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A WFH 'culture war' has broken out across Europe

fortune.com

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Re: A WFH 'culture war' has broken out across Europe

#21

Post by jayd16 »

benterix wrote: post #20
jayd16 wrote: post #13

I miss when WFH wasn't a religious war and was just about whether you could deliver enough that no one missed you so you wouldn't get called out for slacking. Now if it's a war in the office, managers need to pick a side and the freedom is reduced even if you get some WFH days or whatever. Full remote is a whole other can of worms.

> I miss when WFH wasn't a religious war and was just about whether you could deliver enough that no one missed you so you wouldn't get called out for slacking. Well, if you're slacking you can be fired, it doesn't matter if you work from home or from the office.

The point is that when you're not slacking, no one should care. But now they do care because its a war.

Re: A WFH 'culture war' has broken out across Europe

#22

Post by toomuchtodo »

jayd16 wrote: post #21
benterix wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I miss when WFH wasn't a religious war and was just about whether you could deliver enough that no one missed you so you wouldn't get called out for slacking. Well, if you're slacking you can be fired, it doesn't matter if you work from home or from the office.

The point is that when you're not slacking, no one should care. But now they do care because its a war.

It's only "war" because people's ego is tied up in their work because they make it their identity, and WFH challenges that, very similar to people who brag about 60-100 work weeks like it is a badge of pride. Some work to live, others live to work, and there is a whole lot of inefficiency to be squeezed out that is hard to squeeze out because of the lizard brain [1] [2].

It would be great if it wasn't a war, just measure output or equivalent objective measures, but like religion (which wars have also been fought over), belief systems die hard. Mental models are rigid, emotional health is not always available to everyone, and so on. Loss of third spaces doesn't help, and your cohort of workers who demand in office time because that is the only socialization they get (or those who are fleeing their home life by going to work) also contribute to the friction.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullshit_Jobs

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_law

Re: A WFH 'culture war' has broken out across Europe

#24

Post by benterix »

jayd16 wrote: post #13

I miss when WFH wasn't a religious war and was just about whether you could deliver enough that no one missed you so you wouldn't get called out for slacking. Now if it's a war in the office, managers need to pick a side and the freedom is reduced even if you get some WFH days or whatever. Full remote is a whole other can of worms.

WFH is not a "religious" war. For many people it's definitely a huge battle but for workers' rights, the same we had to do for the 8-hour day 100 years ago. When people realized they don't have to be packed like animals every day in order to do their work, they revolted. So yes, it is a full-scale war, but has nothing to do with religion or some dogmas, just realizing the absurdity of the pre-pandemic situation (especially in open-plan office spaces).

Re: A WFH 'culture war' has broken out across Europe

#26

Post by miguelxt »

benterix wrote: post #20
jayd16 wrote: post #13

I miss when WFH wasn't a religious war and was just about whether you could deliver enough that no one missed you so you wouldn't get called out for slacking. Now if it's a war in the office, managers need to pick a side and the freedom is reduced even if you get some WFH days or whatever. Full remote is a whole other can of worms.

> I miss when WFH wasn't a religious war and was just about whether you could deliver enough that no one missed you so you wouldn't get called out for slacking. Well, if you're slacking you can be fired, it doesn't matter if you work from home or from the office.

Not exactly easy to fire someone (even with reason) in some EU countries due to (in some cases very needed) regulation.

Re: A WFH 'culture war' has broken out across Europe

#27

Post by morkalork »

say240702 wrote: post #11

[flagged]

Tried it once and while it was fun and spicy, the novelty quickly wore off and the drama was ultimately not worth it. Going to work and getting some backhanded snide comment from guys who have no business at all in your relationship is no fun. You can't even tell them fuck off.

Re: A WFH 'culture war' has broken out across Europe

#29

Post by mcv »

josefritzishere wrote: post #15

WFH is the best thing since sliced bread.

I didn't believe in it before the lockdowns, but WFH has really improved my productivity. The only downside is that there's no clear moment to stop working. It's tempting to check later in the evening whether a build or test succeeded or kick off a new job.

Re: A WFH 'culture war' has broken out across Europe

#30

Post by portaouflop »

alephnerd wrote: post #12
ablation wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So long, I guess, don't let the door hit you on the way out? Employees of that company must feel really valued.

> Employees of that company must feel really valued They were paid on the higher end of Czechia TCs > don't let the door hit you on the way out Most of the high TC companies across Eastern Europe required hybrid so there aren't many options if you want to be remote first - we get tax holidays from the Czech, Romanian, Polish, Bulgarian, Hungarian, etc government if we invest $2-5mil in an office AND can prove that we…

>fully furnished office with catered food, events, and mentorship 2-3 days a week

The reality is you scramble to find a workstation and are cramped in a tiny room with 10 others, there is no way to concentrate and be productive; catered food that is barely edible for humans and horrible for the environment; not sure what you mean by events, except pointless ones that are scheduled after work, so basically unpaid work; and mentorship don’t make me laugh.

As I stated above I’m more than happy to work in a different industry than tech, it’s toxic af, the workload is high and growing and ultimately most tech companies are nothing than managers of rich peoples money and don’t provide any value to humans.

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