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

Post by Apocryphon » Wed, Mar 30, 2022, 5:03 PM UTC

boh wrote: post #365

osigurdson wrote: post #258

I don't think there is anything else more illogical in modern society than waking up in building A, hopping in a car and fighting traffic for an hour to get to building B just to sit in front of a computer for 8 hours (perhaps with a few minimally productive meetings here and there), then commute back to building A 8 hours later. Building B sits empty for 16 hours a day while Building A sits empty for 10 with both be…

If the environmental impact is the only relevant factor for human interaction, then yes you're right. However society doesn't abide by isolation.

Post by prepend » Wed, Mar 30, 2022, 5:12 PM UTC

acdha wrote: post #260

prepend wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's actually pretty easy to fire people in government jobs I suppose it depends on the government, but my experience is that it’s extremely difficult to fire people. I spoke with HR at a US federal organization that said their termination rate is .1% of employees and half of those are during the 1-year probation period. That’s extremely low and I think an indicator of how hard it is to fire people in government. I…

What do you think the termination rate should be, and why? One big confound to remember is that it’s generally hard to get US government jobs because a lot of work has been outsourced to contractors, so the federal workforce trends older and more experienced. That pool of people is less likely to be fired for cause in general. When thinking about why you believe more people should be fired, consider the politics — bo…

Post by tetromino_ » Wed, Mar 30, 2022, 5:23 PM UTC

bearjaws wrote: post #266

osigurdson wrote: post #258

I don't think there is anything else more illogical in modern society than waking up in building A, hopping in a car and fighting traffic for an hour to get to building B just to sit in front of a computer for 8 hours (perhaps with a few minimally productive meetings here and there), then commute back to building A 8 hours later. Building B sits empty for 16 hours a day while Building A sits empty for 10 with both be…

I was appalled to find our office lease was $20,000 a month. We could hire two FTEs for the price of that office, and we are not even in a premium space. To your point about efficiency: I don't believe our office produces 2 FTE's worth of additional productivity across the whole org. Leadership thinks it does, but assuming we acquire decent talent, that would be a net 10% increase in engineering. I don't believe the…

Post by ipiz0618 » Wed, Mar 30, 2022, 5:31 PM UTC

osigurdson wrote: post #258

I don't think there is anything else more illogical in modern society than waking up in building A, hopping in a car and fighting traffic for an hour to get to building B just to sit in front of a computer for 8 hours (perhaps with a few minimally productive meetings here and there), then commute back to building A 8 hours later. Building B sits empty for 16 hours a day while Building A sits empty for 10 with both be…

Post by ChuckNorris89 » Wed, Mar 30, 2022, 5:36 PM UTC

jen20 wrote: post #426

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #403

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>This is not true. There are many such opportunities if you ask, especially now. Your statement definitely does not apply where I currently live (Austria). No tech company I've interviewed here is 100% remote as of now. They always expect more or less around 30-50% in office presence for new hires. They almost always have some staff at near 100% remote but those are usually tenured employees that management does not…

> as US taxes aren't that much lower than in Europe. US taxes being similar to Europe (which in my experience is true) certainly does not equate to an equivalent safety net.