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Fujitsu announces permanent work-from-home plan

bbc.com

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Re: Fujitsu announces permanent work-from-home plan

#131

Post by runawaybottle »

xtracto wrote: post #125
runawaybottle wrote: post #38

I’d love to see companies convert ‘Unlimited vacation time at your discretion’ over to ‘Unlimited remote at your discretion’.

"Unlimited vacation" is a deception. Real perks are to have 15 or 20 days of vacations, increasing with seniority at the company, and forced vacations (i.e., the company forces you to take the vacations every year). It is also good for the company health (ensure that no 1 person missing has a large impact).

Sure, I’ve heard that and can believe it. I think one of the side effects of the term is that it kind of gets rid of the shame and social gymnastics around taking time off.

Believe it or not, many people for many years had to come up with some sort of excuse to work remote (have to pick up the kids, waiting for plumber/delivery, etc), so normalizing remote, even nominally, would be a good step forward.

Of course a global pandemic helps move the agenda too.

Re: Fujitsu announces permanent work-from-home plan

#132

Post by lnsru »

zeeZ wrote: post #128
lnsru wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Add fax machines and it will be perfect picture of current situation in Germany.

Naturally. You can't do business in Japan without a fax machine.

Seriously!? I thought, Germany was unique with this fax machine thing.

Re: Fujitsu announces permanent work-from-home plan

#133

Post by benmw333 »

0xCMP wrote: post #130
cdavid wrote: post #97

I am quite bearish about the impact of WFH, especially for software engineers, but if there is one country where I think the coronavirus can have a huge positive effect for the economy, it is Japan. Japanese companies are generally extremely inefficient. Outside of a few powerhouses, partially thanks to a protected and large domestic market, Japanese labor practices are antiquated. There is a culture of overwork that…

When I visited Japan I couldn't help repeating over and over to myself that it's a country with one foot firmly in the future and another foot stuck firmly in the past. It's one of the most fascinating things I love about Japan. [edit: typo]

What struck me was the seemingly 1995 era laptops people were working on in the trains.

Re: Fujitsu announces permanent work-from-home plan

#134

Post by ekianjo »

Yellow_Boat wrote: post #104
ekianjo wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Japan you can end up with more office space at home if you can spare space for a decent desk than at work, where desks are small and crammed next to each other's, at least until COVID19.

You think this will change now? (the crowded office spaces)

Not sure. Even politicians still hold up meetings way too close to each other to avoid COVID19 contamination so I doubt there's a realization that proximity needs to change. Private companies have limited floor space and management style is not well suited to having everyone work from home, so it's going to be back in the office with masks, rather than redesigning the work space.

Re: Fujitsu announces permanent work-from-home plan

#136

Post by C1sc0cat »

ghaff wrote: post #122
C1sc0cat wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its the law in the UK and from what others have said the USA as well

Pretty much everyone I work with in the US worked from home at least some of the time even before this. I'd place a sizable bet that not one of them has ever had an OSHA inspector come to check out their home workplace.

I think if its the odd day you might getaway with it - but when your workplace is formally defined as your home it might be very different. I suspect it for the USA it will be the medical insurers that will insist on it.

Re: Fujitsu announces permanent work-from-home plan

#137

Post by yaktubi »

benmw333 wrote: post #133
0xCMP wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I visited Japan I couldn't help repeating over and over to myself that it's a country with one foot firmly in the future and another foot stuck firmly in the past. It's one of the most fascinating things I love about Japan. [edit: typo]

What struck me was the seemingly 1995 era laptops people were working on in the trains.

I like 1995 era laptops more than modern ones. I also like the the plastic casings of desktops back then—they feel solid, same with the mechanical keyboards!

Today companies so busy trying to “slim things down.”

P.S. why doesn’t apple release a matte display laptop? I would buy it.

Re: Fujitsu announces permanent work-from-home plan

#138

Post by smallnamespace »

chrisseaton wrote: post #103
cdavid wrote: post #97

I am quite bearish about the impact of WFH, especially for software engineers, but if there is one country where I think the coronavirus can have a huge positive effect for the economy, it is Japan. Japanese companies are generally extremely inefficient. Outside of a few powerhouses, partially thanks to a protected and large domestic market, Japanese labor practices are antiquated. There is a culture of overwork that…

How does this square with for example the Japanese car market, which I thought led the world in labour practices and efficiency? They've invented many labour practices that are considered the best we have today. And their cars are so cheap - how are they doing this if they aren't being efficient? For example are Toyota's engineering and factories running on wasted meeting time, fax machines, and hand-written letters?…

Successful Japanese exporters are world-class, almost tautologically.

They’re also the exception. The domestic economy is generally heavily protected, regulated, and inefficient.

One view of the situation is that the exporters prop up the rest of the economy with their foreign revenues.

Re: Fujitsu announces permanent work-from-home plan

#139

Post by SenHeng »

benmw333 wrote: post #133
0xCMP wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I visited Japan I couldn't help repeating over and over to myself that it's a country with one foot firmly in the future and another foot stuck firmly in the past. It's one of the most fascinating things I love about Japan. [edit: typo]

What struck me was the seemingly 1995 era laptops people were working on in the trains.

This is what benmw333 is referring to. The Panasonic Let's. Despite how bulky it looks, it weighs about the same as the macbook air. It's basically used by anyone who isn't a manager, designer or software developer. You see them everywhere.

https://biz.panasonic.com/jp-ja/products-services/letsnote/l...

Re: Fujitsu announces permanent work-from-home plan

#140

Post by claudeganon »

bpicolo wrote: post #47
tgsovlerkhgsel wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OTOH, isn't it pretty customary for any large office (let's say 1k+) to have a cafeteria, with presumably most employees eating there? Some of these will not want to cook lunch in the middle of work, and at least order takeout instead.

> with presumably most employees eating there I think this is a pretty big/new tech specific thing, and there are still exemptions. Of the large non-tech companies in NYC, I know a few banks have cafeterias, but the food is both not free and not good

In Japan, it’s far more common, even for much smaller companies. There’s a great Japanese TV show that does mini documentaries on these places (and others where workers eat) called, “Sara Meshi” (サラメシ)

https://www.nhk.jp/p/salameshi/ts/PVPP6PZNLG/

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