot trust senior management to know what they're doing. PS - Also Google's measures of productivity are terrible, that's why they keep starting/killing new projects ever other week, and killed their golden goose in th…

The reason they start and kill so many projects is precisely because they are measuring top-level metrics and acting on them. A developer is going to look at how much functionality they implement, refactoring they complete or tickets they close and say "Wow, I've been so productive working from home". Management is going to look at growth and revenue, execution against top-level OKRs and the opportunity costs of competing options and maybe reach a different conclusion.

The reality is that neither is probably a WFH issue as a first-order effect.

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

#68

Post by Uberphallus »

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.

Exactly. I've lived both experiences: it was perfect for me when my son, few months old, was sleeping the most part of the day. But once a kid switches to 1 nap per day, it's impossible to have a schedule to have any kind of focused work. Day care here have long waiting lists and they've been closed for half of the pandemic anyway.

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

#69

Post by throwaways885 »

throwaway6734 wrote: post #61
artembugara wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. I'd assume that a cost to replace 1 SE employee at google is close to USD 1,000,000 2. It's hard as never before to hire someone to from from the office (US tech giants are hiring many H1Bs) So, I disagree. It can become a long-term crisis.

Based on the competitiveness of googles hiring process I imagine there's a pretty big pool of candidates for them to choose from though.

Not really. As somebody who has seen both sides of a hiring process like that, the reality is the vast majority of candidates are just awful. You can probably rule out nearly 75% of applicants right off the bat. Add in hiring laws, bureaucracy, immigration, negotiation, candidates withdrawing, and finding a good person who works for your team can take months.

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

#70

Post by nunez »

splithalf wrote: post #22
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?

They weren't saying that. They were just saying that they preferred having an office. I think it's okay to want to have an office. Working from home isn't for everyone.

I pay for my own office because I really need my work space to be separate from my home space, but I understand why others would prefer to not have a commute/be closer to the family/enjoy their creature comforts/etc.

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