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80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

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Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#311

Post by Tomte »

azmodeus wrote: post #299
petre wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, the employers should really pay us rent for WFH because they are using our own facilities to make profits.

In Germany you can tax deduct your rent for an office room with a door and a proportion of your utilities for the office

Only if you don't use the room for anything except work.

You've got a computer in there that you're also using for private stuff? Not tax-deductible anymore.

Private books on the bookshelf? Not tax-deductible anymore.

You've got a wardrobe with some clothes you're only accessing once per season (to store off-season clothes)? Not tax-deductible anymore.

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#312

Post by FirmwareBurner »

petre wrote: post #256
philipov wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And you know what's a bigger cost savings than open office? No office!

Actually, the employers should really pay us rent for WFH because they are using our own facilities to make profits.

That might work if the job is fully remote and doesn't have a physical office for you to work at, as most companies will simply say "you can come to the office and use the facilities there for free".

Most decent companies will give you some money though for WFH or let you borrow stuff from the office like chairs and monitors.

While I'd love to have the financial burden of commuting/WFH be imposed on the employer instead on the workforce, that would require another labor revolution, so far I'd just be happy to have 100% WFH possibly. Internet I use anyway, and I can pay for the extra water, energy and heating by myself, the extra difference is insignificant compared to the time I save commuting to the office.

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#313

Post by mgrund »

eulgro wrote: post #206
GMoromisato wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Complete tangent: I wonder if it's uniquely American to believe that people can/should only be passionate about jobs that are world-changing. Or maybe it's just very common in the tech-world and HN. I'm absolutely guilty of this. I'm a software engineer, and I feel proud of having worked on products that millions of people use. Steve Jobs's challenge to "put a dent in the universe" is axiomatic for many of us. Yet I…

I find it very difficult to find meaning in a large portion of the jobs available today. Most workers are just another cog in the wheel. The system is so large that one cannot directly appreciate the effects of their work, or even know whether they are positive at all. This contrasts with say, a subsistance farmer who produces food for their family and lives in a small community where every product of their labor has…

> I find it very difficult to find meaning in a large portion of the jobs available today. Most workers are just another cog in the wheel. The system is so large that one cannot directly appreciate the effects of their work, or even know whether they are positive at all.

My experience is that the same job also has a large range for meaningfulness depending on how well leadership manages to facilitate it.

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#314

Post by pennaMan »

stevezsa8 wrote: post #282
lamontcg wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I find it funny that when people were required to be home, employers talked about what great productivity they were getting with people at home. Then when it isn't required anymore, they want everyone back in the office for...productivity. The decades of evidence that open office plans are utter shit for productivity already proved that the emperor wears no clothes and they have no idea what makes for better produc…

When we returned to the office, my boss decided even a single day WFH was frowned upon. Having to beg to stay home for a dentist appointment became a big ordeal. But my boss was a bit unhinged before covid. I found it funny that my lockdown productivity suddenly counted for nothing. I have friends at other companies who have been 3 days per week WFH for 2 years and really appreciate the flexibility.

I hope the past tense means you're not working at that hell hole anymore

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#315

Post by dougmwne »

closeparen wrote: post #153

I have a new conspiracy theory on RTO in Big Tech. Much has been said about commercial real estate. But I think getting highly capable people to work hard for you is a difficult problem & something tech executives put a lot of thought into. If you don't pay people enough, someone else will. But if you pay them too much, they'll become financially independent. Mid six figures is an objectively life-changing amount of…

Yes, I think you’ve really got it there. The federal government is absolutely trying to orchestrate this situation for the benefit of companies. They try to keep unemployment at a sweet spot number where not too many people are living on the street, but companies have a pliable and plentiful labor pool. It’s achieved through a careful balance of monetary policy, taxes, immigration, education, and laws limiting reproductive choice. The CEO of every Fortune 500 is working towards the same in their own realms, such as all the lobbying that tech companies do on H1-b visas.

