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Forget going back to the office – people are just quitting instead

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Re: Forget going back to the office – people are just quitting instead

#11

Post by fennecfoxen »

xvector wrote: post #3

Can’t imagine not having at least partial WFH after this pandemic. If my office doesn’t let me WFH, I will also be leaving. A good portion of my team is similarly minded, but management is insistent on disallowing WFH. I can’t wait to see their faces when the company bleeds massive swaths of engineering talent. It’s about damn time that companies realized that they ought to treat their employees like the adults that…

I'll be distressed if we don't have at least optional work-from-office after the pandemic. I'm vaccinated. You're vaccinated. We're all adults. The company remains in possession of empty office space. Yet most firms seem to think the best thing to do is lead from behind, wait and see, until they can protect themselves by saying "i guess everyone is doing it".

Re: Forget going back to the office – people are just quitting instead

#12

Post by roland35 »

I had a job where I worked in a cubical next to the main door, unfortunately also next to the head of engineering's office. I actually got in trouble with him because I would frequently walk by* and also a lot of people would talk to me as they hung around the area (literally the water cooler...). The experience completely soured me on the whole company, and as soon as I could I found a remote working job and am much happier now!

*after I was told I walked around too much I kept an internal record of every time I left my desk and for what reason. It turns out, the main reasons I walked by was 1) meetings, 2) lab work, and 3) bathroom. I was hoping he would bring it up again so I could show him the Excel sheet!

Re: Forget going back to the office – people are just quitting instead

#14

Post by Raed667 »

strgrd wrote: post #10
xvector wrote: post #3

Can’t imagine not having at least partial WFH after this pandemic. If my office doesn’t let me WFH, I will also be leaving. A good portion of my team is similarly minded, but management is insistent on disallowing WFH. I can’t wait to see their faces when the company bleeds massive swaths of engineering talent. It’s about damn time that companies realized that they ought to treat their employees like the adults that…

The hybrid model is such a joke. For most, working in the office might as well be the 21st century business suit: an antiquated formality designed to demonstrate your obedience to authority. The hybrid model is a suit on a t-shirt. And forcing employees to be in the office X days a week means productivity on those WFH days will be nonexistent, especially if they butt against a weekend. But of course while the WFH lif…

I'm struggling with the idea of hybrid WFH.

It still means that I need to live near the office. Instead of a cheaper, quieter place far away from cities.

Besides making middle-management happy, I'm not sure what is the benefit of having one required day per week at the office.

Re: Forget going back to the office – people are just quitting instead

#15

Post by endymi0n »

xvector wrote: post #3

Can’t imagine not having at least partial WFH after this pandemic. If my office doesn’t let me WFH, I will also be leaving. A good portion of my team is similarly minded, but management is insistent on disallowing WFH. I can’t wait to see their faces when the company bleeds massive swaths of engineering talent. It’s about damn time that companies realized that they ought to treat their employees like the adults that…

I hear this a lot of times recently — what I'm interested by now is where the new equilibrium will be going forward.

So far us software engineers have often seen jobs as replaceable and we know we'll have another one at the snip of a finger should we quit.

But with enough people actually quitting, how many remote or soon-remote companies will there be to scoop up the supply until quitting an office job cold could be a bad decision?

Genuinely curious here: Any of those quitting for the same reason recently, how hard was it to land an equally well paid remote job?

Re: Forget going back to the office – people are just quitting instead

#16

Post by repsilat »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #4

By “quitting” they mostly mean getting new jobs or career changes. Not necessarily refusing to work in an office. The headline is misleading. It’s also still a relatively small number in absolute terms: > In April, the share of U.S. workers leaving jobs was 2.7%, according to the Labor Department, a jump from 1.6% a year earlier to the highest level since at least 2000. The higher turnover is expected in a booming ec…

>> It’s also still a relatively small number in absolute terms:

> In April, the share of U.S. workers leaving jobs was 2.7%, according to the Labor Department, a jump from 1.6% a year earlier to the highest level since at least 2000.

If those are monthly figures they are roughly going from "quit once every five years" to once every three. It's a pretty big change, I think. Positive, IMO -- mobility is healthy for the economy.

Re: Forget going back to the office – people are just quitting instead

#17

Post by sam0x17 »

I've been working from home for the last 5 years, and I'm never going back. I get more done, I have more energy throughout the day, and it makes it much easier to put family first (which is one reason I think FANG and others are so afraid -- they lose a little bit of control).

Re: Forget going back to the office – people are just quitting instead

#18

Post by xvector »

roland35 wrote: post #12

I had a job where I worked in a cubical next to the main door, unfortunately also next to the head of engineering's office. I actually got in trouble with him because I would frequently walk by* and also a lot of people would talk to me as they hung around the area (literally the water cooler...). The experience completely soured me on the whole company, and as soon as I could I found a remote working job and am much…

I find it kind of absurd that management thinks it’s appropriate to chastise employees as if they are naughty children. It’s dehumanizing to say the least.

Why does management care what I do in my free time, so long as I get my job done? It’s a power trip, plain and simple.

I hope you gave a reason if they asked why you’re leaving.

Re: Forget going back to the office – people are just quitting instead

#19

Post by xvector »

sam0x17 wrote: post #17

I've been working from home for the last 5 years, and I'm never going back. I get more done, I have more energy throughout the day, and it makes it much easier to put family first (which is one reason I think FANG and others are so afraid -- they lose a little bit of control).

It is most definitely a control thing. Companies are afraid to lose the iron grip they have over the lives of employees.

Re: Forget going back to the office – people are just quitting instead

#20

Post by WalterBright »

roland35 wrote: post #12

I had a job where I worked in a cubical next to the main door, unfortunately also next to the head of engineering's office. I actually got in trouble with him because I would frequently walk by* and also a lot of people would talk to me as they hung around the area (literally the water cooler...). The experience completely soured me on the whole company, and as soon as I could I found a remote working job and am much…

I used to walk around the office a lot because I'm a fidgeter. At home as well, I rarely stay seated for long.
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