Is going to the office a broken way of working? • Hacker News Board

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#211

Post by stevage » Mon, Oct 11, 2021, 10:10 PM UTC

dijit wrote: post #151

I’ll echo a bit what others say. I like the office. A separate space, where I don’t pay for power, where colleagues can drop in on me, where the space is centred on peace and there are subtle conveniences like vending machines. I like it. But I’m not willing to commute 30+ minutes each way of my own time for that. And I’m not willing to sit in one of those battery farm open offices. Being able to control my own audia…

Well said about being able to control your auditory and visual environment. I used to struggle a lot in office spaces if there were noisy conversations nearby, people pacing about etc. Much better at home in solitude.

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#212

Post by ZFtdGGXwyWIpKKv » Mon, Oct 11, 2021, 10:10 PM UTC

screye wrote: post #195

fullshark wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being forced to travel somewhere random on the planet every two months for work and live out of a hotel room sounds terrible frankly. The company would have to spend lavishly and find exotic / fun locations I think otherwise I'd resent it and quit. Ultimately the ideal is not a one size fits all solution but different companies developing different cultures remote/hybrid/in person strategies and employees having opti…

> Being forced to travel somewhere random on the planet every two months for work and live out of a hotel room sounds terrible frankly. The company would have to spend lavishly and find exotic / fun locations I think otherwise I'd resent it and quit. There is always someone huh. Such an arrangement literally sounds like the dream remote arrangement to me. It never even crossed my mind that there would be people who w…

You're completely unable to empathize with those of us who have families and other commitments outside of work. Being forced to travel for work to some faraway "exotic" destination is literally the worst thing ever for someone who has kids or an ailing relative or even a garden to tend to. Mandatory offsites are extremely painful for those who have strong ties to home.

At my company offsites aren't mandatory: those who want to go, can go; but those who for some reason don't want to or can't are not looked down upon as "non-team players" or "antisocial". People are all different, and it's about time you recognized that.

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#213

Post by dan-robertson » Mon, Oct 11, 2021, 10:11 PM UTC

IggleSniggle wrote: post #72

Ancalagon wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the other point I wanted to make (but frankly I was too scared that maybe it’s just because I suck at meeting people now that I haven’t socialized like a normal person in a year). It just seems harder to meet people _in general_ than it did even two years ago. Like where is everybody? Does everyone stay home literally all the time now?

Well, yes. If not "everyone," certainly lots and lots of folks are just staying home whenever possible. Because we are in the middle of a global pandemic. I think this has much more to do with "we are in a global pandemic" than "you can't meet people doing remote work." Certainly, there were a number of larger groups that I used to hang out with consistently pre-pandemic, but now have totally abandoned. I'm not inter…

I think it is, on average, incorrect to say that people are staying home for fear of the pandemic which is what I think you are suggesting. I think the average hn reader probably skews much more cautious about coronavirus, much better able to remain indoors, and much more, for want of a better phrase, socially responsible than the average person. And even among hn readers plenty will not be staying at home much.

That said, I think there are pandemic-adjacent reasons people might be doing less socialising. Maybe people you might socialise with have moved away and not been replaced in the last two years. Maybe the people who would organise events you would go to skew more towards the cautious end. Maybe people are less interested in social things due to other upheavals in their lives. Maybe people have forgotten how to socialise. Maybe they are focusing on the relationships they had before more than anything new. Maybe we just forget how hard things were before and look at the past with rose-tinted spectacles.

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#214

Post by dan-robertson » Mon, Oct 11, 2021, 10:13 PM UTC

orangecat wrote: post #191

ipaddr wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People don't want to get covid. Getting close to large groups or new groups feels unsafe. Going out unnecessary feels socially unacceptable.

Going out unnecessary feels socially unacceptable. This is silly if you're vaccinated and not in an unusually high risk group.

I think it’s not a question of what is rational but of how one feels and how one’s social circle feels.

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#215

Post by KronisLV » Mon, Oct 11, 2021, 10:13 PM UTC

marcusverus wrote: post #185

KronisLV wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Nor would you let them require that you spend an unpaid hour of your free time reading or doing professional development each week. Depending on how you look at things, this may or may not be necessary to be done on your own accord in your free time to avoid your skills getting dated and irrelevant. Essentially, you do have to keep up with at least some of the new developments within the industry to remain employab…

We're in total agreement--that was probably not a great example.

