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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

#491

Post by prepend »

acdha wrote: post #456
prepend wrote: post #453

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t know what the rate is, but for comparison, a similarly sized organization, but private sector had a 1% firing rate or 10x. But my point is more about contrasting people who say firing is east without and experience or data to back it up. It’s like saying “Batting .500 is easy” when their own at bat it .200 or not even measured.

> I don’t know what the rate is, but for comparison, a similarly sized organization, but private sector had a 1% firing rate or 10x. What was the relative breakdown of their workforce by seniority? What did that look like on the .gov side if you include the contractors who've been the majority of the workforce growth since the 90s? I've seen a lot more churn in the latter and suspect that if you combined the two that…

I don’t have good data, but it’s all I have. The .1% is a good measure and it’s not an anecdote, but it’s only relevant to a single organization and not generalizable to all government organizations.

I wish I had better. But I have tons of anecdotes of people claiming firing is easy without any direct experience or data. So there’s that too.

Contractors are completely different as they aren’t fired at all and are easy to get rid of, sort of. But comparing contractors and employees in federal government is comparing apples and oranges.

But I stand by that it is very difficult to fire government employees.

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

#492

Post by granshaw »

incomingpain wrote: post #391
larrymyers wrote: post #320

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I expect that opposite will happen. Cities that are built for people (and not cars) will thrive. Nobody wants to drive everywhere. Cities that support multi-modal transportation and have mixed residential / commercial centers will thrive. Chicago does this well. From my front door I have the follow options: * The El (train, local stops) * Metra (train, commuter that gets out to the burbs) * Bus * Taxi * Divvy (e-bike…

Kind of offtopic, but how about safety consideration? Chicago is represented as quite dangerous in the media. As a resident, is the danger true?

4+ year Chicago resident here. Chicago neighborhoods vary night and day to each other. Crime is very well contained to the dangerous ones, and the neighborhoods where are tech worker can afford and would want to stay in are very safe.

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

#494

Post by benhurmarcel »

endymi0n wrote: post #108
fcatalan wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Nailed" it. Perfect description of my situation. I wish I weren't like this

To say it with the words of my first boss that stuck with me: "Love it, change it or leave it. No amount of complaining will ever do anything else than paint you as a naysayer." Was a hard pill to swallow, but my own experience proved me again and again he was spot on.

You can also just bear it, live with it.

Actually that's often the best choice, you need to pick your battles.

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

#495

Post by benhurmarcel »

Freak_NL wrote: post #161
rkangel wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

My company has been mandating 3 days/week at the office, with mandatory masks also. You're right, managers above a certain level have their private office and don't need to wear a mask all day.

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

#496

Post by seanmcdirmid »

ajdegol wrote: post #79
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…

This guy goes into a bar in Mexico and there’s a dog lying in the corner, every so often the dog whimpers and whines a little. The guy asks the barman “what’s up with that dog?” And the barman said “oh, he’s probably lying on a nail.” After a few more minutes and another set of whines, the guy asks the barman “so why doesn’t he move?” And the barman says “it probably doesn’t hurt enough for him to get up.”

Ageism is real. After some point in time, it isn't so easy to hop jobs anymore while your current company still values you (even if they make mistakes). So you don't rock the boat until you don't need to job anymore.

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

#497

Post by la64710 »

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…

No post body was provided.

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

#498

Post by seanmcdirmid »

larrymyers wrote: post #462
incomingpain wrote: post #391

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kind of offtopic, but how about safety consideration? Chicago is represented as quite dangerous in the media. As a resident, is the danger true?

No, Chicago is not dangerous on a per-capita basis. The news is incentivized to get attention, and "OMG you'll get robbed and shot" is a very effective and crude way to get those clicks. Chicago is no different than any other large city in that being aware of your surroundings and not doing dumb things is expected.

Chicago is no St. Louis or New Orleans, but 1000 out of 100k is 1%.

One of the reasons I never consider living in the midwest again (Toledo) is because my bike was stolen so many times as a kid. Crime doesn't make for nice living.

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

#499

Post by spaniard89277 »

higeorge13 wrote: post #470
spaniard89277 wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

In some countries working as full time employee via remote.com etc. gets you less money than having a company and dealing with the taxes.

Yes, that's common for sure, but you also don't have to deal with the amount of BS that comes with being a contractor in some countries. It's the case of Spain, where the Tax Agency and Social Security are very aggressive and gives lot of headaches depending on what you do.

Some employees even have premiums for putting their hand in your pocket. So yea, it may be more expensive but the peace of mind that gives you for offloading all of that to someone else is priceless.

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

#500

Post by la64710 »

Spooky23 wrote: post #236
evancoop wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"...not about people like you." My wife, who spent much of her career in corporate HR, would often note: "People who want to work, will work wherever you put them. People who don't want to work will find a way not to work wherever you put them." The people who used WFH as a "2 year vacation" are the same people who will wander the office engaging in random conversations and scrolling Facebook the remainder of the day…

It’s a level of friction that discourages the worst behaviors. You probably lock the front door of your house. The reality is, it’s not a meaningful thing in most cases, as a moderately in shape middle aged man, I could likely kick or pry it in in seconds. We do it because it keeps honest people out and increases the friction for the bad guys - kicking the door down in itself becomes a felony. (Burglary) Likewise, pe…

Probably you should then have looked at the dog joke on the top. If I DONT want to do stupid work beleive me , I will work very hard to find smart ways to NOT do your stupid work. In other words I will be the absolute lazy programmer whose output is so good that it scares their manager to the point of insecurity. These are the kind of people that wants “their” team back in office. Again something very stupid but it is a viscous circle…
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