As the Pandemic Recedes, Millions of Workers Are Saying 'I Quit' • Hacker News Board

Re: As the Pandemic Recedes, Millions of Workers Are Saying 'I Quit'

#161

Post by foobarian » Fri, Jun 25, 2021, 2:36 PM UTC

rpmisms wrote: post #151

srackey wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And also anecdotally, every professional office worker under ~30 I know has been absolutely miserable during this remote work experience, and is yearning to get back to the office - most for a full 5 days a week.

I'm quite definitely under 30, and I just quit in order to stay remote. I'm so much more relaxed, and I can spend actual quality time with my wife and friends. I'm not sure why anyone would want to go back.

I'll wager a guess that a lot of those other "under 30" cases were people living with 3 other jerk roommates who used to just come home to sleep but now had to put up with each other for a whole year.

Re: As the Pandemic Recedes, Millions of Workers Are Saying 'I Quit'

#162

Post by jason0597 » Fri, Jun 25, 2021, 2:37 PM UTC

wil421 wrote: post #60

vincentmarle wrote: post #9

This is admirable but the truth is that these jobs will not disappear, they will simply be outsourced abroad. There’s swaths of competent people abroad that are happy to take your (overpaid) place and the major shift to remote work tools has made it all the easier to blend in your team even if they’re working from another country. On top of this, foreign workers usually get paid 1/3 of the American salary, so the emp…

People have been saying this since I was in high school post dot com bubble burst. “Don’t get into IT or software development it’s all going to be outsourced.”

Outsourcing is not exclusive to India. What if they outsource to Italy? Spain? Ukraine? Greece? Hell even Germany.

All of those places have salaries that are a fraction of the typical US salary. US salaries are incredibly ridiculous on the global stage. And all of those places with actually good developers

Re: As the Pandemic Recedes, Millions of Workers Are Saying 'I Quit'

#163

Post by JoeQuery » Fri, Jun 25, 2021, 2:38 PM UTC

caseysoftware wrote: post #158

JoeQuery wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I totally recommend everyone read Dave Ramsay's work to understand how to approach money. It was an eye opener for me. But you have to understand that consumerism is pushed down our throats from all around starting at a very young age. Dave Ramsay doesn't just come into your consciousness like advertising does, and unless one is close to someone who is very anti consumerism and advertising you will likely be subjecte…

While many here are commenting on the abstract general population, most are speaking about themselves with variations of "must be nice!" When you fly, the emergency briefing tells you to put on your own mask before helping others. In lifeguard training, you're taught to keep yourself afloat before the victim. If you don't have your own finances in order, your opinion on others' finances is just noise and about as val…

> most are speaking about themselves with variations of "must be nice!"

Not necessarily. It's called empathy. And your lifeguard story makes no sense.

Re: As the Pandemic Recedes, Millions of Workers Are Saying 'I Quit'

#164

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Jun 25, 2021, 2:41 PM UTC

JoeQuery wrote: post #128

caseysoftware wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most people pay $100+/month for cable, eat out multiple times per week, have thousands of credit card debt, and an unexpected $400 bill would ravage them. If you want to live a un-average life, you need to have un-average priorities and sacrifice. Few on HN should be living paycheck to paycheck. Check out Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover for a starting model. And yes, you'll have to sacrifice now to benefit later.

I totally recommend everyone read Dave Ramsay's work to understand how to approach money. It was an eye opener for me. But you have to understand that consumerism is pushed down our throats from all around starting at a very young age. Dave Ramsay doesn't just come into your consciousness like advertising does, and unless one is close to someone who is very anti consumerism and advertising you will likely be subjecte…

[deleted]

Re: As the Pandemic Recedes, Millions of Workers Are Saying 'I Quit'

#165

Post by jason0597 » Fri, Jun 25, 2021, 2:42 PM UTC

dudul wrote: post #152

username90 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

China in 2000 and China in 2021 is like night and day in terms of standard of living, education etc. Just because it didn't work back then doesn't mean it wont work today.

The massive outsourcing experiment failure had nothing to do with standard of living or education. It was the combination of timezones and cultural differences. Turns out cultural differences around work, communication, etc between the US and India/China are pretty massive. I seriously doubt that these went away in 2 decades. Also, your argument around standard of living and education would actually be more proof tha…

But India/China are not the only places where you can outsource to.

What about France? Minimal cultural differences, and you still get massive savings when it comes to paying salaries.