Apart from that, this is a really nice way to put it:

> Your time is a commodity. Why give it away?

These things aren't even considered most of the time in regards to commute or other practices in the corporate world, just because they're "the normal".

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#216

Post by _6pvr » Mon, Oct 11, 2021, 10:13 PM UTC

bserge wrote: post #203

IggleSniggle wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, yes. If not "everyone," certainly lots and lots of folks are just staying home whenever possible. Because we are in the middle of a global pandemic. I think this has much more to do with "we are in a global pandemic" than "you can't meet people doing remote work." Certainly, there were a number of larger groups that I used to hang out with consistently pre-pandemic, but now have totally abandoned. I'm not inter…

"wE aRe iN tHe MidDlE oF a GlObAl PaNdEmIc" Man, fuck off. Sick to the bone of this shit. Where's that massive solar flare to show us real fucking problems. Not a manmade retarded response to a pathetic virus. Edit: and you, piece of shit going through old comments and downvoting everything. I see you. You're pathetic. At least flag something.

We are in the middle of a global pandemic. I'm sorry this reality upsets you.

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#217

Post by zz865 » Mon, Oct 11, 2021, 10:14 PM UTC

screye wrote: post #195

fullshark wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being forced to travel somewhere random on the planet every two months for work and live out of a hotel room sounds terrible frankly. The company would have to spend lavishly and find exotic / fun locations I think otherwise I'd resent it and quit. Ultimately the ideal is not a one size fits all solution but different companies developing different cultures remote/hybrid/in person strategies and employees having opti…

> Being forced to travel somewhere random on the planet every two months for work and live out of a hotel room sounds terrible frankly. The company would have to spend lavishly and find exotic / fun locations I think otherwise I'd resent it and quit. There is always someone huh. Such an arrangement literally sounds like the dream remote arrangement to me. It never even crossed my mind that there would be people who w…

> I am completely unable to empathize.

If you're travelling away who will look after you kids? Pets? Parents? Believe it or not most people have responsibilities.

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#218

Post by bserge » Mon, Oct 11, 2021, 10:14 PM UTC

_6pvr wrote: post #216

bserge wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"wE aRe iN tHe MidDlE oF a GlObAl PaNdEmIc" Man, fuck off. Sick to the bone of this shit. Where's that massive solar flare to show us real fucking problems. Not a manmade retarded response to a pathetic virus. Edit: and you, piece of shit going through old comments and downvoting everything. I see you. You're pathetic. At least flag something.

We are in the middle of a global pandemic. I'm sorry this reality upsets you.

No, the middle is far behind.

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#219

Post by halfmatthalfcat » Mon, Oct 11, 2021, 10:14 PM UTC

bserge wrote: post #208

ipaddr wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People don't want to get covid. Getting close to large groups or new groups feels unsafe. Going out unnecessary feels socially unacceptable.

No wonder everyone seems more of an asshole than usual. Great society we're building. Really future proof. /s

What’s the point of society if not to stress test it? Humanity won’t be able to rest on its laurels forever. If it’s not some local natural predator trying to kill us (animal, virus, etc), it’ll be some extraterrestrial species next. We need to go through periods like this to adapt and become stronger. God forbid humans go through a couple years of reduced contact. If we can’t do and society is really that fragile, that we deserve to get wiped out.

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#220

Post by dan-robertson » Mon, Oct 11, 2021, 10:14 PM UTC

raisedbyninjas wrote: post #186

Ancalagon wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the other point I wanted to make (but frankly I was too scared that maybe it’s just because I suck at meeting people now that I haven’t socialized like a normal person in a year). It just seems harder to meet people _in general_ than it did even two years ago. Like where is everybody? Does everyone stay home literally all the time now?

We've been staying home for well over a year now. Virtually all shopping is delivered and have eaten at a restaraunt once I think. Our work as had one outdoor happy hour that I would have gone to, except for non-pandemic issues. I've been blown away at the recent movie box office ticket sales. Maybe the covid blasé people are going out 50% more often than they did pre-pandemic.

If you’re in the US, I think your attitude is basically just extremely unrepresentative of the general population.