But at the same time, we also have a brutally efficient marketing and advertising discipline that taps into our emotional biology and keeps people wanting more and always looking over their shoulder at what everyone else has.

I’ve thought before that by default, most people will be pushed to work ceaselessly, barely affording everything they think they should have and saving nearly nothing. It takes a choice to and self denial to step off that treadmill and start building the wealth that can set and individual free from living off their labor.

Remote work is a huge threat because of geo-arbitrage. Clever employees can quickly get ahead of then saving curve and throw off the reigns. Hungry employees are the easiest to manage. Fat employees have the power to say no.

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#316

Post by gambiting »

0xblinq wrote: post #171
deaddodo wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Open offices are the literal reason (after commuting/traffic) that I no longer want to go into the office. My work doesn't require a ton of person:person engagement and it's much easier for me to just zone out in my own headspace to do it. When I was required in the office, I would just wear headphones to avoid distractions, but I would have to deal with 2-3hrs of driving/day on top of it. This meant that my employer…

The headphones thing reminds me of a big events ticketing company I worked for that, when people complained about noise, distractions, etc they came up with the amazing solution of using your health and wellness budget to buy noise cancelling headphones. Most full of bullshit company I’ve ever worked for.

Hahahaha same as my work - they said we understand concerns you have about coming back to the office - as a solution to these concerns we decided to buy everyone noise cancelling headphones.

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#317

Post by esskay »

I keep getting recruiters send me messages on linked in with very vague details about the job, often omitting if its work from office or home. So I always ask, and often get "The employer offers a great flexible hybrid system" or some such nonsense. When you dig further its almost always a max of 1-2 days at home per week or in some cases per month.

One of them was incredibly persistent and I told them I was only interested in remote opportunities. Their reply - "This is remote! They allow you to work from home one day a week". Er....ok then.

Any employer enforcing ANY length of time in the office is going to lose out at this point. Thankfully my current employer has adopted a "dont care, do what you want" approach, so long as you get your work done they dont care if you're in the office, at home or abroad.

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#318

Post by sneak »

eulgro wrote: post #207
throw__away7391 wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I start work around 6:00 AM and frequently am still at it at 8:00 PM. I've always been a top performer, but I still worry I'm not productive enough and that I'll get laid off. I still prefer this arrangement to going to the office.

Is this satire? If not I don't think that's a sustainable lifestyle.

I encourage you to visit Japan. With enough alcohol and caffeine, you would be astounded what the human body can sustain.

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#319

Post by linza »

csomar wrote: post #208
closeparen wrote: post #153

I have a new conspiracy theory on RTO in Big Tech. Much has been said about commercial real estate. But I think getting highly capable people to work hard for you is a difficult problem & something tech executives put a lot of thought into. If you don't pay people enough, someone else will. But if you pay them too much, they'll become financially independent. Mid six figures is an objectively life-changing amount of…

It's not a conspiracy theory, it's how the system works. You are taxed on pretty much all of your income either from the state, the landlord, the credit card company or the lifestyle obligations that stems from the area you are living in. > And that's right where they want you. This is the part where we diverge, and I think where people confuse emerging phenomena for conspiracy. There is no one orchestrating this.

> There is no one orchestrating this.

Very true, and the reason why it's important to spell this out explicitly is because any solution that hinges on identifying and blaming a single or few orchestrators is dead on arrival.

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#320

Post by floucky »

throwaway892238 wrote: post #60

I decided I will never again work in an office, for the rest of my life. It's a lifestyle choice. I refuse to put up with the B.S. anymore. I'm lucky that I've had a long career and my skills are very much in demand, so I will always be able to find a remote job somewhere. People doing jobs with more qualified candidates in the pool will probably have a harder time, and that sucks. For them, I hope they can band toge…

Don't you think full remote is kind of selfish? I mean, I also love it, but what about new hires and junior? How are they going to learn and improve if each time they have a question, they need to post it on slack and just wait...
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