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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

#641

Post by BluePen7 »

gspencley wrote: post #98
makingstuffs wrote: post #66

People need to stop trying to make things return to the original office model. Employees have realised we are equally as effective working from home and simply do not want to waste 2+ UNPAID hours of every day travelling to a corporate building for the sake of it. Nor do people want to spend £10+ a day on food and drinks which they have in their fridge, at home. Then there is also the social pressure of having to go…

> Employees have realised we are equally as effective working from home and simply do not want to waste 2+ UNPAID hours of every day travelling to a corporate building for the sake of it. Not only is it unpaid, it actually costs the employee money. In the worst case you need a car + the insurance, fuel and maintenance costs associated. In the best case you still need to pay for public transportation. > Nor do people…

When I switched to WFH, it was amazing suddenly finding an extra 5 figures annually in my pocket.

Commuting is also the most dangerous thing the average person does.

My wife only commutes in 4 days a month, and we still have dashcam footage from multiple close calls.

Recently a pickup truck cut someone off and hit their car, then proceeded to flee during rush hour. In traffic doing about 20MPH he swerves though a hair away from my wife at over 60MPH. She asked me to check the footage because the wind force was so strong she wasn't sure he didn't graze her.

Everyone looks at you crazy if you want to do an extreme sport, or even something like dirtbiking, but on my old commute there'd be 2-3 major accidents a week, a death every week or two, and nobody bats an eye. All so I can log into a data centre in North Virginia, that's nowhere near me.

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

#642

Post by rqtwteye »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #356
rqtwteye wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

" I'd rather take a 50% paycut than go back to the office." People should stop saying this. Otherwise it will soon be the standard to take a serious paycut for WFH. .

(Shrug) If that's what it takes, that's what it takes. Commuting is for suckers, regardless of how many numbers are on your paycheck.

Pay cuts are for suckers too.

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

#643

Post by benterix »

ghaff wrote: post #359
gitfan86 wrote: post #338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have not run into this attitude in tech from executives. Finance is much more of a heiracy culture I guess. I have run into this at a peer level though. I've negotiated WFH and extra vacation and have learned to keep it in the down low. They get mad at me, but I'm not the one that is their boss and I couldn't care less if they WFH.

It certainly varies. I've had a casual relationship with senior execs (subject of course to understanding that they get to make the decisions at the end of the day). However, I've heard the stories about some senior execs that are of the mindset of "Don't make eye contact with me unless you've been spoken to." I didn't quite believe it at first because it's never been my experience but it's a thing. I haven't taken a…

> it's never been my experience but it's a thing

Yes it is a thing. It starts when you get promoted to a more senior role. The thing is, nothing much changed inside or outside, so many people feel they need to make a point. They start to dress differently, behave differently, introduce distance - to make sure others understand who is in the "superior" position.

I noticed thin in insecure types or those who need some confirmation of their value. But there are many people who are exact opposites, especially in the younger generation. They understand that being a manager doesn't mean giving orders but supporting your team in their work. It's so much easier for everybody.

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

#644

Post by rqtwteye »

commandlinefan wrote: post #381
rqtwteye wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"To me it beggars belief that companies spend so much on humans only to put them in an environment where it’s impossible to concentrate." But "collaboration"....

Those hallway conversations where the real magic happens, man.

Bathrooms are best for quick discussions.

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

#645

Post by giantrobot »

chaostheory wrote: post #465
swader999 wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Constant surveillance. It really is like that.

It doesn't end with WFH especially if your work computer is a Windows box. Not sure how much MS telemetry collects, but it tends to be on in org managed windows computers

Joke's on them, my work laptop hasn't checked in with the company DC in months. They don't know what I'm doing (besides tickets and commits)! Though this means all sorts of shit trying to use my AD account is broken. Hooray Windows!

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

#646

Post by omar12 »

What others have likely mentioned, the biggest perk that I get from WFH is flexibility to do home duties during business hours. Working from home has given me the flexibility to manage my day to deal with personal errands along with your work responsibilities.

When coming to the office, all the home tasks are left for later, where my cognitive level is below ideal or where businesses are closed.

There is also child care, where when working from home, you can pick up your kids, where you are present for them.

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

#647

Post by pookha »

I've never worked from home. I wouldn't even know what to do with myself...In the red hot heat of the pandemic (April of 2020) I was commuting to an office with 50+ other people (developers) in a cubicle forest. I even worked with an elderly lady. I caught covid something like three times and I'm waiting for the next round to fire up again. Working in DC has its advantages but dodging plagues is not one of them.

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

#648

Post by lumost »

steveBK123 wrote: post #69
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 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 2 cents, companies are effectively asking to increase working hours by 5-10 hours per week for most workers assuming a 30-60 minute commute each way. Many employers will try lure workers away from the office with remote work. These firms may offset any hypothetical productivity costs with lower wages. Some engineers will prioritize remote for the larger employer pool, and others will prioritize in-person for greater social connection.

We'll see what happens in 20 years. But my money is on a resurgence of the rural village and a lot of empty office towers.

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

#649

Post by haldujai »

steveBK123 wrote: post #615
caseyohara wrote: post #591

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did Solomon actually produce those tracks though? I always assumed it was a ghost producer.

He flies around doing live sets, so maybe?

Does he do live sets (realizing the definitions are loose but essentially creating music live with something like an Ableton) as opposed to DJ sets (basically mixing pre-recorded tracks live, what most DJ performances are)?

I've never seen him perform but a DJ set ranges from people who just hit the play button and follow a recipe (e.g. Paris Hilton) to very technical mixing (e.g. Maceo Plex). A live set is substantially more challenging (and why few do it) but would be strong support he's not having his released tracks ghost produced.

Either way, good for him in my opinion. I also like mixing as a creative outlet but am terrible at it. If I was worth 9 figures I'd probably get a ghost producer to help me out and enjoy the experience of DJing.

David Solomon only really pitches himself as a hobbyist anyway so I don't think there's anything misleading/shameful about it if he is in fact just getting everything ghost produced and doing a 'lite' mixing DJ set live. There are plenty of full-time "professional" DJs who do the same thing.

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

#650

Post by acuozzo »

Zetice wrote: post #14
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.

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

Ever hear of The New Deal?

It was necessary because many, many US citizens hit hard by The Great Depression figured out in that time how to live without depending on regular (or any) work.

Tent cities; hunting; scavenging; farming; begging; stealing; mutual aid networks; etc.

It wasn't the best life, but for many it was found to be preferable to the factories or the docks.

To even consider returning to living a life dependent on a wage, Uncle Sam needed to offer them a new deal.

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