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This is one aspect of the RTO discussion that's sometimes missed: there are plenty of people in the tech sphere (myself included) who've been comfortably remote for much longer than those who were pushed into remote work by lockdowns and pandemic response. We're not about to give up a whole lifestyle we've built over (in some cases) decades, on the whim of whichever executive we happen to be serving under at the pres…
What's less clear is whether WFH productivity is relatively high because it leverages structures and relationships that were established pre-pandemic, when working from the office was the norm. It'll be interesting to see what the results of studies a few years down the road show, when there's more data and better metrics.
Video conf still sucks. It's literally the same as 10 years ago. Does anyone have a workplace where it is really seamless, high resolution, and just works? Or is using any of these new technologies? Maybe VR will help... But not being in-person for collaboration/morale is miles apart. I wonder if employees would personally cover the cost of a one week meetup once per month if their other option was move city and offi…
It’ll be interesting to see how this is handled.
OK you want to work remote. Great, do that. Literally, it's great for you. Some people might not want that, some people might want to run companies where that doesn't happen. Don't work at those places.
But then you get to gems like this:
"If I had to give only one bit of advice to anyone ever faced with an ultimatum from someone with power over them (be it an employer or abusive romantic partner), it would be: Ultimately, never choose the one giving you an ultimatum."
Sure thing buddy. Are we talking about an ultimatum not to send creepy as fuck text messages to female colleagues, or not to start endless flame wars in the slack channel over minute technical bullshit that doesn't matter? Or just this topic? I thought we were generalizing.
"Conversely, if you let these assholes exert their power over you, you dehumanize yourself in submission."
Are we 14? Of course your employer has power over you. You also have power in the equation as well, and you're both very free to walk away or pursue other opportunities. How about just being an adult and negotiating for what you want?
Thus RTO improves group A performance while not affecting group B performance so it looks like a win overall and in a sense it is.
But it is penalizing group B, making their lives inconvenient, and increasing their expenditures.
Working from home is objectively better if your employees are in group B: (1) better for the environment [less transit], (2) leads to better work-life balance [no time lost to commute, more flexible work hours], (3) is more cost efficient [no need to rent offices in high cost areas, remote employees can be cheaper as their COL is often lower], (4) lets employees have better homes [because you don't need to be near the downtown core].
I think if you start remote and you measure performance of your employees, you can ensure that you get most group B employees and you can stay remote. The issue is if you started in the office, you have a mix of group B and group A, and RTO will improve the average employee performance, so it makes sense.
However, I understand why many people do like WFH. I don't understand why this isn't a conversation between the employee and her direct manager? If the direct manager can point to problems with being WFH then I can understand forcing RTO. But if the employee is verifiably productive with good performance ratings, why should she be forced to return to the office?
And this recursively applies all the way up the chain. If a director sees that a manager is falling behind in productivity, then she can drill down on the manager's performance and the performance of the team. But if performance reviews are good, why dictate that someone should be in the office? It's pretty stupid.
This is one aspect of the RTO discussion that's sometimes missed: there are plenty of people in the tech sphere (myself included) who've been comfortably remote for much longer than those who were pushed into remote work by lockdowns and pandemic response. We're not about to give up a whole lifestyle we've built over (in some cases) decades, on the whim of whichever executive we happen to be serving under at the pres…
Been remote for 15 years, recently started full time job, love going to office. No strict work hours but I come anyway, nice to chat with colleagues (and much more productive than those tedious calls or text chats). Also I was already making myself leave home at least daily for physical activity, so if I'm out why not travel to the office? There's a nice coffeeshop near there. Also the chair is comfy enough, desk is…