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Want employees to return to the office? Then give each one an office

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Want employees to return to the office? Then give each one an office

#31

Post by ye-olde-sysrq »

_fizz_buzz_ wrote: post #27
1970-01-01 wrote: post #3

At home, the benefits are extreme. Full office, private bath, private bed, private kitchen, garaged parking, asset security, and a 30 second commute. The next wave of office workers will want it better than this, or it simply won't work.

I think a lot of people on here have not been through a real recession. Not saying that everybody will go back to working in an office, but thinking one can simply demand anything only works when employment is high. During a recession, it is either social assistance or one takes the job that is available.

It also works if employees collectively bargain.

Re: Want employees to return to the office? Then give each one an office

#32

Post by SonOfKyuss »

tehjoker wrote: post #2

I would say the most important factor for me would be to implement COVID-19 mitigations, but I also enjoy wfh now.

Corporate America is done with COVID for the most part. I don’t know of any non-medical office still doing any significant COVID mitigations other than possibly retaining enhanced cleaning protocols.

Re: Want employees to return to the office? Then give each one an office

#33

Post by xpe »

SnowProblem wrote: post #12

What companies today give software engineers offices? Microsoft's used to be fantastic in 00s and early 10s but they also were moving to open spaces when I left so not sure the state today.

Apple does, at least in some locations. Others who have more current knowledge can chime in.

Re: Want employees to return to the office? Then give each one an office

#34

Post by amf12 »

harshaw wrote: post #10

I think its fair to say that RTO is not about data, or studies, or about anything really. Leaders across all industries have decided people are coming back. Perhaps there is a secret cabal of commercial office space lenders who are putting pressure as share holders, or some other conspiracy theory. But it's happening - no one can do anything about it (except vote with your feet), and no one is going to get better acc…

> I think its fair to say that RTO is not about data,

What data do you have to support this, other than a personal anecdote?

Re: Want employees to return to the office? Then give each one an office

#35

Post by JJMcJ »

pipeline_peak wrote: post #4

Nah, I'm not going back to your stupid building to talk about sports in the break room while microwaving Tupperwared leftover chicken breast lol. Gas + commute time + increased likelihood to eat out (leftover chicken breast) = more money out of my pocket. And I could stretch even further with the endless banter, getting yelled at for not understanding things the first time (I'm not an auditory listener), disrespected…

> commute

Not only time but expense and accident risk, especially for an automobile commute.

Re: Want employees to return to the office? Then give each one an office

#37

Post by opless »

tehjoker wrote: post #2

I would say the most important factor for me would be to implement COVID-19 mitigations, but I also enjoy wfh now.

Covid hasn't gone away though.

Returning to an office is my idea of hell though. Getting I'll because some random employee won't take the time off or WFH because they have a cold/flu/covid is plenty enough reason to say "no"

Re: Want employees to return to the office? Then give each one an office

#38

Post by missingdays »

nkozyra wrote: post #17
Zetice wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Won’t work? How will these non-workers pay for things? They’ll have no choice but to work.

Depends on the timeline. Things are changing very rapidly. Automation seems to be coming at us at an exponential rate. The expectation that it's going to be business as usual is just as short sighted and archaic with regard going into an office as it is with the idea of work in general.

So far automation helps rich people get richer, and that's about it

Re: Want employees to return to the office? Then give each one an office

#40

Post by mandmandam »

_fizz_buzz_ wrote: post #27
1970-01-01 wrote: post #3

At home, the benefits are extreme. Full office, private bath, private bed, private kitchen, garaged parking, asset security, and a 30 second commute. The next wave of office workers will want it better than this, or it simply won't work.

I think a lot of people on here have not been through a real recession. Not saying that everybody will go back to working in an office, but thinking one can simply demand anything only works when employment is high. During a recession, it is either social assistance or one takes the job that is available.

> I think a lot of people on here have not been through a real recession.

You can't be serious.

> During a recession, it is either social assistance or one takes the job that is available.

It's only this way because we allow it to be. Huge productivity gains over the last decades have been captured by the .1%. There's nothing ambiguous or mysterious about it.

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