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The worst part of working from home is now haunting reopened offices

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Re: The worst part of working from home is now haunting reopened offices

#161

Post by Freak_NL »

rkangel wrote: post #77
fcatalan wrote: post #70

"Emergency" WFH at my workplace have been slashed, everyone back in full since the start of the month. No reason publically given, been privately told "not about people like you, but some others have taken a 2 year vacation so management is fed up". I have emails from the CEO personally thanking me for my commitment in going way over what was expected when basically saving the institution during lockdown, so now I al…

I think it is indefensible to bring people back to work in any workplace where mask wearing is needed at your desk. If you're admitting in that way that there is a risk in being in the office then you shouldn't be requiring them to be there!

Wow no indeed. I would be looking for a new job. Masks are a measure for times when no other option is available, not a standard check mark for every employee. From which management level upward do these rules not apply? It probably coincides with having your own private office…

Re: The worst part of working from home is now haunting reopened offices

#162

Post by swarnie »

scrapheap wrote: post #148

My team currently has to all go into the office for one day per week - that day is now referred to as "Low Productivity Day".

We have the same issue and the same term at my company.

For me its now beanie hat, wireless headphones with music, head down and don't bother me please.

Eventually they'll get sick of me and stop asking me to attend i hope.

Re: The worst part of working from home is now haunting reopened offices

#163

Post by toyg »

TuringTest wrote: post #104
maest wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting story, but why in Mexico?

In countries where it is very hot during the day, there is a cliché that people make the minimum effort necessary or even less. The cliché is true during the hottest hours, but it fails to admit that it is simply because most activity moves to the twilight hours when the heat subsides.

When I was in Cairo for work, the amount of people flowing out of their homes at dusk was unreal. Areas that were literally dead an hour earlier, became bustling with humanity.

When I left, I thought it was so stupid to build these big offices near the desert and to pack them full of people working 9 to 5 with massive amounts of aircon, effectively imposing on them the Northern European way of life - folks have been inhabiting those areas for millennia, they know how to properly deal with the environment they live in, let them work at night instead and save all that energy.

Re: The worst part of working from home is now haunting reopened offices

#164

Post by ciphol »

rosmax_1337 wrote: post #83
fcatalan wrote: post #70

"Emergency" WFH at my workplace have been slashed, everyone back in full since the start of the month. No reason publically given, been privately told "not about people like you, but some others have taken a 2 year vacation so management is fed up". I have emails from the CEO personally thanking me for my commitment in going way over what was expected when basically saving the institution during lockdown, so now I al…

>I have emails from the CEO personally thanking me for my commitment in going way over what was expected when basically saving the institution during lockdown It's a business not a skate park, tell your CEO that you appreciate the positive feedback but that if he really means what he is saying: he should put his money where his mouth is and give you a sizable raise or a considerable bonus.

He isn't complaining about lack of money, he's complaining about lack of WFH. He should ask for that.

Re: The worst part of working from home is now haunting reopened offices

#165

Post by ace32229 »

thawaya3113 wrote: post #52

In a hierarchy of options, it’s unsurprising most companies are settling in the worst of options, much like they did with their poorly designed open office plans. There’s nothing worse than the “flexible” options companies are settling on, where people come 2-3 days a week, have no fixed seating arrangements, and need to get used to a new setup every time.

No post body was provided.

Re: The worst part of working from home is now haunting reopened offices

#166

Post by giantrobot »

afr0ck wrote: post #111
watwut wrote: post #43

I think that people coming in and being alone or not talking whole day are things that will solve themselves over time. People/management will start to coordinate when who comes. People will start to socialize again. But, omg, I really don't want to go back to office. I like not having to travel there. I like breakfast in peace taking my sweet time for it and lunch at home. I like extra sleep I am getting in the morn…

I think WFH could be a blessing when you have a family. I still like WFH to a certain extent because I get more focused and more productive. But it has one major drawback: for solo people, like me, living alone, far from friends and family, it's very hard to not feel lonely. And to fill the loneliness gap, I tend to work more, casually burning out myself and then ending up depressed and feeling overworked. I am still…

> And to fill the loneliness gap, I tend to work more, casually burning out myself and then ending up depressed and feeling overworked.

This happened to me working in an office every day. I moved to a new city for work and lived alone. My friends and family were hundreds of miles away.

Co-workers are not going to solve this problem for you I am sorry to say. They're a temporary reprieve at best. You're going to need to build some sort of social circle for yourself outside of work.

You really should treat that situation as a major problem that needs to be addressed. You wouldn't drag around a broken leg, don't drag around loneliness and depression. Going into the office can't be your only in person socializing. It's only going to end up feeding into depression. It's not a fun spiral to get on.

Re: The worst part of working from home is now haunting reopened offices

#167

Post by davidgerard »

t_mann wrote: post #157

I'll venture a bet (not sure it's 100% true, but a fun idea to explore): sometime last year there was media hype about FAANG developers quitting their jobs to join crypto/web3 projects. Surely, ballooning crypto valuations played a large role in that, but part of it might have been driven by SV companies moving back to hybrid work schemes, while crypto projects have perfected the 'work-anywhere-you-want, literally' (…

I don't recall ever seeing a statistic of any sort attached to this particular claim. I'm sure there are more than zero people who ever did this, but hard numbers, or even soft ones, haven't been put forward.

Re: The worst part of working from home is now haunting reopened offices

#168

Post by tokai »

iso1210 wrote: post #153
joaodlf wrote: post #51

I love coming in to the office. Granted, I live a 20 min walk away. The walk in is through a beautiful county park, surrounded by nature. Most of my colleagues who live further away have stopped coming in. Understandable, I wouldn't want to get in a car to get here, traffic in the UK is horrible. It's all about personal circumstances, really. Living close to my workplace, having access to a nice office that is (now)…

My office is between my kitchen and the bathroom so the commute isn't exactly onerous However when the sun is shining I'll take a 20 minute walk a few times a day through the country, or I'll take an 40 minute long walk to a nice cafe for lunch. If it's pissing it down then I won't. Working from home doesn't stop me from choosing to go for a walk, or run, or bike ride, or horse ride, before starting work.

Is it not possible for you to go for a walk from the office?

Re: The worst part of working from home is now haunting reopened offices

#169

Post by codingdave »

> others are staying isolated in their offices, and all communication still happens over email, Slack, or Zoom.

I saw this even before the pandemic. Open office situations are noisy and distracting, everyone set up their desks so they would stare at walls, put on headphones, and used Slack to talk to people right next to them. One CEO even doubled down on it, giving attaboys to the people who sent the most Slack messages.

I don't have a problem with Slack. I like it, and feel it helps remote work. I just feel that this article is 100% correct that if everyone in the same room/office is using slack to talk to each other, something is broken with communication within that organization.

Re: The worst part of working from home is now haunting reopened offices

#170

Post by spaniard89277 »

DoingIsLearning wrote: post #103
showsover wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It might go either way to be honest. I'm currently living and working Spain as a SWE (immigrant) for a US company and the amount of useless meetings there is insane. That makes it quite hard to work on-the-go as half of the day is spent in meetings (most of them with camera turned on).

Can I ask how are you dealing with taxes, working for a US company in Spain? Are you contracting your SWE services and billing them? Or are you an employee of the US company?

Check remote.com or similar solutions. They have a few competitors, but for 200$ you become a full employee in your country of residence.
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