Re: As the Pandemic Recedes, Millions of Workers Are Saying 'I Quit'

#166

Post by bdcravens » Fri, Jun 25, 2021, 2:43 PM UTC

adolph wrote: post #106

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #65

This article opens with a person experiencing burnout and choosing to leave a job where he needed to commute 1.5 hours per day, but the story isn’t really about people quitting work or leaving the workforce. The majority of people resigning their jobs are simply changing jobs, and the article doesn’t provide any evidence that people are changing to remote work in large numbers. The biggest driver of the increase in j…

> booming economy. We poured stimulus money s/oom/ubl/

If you want to go with the "clever mic drop without elaboration" it works better if there's no errors. You're spelling "bubbling" wrong.

Re: As the Pandemic Recedes, Millions of Workers Are Saying 'I Quit'

#167

Post by carlgreene » Fri, Jun 25, 2021, 2:43 PM UTC

kaycebasques wrote: post #31

suketk wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had the same experience [0]. The tunnel vision from work is so strong, that you forget about what's really important. Now, the office feels like a past life - I do not miss the commute, unnecessary meetings or facade of comradery. Ideally I don't have ever to go back to work, but even if I do the perspective shift has made sure I'll do it in a more balanced way next time. [0] https://suketk.com/why-i-quit-google

I wrote a similar blog post [1] about why I'm taking a sabbatical and it's really fascinating to compare motivations. > My thesis is that if I focus on enjoying the journey, everything else will follow. I wrote: > I don't have a single big project in mind for my sabbatical... I do have a single overarching theme, however: joie de vivre. Everything that I do, even the mundane stuff (especially the mundane stuff), I'm…

Im interested to hear how that goal worked out

Re: As the Pandemic Recedes, Millions of Workers Are Saying 'I Quit'

#168

Post by altcognito » Fri, Jun 25, 2021, 2:44 PM UTC

Robotbeat wrote: post #157

HarryHirsch wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's baffling, haven't people got friends?

It’s hard to make friends as an adult. Especially: 1) If you don’t have kids (socializing with other parents). 2) Don’t go to church/synagogue/etc (church attendance in decline) 3) Do not live where you grew up. (People chase opportunities in other cities.) 4) Aren’t in school any more. Neighbor friends are also possible, but it can take many years for people to become comfortable enough to be friends, and due to #3,…

I could see that. These folks should: Join a club, volunteer for a charity, play a sport, add a hobby, visit nature.

Re: As the Pandemic Recedes, Millions of Workers Are Saying 'I Quit'

#169

Post by YrAz3EGttt » Fri, Jun 25, 2021, 2:45 PM UTC

caseysoftware wrote: post #110

nickthemagicman wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

2/3 of America lives paycheck to paycheck. Taking a year off is definitely not the norm

Most people pay $100+/month for cable, eat out multiple times per week, have thousands of credit card debt, and an unexpected $400 bill would ravage them. If you want to live a un-average life, you need to have un-average priorities and sacrifice. Few on HN should be living paycheck to paycheck. Check out Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover for a starting model. And yes, you'll have to sacrifice now to benefit later.

Can speak for myself, I don't live paycheck to paycheck now but I grew up in a household with a lot less money than I make now in comparison - Involved lot of sacrifices and accumulating modest savings over a lifetime to help the next generation to live a bit better and make fewer such sacrifices.

> Most people pay $100+/month for cable, eat out multiple times per week, have thousands of credit card debt, and an unexpected $400 bill would ravage them.

There's also a cohort that might not earn a lot but is financially responsible, frugal and makes modest gains towards big goals e.g. education for kids, home ownership which can take almost a life time. There's a big spectrum from being poor due to being financially irresponsible and being lucky enough to be in their 20s, debt free and paying off a mortgage instead of rent (with help for college, down payment etc from family to have a healthy head start). Not everyone who doesn't have the means is in such a place because they are lazy or is financially irresponsible. Simply stating that most people are a certain way without evidence is just disingenuous and judgemental, perhaps exposes a bias more than anything.

Re: As the Pandemic Recedes, Millions of Workers Are Saying 'I Quit'

#170

Post by dv_dt » Fri, Jun 25, 2021, 2:46 PM UTC

Robotbeat wrote: post #157

HarryHirsch wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's baffling, haven't people got friends?

It’s hard to make friends as an adult. Especially: 1) If you don’t have kids (socializing with other parents). 2) Don’t go to church/synagogue/etc (church attendance in decline) 3) Do not live where you grew up. (People chase opportunities in other cities.) 4) Aren’t in school any more. Neighbor friends are also possible, but it can take many years for people to become comfortable enough to be friends, and due to #3,…

With covid remote, I finally started exercising more regularly and attending meetings for local hiking groups and a maker group that I had been putting off for ages. And I think my productivity at work increased because of it.

Changed jobs to negotiate a permanent remote situation and am not going back.

I think it’s fine for some people to want to be on office, but think that a lot of work in the tech area should have the option of remote - and frankly would be better remote first with in-office allowances instead of vice versa.