Big tech companies are at war with employees over remote work

Post by biasedbrain » Sun, Aug 01, 2021, 7:11 PM UTC

caskstrength wrote: post #161

biasedbrain wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they learned that they have awful coworkers, they can quit again. I just don't get the sense of entitlement many people seem to have.

I agree that some of radical pro-WFH people might seem entitled, but I think in reality they just too fed up with open-spaces and commute and see pandemic as their last chance to normalize WFH across the industry. Also, I honestly don't see why it is such a big deal to let every team decide how they want to work.

Post by toomuchtodo » Sun, Aug 01, 2021, 7:18 PM UTC

__turbobrew__ wrote: post #172

toomuchtodo wrote: post #2

I recommend unionizing (a federally protected activity) to enable negotiating for benefits (including remote work) collectively. This presidential administration is already gunning for Big Tech, strike while the iron is hot (for more robust worker rights). You can be well compensated and still demand a seat at the corporate table as a stakeholder in a business.

I don’t need a union. I tell my employer “either I work remotely or I am gone to one of the ten job solicitations I get a week”. Tech workers have enormous individual leverage and there are so many job opportunities out there — the power is already in your hands. Be a part of the market change by putting your money where your mouth is and moving to more adaptive companies if your company fails to adapt.

Post by mark_l_watson » Sun, Aug 01, 2021, 7:24 PM UTC

jdhn wrote: post #151

mark_l_watson wrote: post #22

I came out of retirement last fall for a while to work at an AI startup. One of the really nice things about the all-remote setup was randomly assigned long virtual coffee breaks every week. Given that I had a lot of samples (N ~= 50) of co-workers opinions on remote vs. in office work, I feel comfortable making a generalization: young single people mostly wanted to go back to the office while people in relationships…

>young single people mostly wanted to go back to the office I realize that this is an anecdote, but as a young(ish) single person, this doesn't match up with my experience at all. Half our team is out of state, and I've never heard anybody express a desire to come in state to work at the office.

Post by sharken » Sun, Aug 01, 2021, 7:37 PM UTC

jonathankoren wrote: post #153

sharken wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A vaccine mandate should not be mandated by corporations, instead it should happen on a country level if necessary. To me it's a slippery slope to allow corporations to mandate what happens to our own body.

The corporation isn’t mandating what happens to your body any more than the government is (as long as there isn’t forced injections). They’re simply choosing not to associate with un vaccinated people. This is first amendment from both sides all the way. It’s literally no different from not wanting to employ people that don’t have a driver’s license, or some credential, or are convicted of crimes.

Post by edem » Sun, Aug 01, 2021, 7:38 PM UTC

h4waii wrote: post #28

todd3834 wrote: post #10

I’ve been part of a lot of these conversations and it is important to note that there is a significant percentage of employees that want to go back to the office. The trick is how to please everyone. It is easy to say, let those who want to come back come and those who don’t stay home. However those that want to go back say it is because they want to be surrounded by their coworkers. Having gone back to the office vo…

Well said, I do want to point out that some of those who want to go back "to be surrounded by their coworkers" might be missing the fact that those who don't want to back might be because they don't want to be surrounded by their coworkers; they want to be surrounded by people they choose to have relationships with, not ones foisted upon them.