11–20 of 112 posts
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.
It's often said that tech workers have no need for unions and (not to reopen that box yet again!) this is exactly the kind of scenario where tech workers could benefit from union representation, even if they're highly paid. Absent that these companies can do more or less whatever they want with remote workers, they're not a protected class.
0% odds of something completely drastic, too many of the best went remote.
At the end of the day, companies don't really care that much if they lose some of "the best." A lot of "the best" are changing jobs on a fairly regular basis anyway.
SWE salary numbers would suggest otherwise
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.
Eh. Since the advent of chat systems like Slack I think this happens anyway, remote or not.
One was a programme manager in the country that I am (EU) and at the same time was also running a programme in Saudi Arabia. He enjoyed the 'teleworking', and he had to go to the office 1 day per week and 1 day per month in Riyadh.
The local 1d per week, was 4.30-5.00 on Fridays (yes it counted as normal day). For the Riyadh gig he would take a day off from the local job, and fly over on a Thursday evening, and return on Saturday.
He was making LOADS of $, and when the locals pushed for 3 days, he just quit and kept the Saudi gig, as he wasn't able to be seen with two laptops in the office.
If you know how to do your job well and fast you can pull it through with 10h per day (combined work).
So, when the employers insist on getting people back in the office 2-3-4 days a week, I think they are on to something. I do not imply that 99% of people do this, but some/many do.
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't judge anyone who works for them, we all have our reasons for making the choices we do, but I don't think it makes tons of sense to ascribe too much weight to what the largest tech companies do. They might represent a significant portion of the market but it's a big world and there's tons of smaller companies out there doing much "better" things in much "better" ways.
My philosophy is that I'm going to live the life I want to and not worry about what companies I don't like do. I don't work for them and, with the exception of Amazon, I don't use what that they produce either.
I'm not aware of any of them continuing to support remote other than for select roles in the internal or external messaging.
The only real answer here is "who knows?". It's often said that tech workers have no need for unions and (not to reopen that box yet again!) this is exactly the kind of scenario where tech workers could benefit from union representation, even if they're highly paid. Absent that these companies can do more or less whatever they want with remote workers, they're not a protected class.
I'm just pointing out that unions don't mean you get everything you want.