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

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

#511

Post by indymike »

flandish wrote: post #215
steveBK123 wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My favorite story on this thread is that during the hybrid period, GS CEO threw a fit when out in the Hamptons because some analyst (fairly junior role almost at the bottom) had the balls to go introduce themselves during a workday lunch at a restaurant. He couldn't articulate a specific, valid complaint like "I was out at a client lunch and they were goofing off" or "I was on a vacation day while they were supposed…

This example is a stark reminder that the complaints are most often not about details but about class . The CEO was upset others were allowed to perform as if they were of the same class. It’s always class when one boils it down, imho.

> The CEO was upset others were allowed to perform as if they were of the same class.

I doubt it. Companies that try to hire pedigree know that they are hiring from the same class. The disdain is shock from a junior not working 20 hour days and sleeping under the desk.

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

#512

Post by steveBK123 »

HWR_14 wrote: post #479
steveBK123 wrote: post #335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To put some numbers on it "Associate" is a $150-$250K TC role vs DJ CEO making $25M.

In real numbers, it's a DJ ($5k) CEO ($25MM).

Yes, but the funny thing is that.. for a guy worried about how hard his worker bees are working / how focussed they were during COVID.. he dropped A LOT of tracks during COVID.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_M._Solomon

In fact, almost his entire track history was during COVID.. in a time that the company he runs has had some headline-grabbing losses in their consumer division.

So I think its fair to say he should focus on his own productivity here first.

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

#513

Post by CoastalCoder »

ibejoeb wrote: post #416
lampshades wrote: post #378

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How were you able to soundproof it? I have an office (upstairs) that I would love to soundproof so that I don't have to wear my headphones all day.

Apparently bath towels can perform even better than bespoke acoustic paneling. I haven't tried it, but there are tons of tutorials. Here someone testing it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eKwb58vvFI This is the original one I saw when I considering doing it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pABvTWSxOes One more DIY with fabric and rock wool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPEouyiEt3Q

Effective soundproofing is tricky.

I had to wade through a lot of conflicting advice when I did it.

I suspect a big factor is that most people do only a handful of implementations, and might overgeneralize the lessons they draw.

Also, for a given structure and environment, most people can only afford to try 1-2 soundproofing approaches (wall structure, ventilation, etc.) So it's hard to know if they picked a good point in the tradeoffs space.

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

#514

Post by MattPalmer1086 »

ibejoeb wrote: post #379
MattPalmer1086 wrote: post #353

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've only got a small home. We finally turned the smallest bedroom into an office for me and the wife. It's great, and much more comfortable than commuting to an open plan noisy office. I have more desk space and nicer equipment at home.

Do you both use the office at the same time? Is it used a working office or more like a meeting room for when you need privacy?

Yes, we do use it at the same time. We also have times when we need privacy and one of us has to work elsewhere. Mostly it's just me in the office though as my wife doesn't need it as often.

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

#515

Post by np- »

rayiner wrote: post #179
steveBK123 wrote: post #69

Earlier 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…

> Before the pandemic, I already made a lot more money (as a lawyer) than my middle class neighbors. Now I also get to work from home three days a week, and get a lot more quality time with my kids, while they have to go to work every day because their jobs aren’t knowledge work.

With all due respect - so what? This seems like crab in a bucket mentality, just because some of us crabs managed to climb to the top of the bucket, we deserve to be pulled down because of some warped view of fairness? We should actually be trying to pull the rest of them out with us.

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

#516

Post by ted_dunning »

intended wrote: post #140
mdorazio wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You can't be serious. I have to agree with the parent post here. What do you think the median age of HN commenters is? I'd say it's probably mid-late 20s, in which case most people graduated after the great recession was largely over and only experienced the COVID blip that wasn't a cyclical recession in the normal sense and mostly helped tech workers instead of harming them.

The median age here would be 40s.

Same point applies. Somebody who is 40 has seen the last bit of one recession that didn't hit tech as hard as the dot com crash (or as hard as 1991 or 1980).

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

#518

Post by sph »

coryfklein wrote: post #354

One efficiency of WFH that is underappreciated is the ability to match working hours to capacity. I can't count how many times I was in the office and 3 PM rolled around and I was completely spent . I knew that with a herculean effort I could probably squeeze a few more drops of productivity into my day, but it wasn't worth it. But you can't just "go home" at 3 PM. So you check some emails. Look over your shoulder an…

Careful, going down this path will make you realise that if you can optimise your workday and eliminate any distractions such as meetings and wasted time, you'd fill 3-4 hours of extreme focused work, and you'd be spent. In normal office work, these 4 hours of focus are spread over 8 hours.

I have reached this state, and it feels surreal to complete a day's worth of work in my morning, so I have the entire afternoon for chores, research and other unstructured me or family time.

The silver lining of the pandemic is that it might be the first step towards the abolishment of the 40 hours week. We're talking about 4 day work week now and it's still far too much time dedicated to your employer, that's still filled with mostly nonsense. We should be pushing for the 15-20 hour work week instead. Or just be your own boss I guess.

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

#519

Post by mrguyorama »

throwaway290 wrote: post #442
fernandotakai wrote: post #386

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i'm 100% an extrovert. i still prefer working from home. why? because i like having my own office, with a door that i can close. i like that i have my own setup, specifically designed by me so i can be as comfortable as possible. i love that i can stop work for 30min and just play with my dog or talk to my wife. oh, and i LOVE that i have privacy and i don't have someone looking at what i'm doing for 8h.

How horrible are those offices people talk about (I guess in US)? Is it really the norm that people look over your shoulder? I like when it's quiet and private but I also like to come work from an office... Even though it's a basic small shared space and I literally work from my laptop (can't be bothered to hook up the screen etc). I do like not having to do it every day so I am free to come or not but I look forward…

If you've never seen one, an open office looks like a lan party. A really really busy and cramped one.

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

#520

Post by devmunchies »

o1y32 wrote: post #397
mytailorisrich wrote: post #30

People 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…

My data point: I live 10 minutes walk from my office, the campus has a cafeteria, and I have my own office. Still I don't want to be forced to come into office, simply because I feel more comfortable and relaxed at home. It is a quiet place, I don't want to random interruptions from colleagues, and I can take a nap on my comfortable bed if needed, none of which can be offered in the office. Having prepared food is ni…

> simply because I feel more comfortable and relaxed at home

this core preference in environment and vibe is the main difference between the 2 camps. I was desperate to be in an office where there was a buzz of high energy and a go, go, go environment like skydivers jumping out of a plane. Would still prefer a private office though so get deep focus when necessary.

Not sure if its nature or nurture, since I grew up doing team sports year round.

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