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Remote work is here to stay – Manhattan may never be the same

nytimes.com

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Re: Remote work is here to stay – Manhattan may never be the same

#11

Post by decafninja »

Manhattan especially is conducive to remote working IMHO. There is an incredible amount of collective wasted time due to the nature of commuting into and out of Manhattan. That's not including the more difficult to measure mental and emotional toll of such commutes.

Most people working in Manhattan probably do not live in Manhattan...or even the other NYC boroughs. A huge chunk actually live across the river in NJ.

I welcome remote work, and because my current employer is adamant that it will not be allowed once the pandemic is over, it's definitely another issue that will get me to jump ship.

I may feel differently if it was a different metropolitan area. For example, I am not familiar with the Bay Area commute patterns, but some ex-coworkers who left NYC for the SFBA report that their commutes are now heavenly compared to the hell of Manhattan commuting.

Re: Remote work is here to stay – Manhattan may never be the same

#13

Post by Robotbeat »

aphextron wrote: post #8

It's even more pronounced in SF, and it's probably the best thing that has happened to the city in decades, minus the obvious catastrophe of the pandemic itself. A nice studio apartment in a decent neighborhood can be had now for $1500; something unthinkable a year ago. Hopefully this can help start to revitalize the city's culture into something more than a monolithic tech frat party.

The workers will be back. As long as insufficient housing is allowed to be built, the culture will stay monolithic, split between grandfathered aging rich progressives and tech bros.

Either that or the city will crater like Detroit. Always possible.

Re: Remote work is here to stay – Manhattan may never be the same

#14

Post by VBprogrammer »

softwaredoug wrote: post #5

I’m a bit sad how remote work is likely to hurt my social life I have many close friends that grew out of the intimacy of solving problems together. We could casually hangout IRL after work. Our partners and kids would get to know each other. In turn, that growing trust would feedback into a more positive workplace. It’s not the only way to make friends, but it was an easy way. Now my relationships with coworkers can…

I don't think it has to be this way. The move to hybrid and remote working can be a huge advantage for everyone, from parents who get to spend more time with their children instead of spending it fighting for seat on a train, to young adults who are less likely to find themselves priced out of the housing market by nessesity of living relatively close to work.

At the moment we are living the worst type of remote working. We can't have a once a month get together or pub session. We can't work from our parents house or even a co-working space because it happens to suit us that week. Lots of us have children and other family at home (or have had for some of this period) who wouldn't normally be around.

Re: Remote work is here to stay – Manhattan may never be the same

#15

Post by RHSeeger »

sylens wrote: post #10

Glad to see this is happening even with the largest employers. And for those employees who absolutely need that in-office/social experience, then you can offer them a credit to go rent a coworking space for the days that they need it.

It's worth noting that, for a long time, it's been rare for a company to compensate employees for their home office (rent/house cost + heat + electricity + everything else). I find it unlikely that, when most people are suddenly working from home, they'll decide to pay for those same people extra to have an off-site office.

Re: Remote work is here to stay – Manhattan may never be the same

#16

Post by burlesona »

softwaredoug wrote: post #5

I’m a bit sad how remote work is likely to hurt my social life I have many close friends that grew out of the intimacy of solving problems together. We could casually hangout IRL after work. Our partners and kids would get to know each other. In turn, that growing trust would feedback into a more positive workplace. It’s not the only way to make friends, but it was an easy way. Now my relationships with coworkers can…

I share your general concern. I worked remotely for most of my career before finding an office job that would pay enough for me to move to SF. I'll admit that housing in SF was a tough fit for me and my family, but outside of the housing problem we absolutely loved it. There was a great social network of people living and working in the same industry and neighborhood, and the sense of camaraderie was great.

That employer went all remote during COVID with no intent to go back, and in the end I decided the time had come for me to leave as well and I'm now working on my own startup. And of course, we're remote, because we have to be right now.

I wish we would be able to move into an office together when the pandemic is over, because I'd love to have the social life of the physical office back, but I don't think that will be practical, so we'll probably be either all or mostly all remote forever (assuming we survive :)).

It's complicated, because there are also many advantages to remote, but I honestly feel kind of disappointed that I would prefer to work in that dynamic office environment and despite preferring it I've only been able to actually have that for a few years of my career.

Re: Remote work is here to stay – Manhattan may never be the same

#17

Post by keenreed »

scottmcleod wrote: post #7

Remote is not the end all, hybrid is likely here to stay. And NYC is best place to live/work as a young person...At home all day on the computer? Sure rather have thousands of options for the evening instead of a dozen..

Normal place has like 3 indian restaurants to choose from. In NYC there are hundreds of indian restaurants to choose from, amazing ;)

Maybe if NYC builds artifical skiing slope, or nice sandy beach..

Re: Remote work is here to stay – Manhattan may never be the same

#18

Post by wcarss »

softwaredoug wrote: post #5

I’m a bit sad how remote work is likely to hurt my social life I have many close friends that grew out of the intimacy of solving problems together. We could casually hangout IRL after work. Our partners and kids would get to know each other. In turn, that growing trust would feedback into a more positive workplace. It’s not the only way to make friends, but it was an easy way. Now my relationships with coworkers can…

Conversely, imagine living in a lovely small town that has an active social life and a commercial scene, fuelled by the scores of people moving out there with nothing better to do in the evenings, who want to get out of the house.

People who don't spend all their energy commuting into and out of a city each day, people who are free from the crowded lonelinesses of the subway, and the hyper-busy trendy weekend coffee-shop.

Imagine a world where you might once again say hello to your neighbours, might know the folks around town. New friends we don't work with -- perhaps, a community!

If we play it right, we might possibly swing a revitalization of our social soul here, rather than sadly slouch ever further toward its final demise. At least, I hope.

Re: Remote work is here to stay – Manhattan may never be the same

#19

Post by necrotic_comp »

decafninja wrote: post #11

Manhattan especially is conducive to remote working IMHO. There is an incredible amount of collective wasted time due to the nature of commuting into and out of Manhattan. That's not including the more difficult to measure mental and emotional toll of such commutes. Most people working in Manhattan probably do not live in Manhattan...or even the other NYC boroughs. A huge chunk actually live across the river in NJ. I…

Even if you live in the boroughs, it can still cost a huge chunk of time to get in. Between walking, waiting for and riding the subway, it takes me anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour to get to my office.

That's 40 hours of dead time a month, and I'm so happy to have it back.

Re: Remote work is here to stay – Manhattan may never be the same

#20

Post by decafninja »

wcarss wrote: post #18
softwaredoug wrote: post #5

I’m a bit sad how remote work is likely to hurt my social life I have many close friends that grew out of the intimacy of solving problems together. We could casually hangout IRL after work. Our partners and kids would get to know each other. In turn, that growing trust would feedback into a more positive workplace. It’s not the only way to make friends, but it was an easy way. Now my relationships with coworkers can…

Conversely, imagine living in a lovely small town that has an active social life and a commercial scene, fuelled by the scores of people moving out there with nothing better to do in the evenings, who want to get out of the house. People who don't spend all their energy commuting into and out of a city each day, people who are free from the crowded lonelinesses of the subway, and the hyper-busy trendy weekend coffee-…

I still remember getting my first Manhattan job. I was excited about experiencing the culture and nightlife of the city after work.

Little did I know that the toll of the commute would quickly kill off any such interest.

I feel this is especially because of the peculiarities of the Manhattan commute (and potentially other cities with similar commute patterns).

I was nowhere near as beaten up when I commuted in NJ. But all the hot jobs (and culture!) are in Manhattan. Ironically I had more energy to head out into the city after work from NJ.

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