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Will workers hired as Remote all be laid off in next wave?

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Re: Will workers hired as Remote all be laid off in next wave?

#41

Post by toomuchtodo »

Aeolun wrote: post #37
bartwr wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That last sentence is a total strawman. Unions are not there so you get everything you want. They are there to turn individual negotiations and protection into group and collective one. So it's not just a single junior programmer fighting for their rights, but potentially all company SWEs fighting for this junior programmer rights. If Meta faced a complete strike similar to writers' strike, their workers could achiev…

Yeah, so no union often turns out better for me because I ask for more.

You are always going to have a minority like this, but they are a minority. The data shows unions are better for most others. Get while the going is good or something like that. I'm sure there's room for highly paid consultants in a more organized future, with better wages and stronger labor protections for FTEs.

Re: Will workers hired as Remote all be laid off in next wave?

#42

Post by mejutoco »

keikobadthebad wrote: post #3

Something you have to understand about being remote - at any time, this was true decades ago - is that you are not there when people talk and you can't correct them or defend yourself. People with commutes and requirements to be under the eyes of management resent those who don't have that problem and can all agree on that. Remote gigs will always be more tenuous than prison-jobs.

Not to argue either way, but this can happen in meetings behind closed doors while in the office. Anyone can say anything while not present even if in the office.

I think it is more productive to do a good job. If someone says false things and decision makers takes them at face value there is some other problems at an organization.

Re: Will workers hired as Remote all be laid off in next wave?

#44

Post by sokoloff »

not-chatgpt wrote: post #29

Worked at a couple FAANG companies and from what I've seen, management is absolutely right that remote work, overall, is inefficient. There was a Blind poll and I believe half the people admitted they were slacking off more frequently while remote. However, being laid off is just a completely different matter. Depending on the company, the motivation for the layoff could significantly differ. Some did it to save cost…

> people admitted they were slacking off more frequently while remote

Honestly, I think people didn't realize just how much they slacked off while in the office. It was just a lot less fun and a lot less free.

Over a long period, I can sustain about 3-5 hours of truly hard productive work per workday. I can grind out an all-nighter once in a while; I can do an isolated back-to-back 10-12 hour day, but I can't sustain 8 hours of actual, hard nose-to-grindstone work per day on average (and I'm not ashamed to admit it).

In the office, this looked like dicking off with co-workers. At home, it looks like throwing in a load of laundry or taking the dog for a 20 minute walk. Those "feel" much better (because they are) and that feeling better I think people report as a form of guilt that they're slacking off more.

Talking to your co-worker about the TV show you both follow or the local sports team is every bit as much slacking off; it just doesn't engender any feeling of guilt.

Re: Will workers hired as Remote all be laid off in next wave?

#46

Post by bartwr »

gspencley wrote: post #16

I personally don't care what FAANG does. They all sound like horrible companies to work for, and I don't care for the products they produce either. I was working remotely before the pandemic and will continue to work remotely in the future. It's great that we have more opportunities now than before, but they always existed. So what the "mainstream" or "big tech" world does in current year is their own business. I won…

Why do they sound horrible? This is a serious, non provocative question. :)

I personally loved working for Google. Low workload, great work-life balance, amazing perks, mind blowing salary, potential to do really cool stuff that hundreds of millions will use, doing really cutting edge things that almost noone else can do, ridiculously good internal infrastructure and tooling so I can focus just on my tasks, kind and friendly colleagues, nice offices. Everything about my day job and things I worked on (at Google Research) was great.

I disapprove of many other things company does, but they were completely separate from my work.

I have many friends at Meta, company I disapprove way more - but their sentiment is exactly the same.

Re: Will workers hired as Remote all be laid off in next wave?

#47

Post by Uptrenda »

These tech companies were never well optimized for such a drastic increase in remote worker. All of their structures, managers, and the way they work rely heavily on in person meeting. I think with companies like that you really do have less job security. There's studies that managers feel remote workers are doing less work because they can't see them working. There is also the problem that there's much less personal distance between you and the manager so its much easier to just fire you. If it even feels like firing a person to them or a face on a screen. That's up to you to decide.

I do think the data shows that people are happier and more productive when they can work remotely. It means less time commuting, less distractions, and reduced cost having to pay for buildings that remain empty at night. It seems like the benefits are numerous but I get why the arrangement doesn't work for every company.

Re: Will workers hired as Remote all be laid off in next wave?

#48

Post by luminouslow »

not-chatgpt wrote: post #29

Worked at a couple FAANG companies and from what I've seen, management is absolutely right that remote work, overall, is inefficient. There was a Blind poll and I believe half the people admitted they were slacking off more frequently while remote. However, being laid off is just a completely different matter. Depending on the company, the motivation for the layoff could significantly differ. Some did it to save cost…

> remote work, overall, is inefficient

I dont see how one anonymous poll at a FAANG company proves that. Just because you are doing busywork doesn't mean it's efficient. FWIW I agree with your other points.

Re: Will workers hired as Remote all be laid off in next wave?

#50

Post by [deleted] »

gspencley wrote: post #16

I personally don't care what FAANG does. They all sound like horrible companies to work for, and I don't care for the products they produce either. I was working remotely before the pandemic and will continue to work remotely in the future. It's great that we have more opportunities now than before, but they always existed. So what the "mainstream" or "big tech" world does in current year is their own business. I won…

[deleted]
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