The productivity loss for working in open plan work spaces is 15%-20%. Compare the cost of space vs hiring 20% more employees.
Want employees to return to the office? Then give each one an office
251–260 of 838 posts
Re: Want employees to return to the office? Then give each one an office
#252People who like WFH will never want to return to the office unless perhaps the office is a 5 minute walk from home (they may be forced to, but they won't want to). For many people the time and cost savings of avoiding a daily commute cannot be offset by a nicer office. Those who are happy to return to the office in general are those who do not like WFH and prefer more contacts and a change of scenery. A nicer office…
It's not the commute that stops me- it's the "being on". At home I don't have to dress a certain way, sit a certain way, eat a certain way, etc
At home I'm either working or not working. I don't have to wear my public face. Wearing a public face is, if not tiring, at least irritating, like a mild itch you're not allowed to scratch, even though you could, but you shouldn't.
Re: Want employees to return to the office? Then give each one an office
#253I don’t think people understand how cheap people in Ukraine, Poland and other countries are willing to work if companies go fully remote.
Re: Want employees to return to the office? Then give each one an office
#254Earlier quoted context omitted.
My vaguely populist take is that the pandemic, WFH/remote and hybrid gave the mass white collar class a taste of what the C-suite has had for years.. flexibility. Sure, these guys might go into the office but they do so from their pied-a-terre / 3rd home / whatever within a 5 minute chauffeured drive. They do this while maintaining a nearby suburban/exurban estate and maybe a lake/beach/ski houses where they spend th…
> My vaguely populist take is that the pandemic, WFH/remote and hybrid gave the mass white collar class a taste of what the C-suite has had for years.. flexibility. That’s not populist at all. It’s just another example of the white collar class enjoying the benefits of technology and globalization while everyone else gets left behind: https://www.epi.org/blog/wage-inequality-continued-to-increa... . Before the pandem…
It’s just another example of the white collar class enjoying the benefits of technology and globalization while everyone else gets left behind
There's a lot more to it than that.
WFH has been a godsend for a millions of people who work full-time, but are also poor.
I drove for Uber for a while when I was between jobs. The majority of the people I carted around were people who thought Uber was a godsend because they were too poor to save for a car, and Uber allowed them to have a job that didn't involve manual or skilled labor they couldn't perform. People like call center operators, and medical coders (which is not the same thing as computer coding), and other jobs that aren't suitable for machines, and often done in a cube farm.
The pandemic sent all those people into WFH, and many of their companies found that the price of equipping their people with a laptop and headset was cheaper than paying rent on cubical space.
Now those working poor can put the expense of Uber into saving for a car, or buying clothes for their children, or any of the assorted other things that people need every day.
For millions of people, WFH is a helping hand out of poverty.
Re: Want employees to return to the office? Then give each one an office
#255The apocryphal narrative is that extroverts like the office, but introverts prefer WFH, ceteris domestic situations being paribus . Maybe tech workflow has a more natural fit with WFH, and tech attracts more introverts, so WFH could be the doubly reinforced preference. It seems psychologically plausible, but what is your experience?
> It seems psychologically plausible, but what is your experience?
I am dating a wide range of men, but I avoid engineers, because I don't want to date nerds like myself. Anyways, from my experience, the vast majority of the guys I meet is absolutely shocked and often disgusted by the idea of 100% homeoffice as I have it. "But don't you miss talking to people?", they ALL say. (I don't, I hate people)
So in short, I am convinced you are right.
Re: Want employees to return to the office? Then give each one an office
#256Earlier quoted context omitted.
My vaguely populist take is that the pandemic, WFH/remote and hybrid gave the mass white collar class a taste of what the C-suite has had for years.. flexibility. Sure, these guys might go into the office but they do so from their pied-a-terre / 3rd home / whatever within a 5 minute chauffeured drive. They do this while maintaining a nearby suburban/exurban estate and maybe a lake/beach/ski houses where they spend th…
> My vaguely populist take is that the pandemic, WFH/remote and hybrid gave the mass white collar class a taste of what the C-suite has had for years.. flexibility. That’s not populist at all. It’s just another example of the white collar class enjoying the benefits of technology and globalization while everyone else gets left behind: https://www.epi.org/blog/wage-inequality-continued-to-increa... . Before the pandem…
The similarities are skin-deep. Managers are typically capital-owners; employees are not. Capital owners get to dictate societal priorities in a way that others will simply never be able to.
Re: Want employees to return to the office? Then give each one an office
#257I've literally never worked somewhere where people other than upper-management had individual offices. I'm on board with the theory of why its better, but I think it would feel weird to start with. I might grow to love it, but it wouldn't be an immediate enticement.
Re: Want employees to return to the office? Then give each one an office
#258Earlier quoted context omitted.
Honestly, trying to fix the problems of: 1) expensive office space and 2) people not coming into the office with 3) more _expensive_ office space is just the kind of McKinsey-level thinking we should expect.
Making offices bigger and nicer will 1) mean fewer offices (per unit space, since they are bigger) 2) make people more likely to come in (since they are nicer) The point where those cross over seems like a good target, the highest number of happy office workers you can fit.
> 1) mean fewer offices (per unit space, since they are bigger)
I think this is rather optimistic. If you give more square feet per employee and expect most/all to come in, the idea that it will mean fewer offices doesn't really add up.
Re: Want employees to return to the office? Then give each one an office
#259Earlier quoted context omitted.
I used to live 5mins from work. The office catered lunch every day, but I still went home every day to eat lunch with my wife instead. Hated being at that place
even if you like the place, hard to beat lunch with the wife
I tell recruiters I want remote because there's nothing better than seeing my wife or playing with my cat when I need to take a break. Every single recruiter understands completely. Some will push remote, others respectfully end the conversation because they know they cant beat that.
Re: Want employees to return to the office? Then give each one an office
#260I'm most productive where I have my workstation. It doesn't matter if that's at home or in office. If you want me to commute 45 minutes twice a day so you can physically see me, I'm going to need my own dedicated space, not some "grab what you can" hotel seating.
Also, companies really should be adding some incentive for that 1.5-2 hours wasted each day.