Employees are returning to the office to sit on zoom calls • Hacker News Board

Re: Employees are returning to the office to sit on zoom calls

#141

Post by chillfox » Sun, Apr 03, 2022, 7:06 AM UTC

ryanSrich wrote: post #133

As someone who has worked on startups, side gigs, and only around 6 months at a “real” company. I’m always blown away at how many meetings there are in corporate America. What are you even meeting about? Why aren’t you doing hands on keyboard work? Why does a decision need to be made in a room, with everyone pretending to listen? Why are you presenting something to me when I’ll comprehend it far better if I read it,…

Don’t forget the pre meeting meeting to discuss the upcoming meeting and the post meeting meeting to review the meeting.

Re: Employees are returning to the office to sit on zoom calls

#142

Post by heavyset_go » Sun, Apr 03, 2022, 7:09 AM UTC

chews wrote: post #122

dSebastien wrote: post #119

Same here. Everyone was "happy" and "proud" about our remote performance and now they force us back to the office 50% of the time. Many people seem to see it as a great leap forward, but I don't. One of the company value is supposed to be "independent"... This week I was supposed to go, not see my kids in the morning, waste 2 hours in the train, expose myself to Covid, just to sit alone in an office and discuss throu…

Quoted post unavailable.

Changes in terms of employment is one of the few reasons you can collect unemployment after voluntarily quitting.

Re: Employees are returning to the office to sit on zoom calls

#143

Post by lpapez » Sun, Apr 03, 2022, 7:12 AM UTC

irrational wrote: post #52

chihuahua wrote: post #5

This reminds me of the time about 7 years ago when my team (in Redmond, WA) wanted to send me to Beijing for a year. I didn't agree so they sent someone else instead. He spent most of the year living in Beijing and working with a team in Bellevue, WA.

Frankly that sounds awesome. Company paid opportunity to experience another culture in depth? Yes please!

The perspective depends heavily on your position in life. E.g. I can't imagine many parents taking up on such an offer.

Re: Employees are returning to the office to sit on zoom calls

#144

Post by onion2k » Sun, Apr 03, 2022, 7:13 AM UTC

chews wrote: post #122

dSebastien wrote: post #119

Same here. Everyone was "happy" and "proud" about our remote performance and now they force us back to the office 50% of the time. Many people seem to see it as a great leap forward, but I don't. One of the company value is supposed to be "independent"... This week I was supposed to go, not see my kids in the morning, waste 2 hours in the train, expose myself to Covid, just to sit alone in an office and discuss throu…

Quoted post unavailable.

Your terms of employment are negotiable. If you don't like them then you are always free to discuss them with your employer. You should never assume that your employer is able to dictate terms, or even that they want to. Most companies want their staff to do good work and are happy to come to an arrangement that benefits everyone.

Re: Employees are returning to the office to sit on zoom calls

#145

Post by heavyset_go » Sun, Apr 03, 2022, 7:14 AM UTC

azth wrote: post #90

freyr wrote: post #40

This is the most frustrating part of being forced back to the Bay Area. Even before the pandemic, we always had distributed meetings, with people calling in from various buildings, conference rooms, phone booths, etc. So nothing changes between last month and this month, except that managers get peace-of-mind knowing I’m calling in from somewhere on the premises, and I’m back living in a place where I can’t afford a…

Those companies have to justify their office leases somehow.

A few of them built multibillion dollar campuses, as well.

Re: Employees are returning to the office to sit on zoom calls

#146

Post by jdrc » Sun, Apr 03, 2022, 7:15 AM UTC

we need to target specifically the lack of social element in remote work, not remote work itself. remote work has to change cities and create an ecosystem around it, like the office did. We haven't even started, are there startups working on it?

Re: Employees are returning to the office to sit on zoom calls

#147

Post by jdrc » Sun, Apr 03, 2022, 7:18 AM UTC

ryanSrich wrote: post #137

proc0 wrote: post #87

I was thinking returning to the office is sort of a 'prisoner's dilemma'. Everyone has to make the same choice for it to be effective, otherwise the office experience is diminished and working from home is better at that point, since you'll be in remote meetings anyway. I still think it's a matter of control that the office is preferred. There's absolutely no reason why software problems can't be solved remotely, esp…

The reason to have anyone in an office is because it makes managers and executives feel better. It’s really that simple. No one who has ever worked remotely themselves could possibly believe that employees are more productive in an office. I think the delusion most people tell themselves about in person being better for spontaneous conversations, and better productivity comes down to just wanting human interaction. W…

ok. how do we make managers and execs feel better even when everyoen is working remotely then? lots of opportunity for dashboard-sellers there

Re: Employees are returning to the office to sit on zoom calls

#148

Post by Scarblac » Sun, Apr 03, 2022, 7:20 AM UTC

mike_d wrote: post #121

simongray wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I drive to work, communicate with no one except on the computer, then drive home. You don't talk to people aside from at the meetings?

Do people have hallway conversations? Sure. Are they conversations that a company would consider help further the bottom line? Not at all.

Those conversations are actually the most important reason our directors want us back in the office. It's how company culture spreads to new people.

Re: Employees are returning to the office to sit on zoom calls

#149

Post by jrockway » Sun, Apr 03, 2022, 7:22 AM UTC

hunter-gatherer wrote: post #55

tootie wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I once flew to Alberta, CA from New York to have a conference call with a team that was in another part of Alberta.

This is one of thise asinine things that I can't beleive though at the same time, I know you're telling the truth. Our world is so dumb sometimes.

I always found it kind of sad when I would have video conferences with people in the same building. But I didn't want to walk up 12 flights of stairs (very dodgy elevators in that building; wayyyyy under capacity for an office building), and they didn't want to walk down 12 flights of stairs, so there we were.

This is even worse at corporate campuses like the Googleplex. It might be a mile walk to go meet someone in person, while that 1 person video conference room is just footsteps away. Sad, but what can you do. (That said, I've been in meetings where I realized the other half of the group was next door, and said "wait, I'll just come over". Sometimes it's just unfortunate incremental iteration on the list of conference rooms and not actually a good reason.)

Re: Employees are returning to the office to sit on zoom calls

#150

Post by closeparen » Sun, Apr 03, 2022, 7:23 AM UTC

dSebastien wrote: post #119

Same here. Everyone was "happy" and "proud" about our remote performance and now they force us back to the office 50% of the time. Many people seem to see it as a great leap forward, but I don't. One of the company value is supposed to be "independent"... This week I was supposed to go, not see my kids in the morning, waste 2 hours in the train, expose myself to Covid, just to sit alone in an office and discuss throu…

Surely it’s equally ridiculous that your kids would leave the house for school. Or that they would ever move out just to do their own Zoom jobs. But at some point we’ve got three generations who have rarely if ever the left the house and have spent their whole lives Zooming from separate rooms. Some kind of sci-fi dystopia.