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Airbnb’s design to live and work anywhere

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Re: Airbnb’s design to live and work anywhere

#181
post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't agree more. Privacy of a small room but having people around when you _need_ them is the best of both worlds.

Start your own company. Get your “boss” office, and roam the staff shared office when you want. Problem solved. Don’t ask your employer to fulfill your capricious dreams.

Exactly my thoughts, thanks for noting it! The only thing I don't agree on is that these dreams are somehow "capricious" (esp. given they were the norm just a little over 10 years ago or so; in that respect, "open office" is the capricious dream of the "modern" management) ;)

Re: Airbnb’s design to live and work anywhere

#182

>Most companies don’t do this because of the mountain of complexities with taxes, payroll, and time zone availability, but I hope we can open-source a solution so other companies can offer this flexibility as well. I think this is a genius growth play for Airbnb. Make it easier for _other_ companies to operate in a similar way so that _their_ employees can travel and live in an... Airbnb! Next, they should lobby to g…

>> I think this is a genius move for Airbnb. Make it easier for _other_ companies to operate in a similar way so that _their_ employees can travel and live in an... Airbnb!

Yes. Like the story of Ford doubling the wages it paid to factory workers in 1920s. So that those workers could afford a car, and the whole economy eventually followed suit.

Re: Airbnb’s design to live and work anywhere

#183

>Most companies don’t do this because of the mountain of complexities with taxes, payroll, and time zone availability, but I hope we can open-source a solution so other companies can offer this flexibility as well. I think this is a genius growth play for Airbnb. Make it easier for _other_ companies to operate in a similar way so that _their_ employees can travel and live in an... Airbnb! Next, they should lobby to g…

They don't have the pull to change immigration laws but they can set and prove the standard to execute with excellence with this model.

To the other comments, it is an expense-less raise.

To the California tax base, it is yet another wakeup call.

Re: Airbnb’s design to live and work anywhere

#184

I like that he specifically mentioned open floor plans. This is the number one reason why I don't want to return to the office. I kinda do want to go back. But I need my privacy and some quiet. I can't do the open floor plan ever again.

My company reduced floor space in 2020, so the open-floor office I was sitting in previously doesn't exist anymore, but after working from home for some time, you notice just how noisy an office building really is - even when you are alone in a smaller room, you can hear people talking in the hallway, in the office next to you etc. etc. So that needs some getting used to too...

Re: Airbnb’s design to live and work anywhere

#185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a lot of founders and their friends are using the office as a replacement for a healthier separate social circle and social life that they lack (a lot of people lack that, and they do too), so for them they're really just hanging out and like the potential for “increased collaboration” for that reason

Whatever people think of Myers-Briggs, the three I’ve been involved with the managers were always the extroverts. So your choice is WFH micromanaging or keeping that seat in the cube warm.

Introversion/extroversion isn't a distinctive feature of Myers-Briggs - it shows up in more scientifically-respectable personality measures, like the five-factor (OCEAN) model.

Re: Airbnb’s design to live and work anywhere

#186

> While you’ll be responsible for getting proper work authorization, we’re actively partnering with local governments to make it easier for more people to travel and work around the world. Today, 20+ countries offer remote work visas, and more are in the works. While working from different locations isn’t possible for everyone, I hope everyone can benefit from this flexibility when the time is right. I think currentl…

Caveat emptor indeed. Most folks will end up working on tourist visas which is explicitly not allowed around most of the world. I work at a remote first company and HR have given a nod and a wink to this, but with the requirement that you maintain a permanent address and pay taxes in a country where they have an office.

>> Most folks will end up working on tourist visas which is explicitly not allowed around most of the world.

Are you sure this is the case? You’re not allowed to get hired locally but I believe you can work online for a company based in your country of residence provided you don’t stay long enough to become a resident of the new country (which you can’t on a tourist visa). I visited Canada for 6 months on a tourist visa. I had a full immigration interview at the airport when I arrived and they were perfectly happy with me working freelance/online for those 6 months. They were just clear I couldn’t become an employee of a Canadian company.

Re: Airbnb’s design to live and work anywhere

#188

I like that he specifically mentioned open floor plans. This is the number one reason why I don't want to return to the office. I kinda do want to go back. But I need my privacy and some quiet. I can't do the open floor plan ever again.

Make it known to your employer/s.

This is a hugely stupid move that companies made.

It was done because the benefits are tangible and immediate, and the costs are soft and indirect. CFO wins over HR.

People should recognize what a big deal this is.

I won't do it either.

Re: Airbnb’s design to live and work anywhere

#189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went to this office one day a week. But guys in the neighboring cubicles were playing soccer. Not all day but during times of the day. They seriously had a soccer-ball they played with. I didn't know if I should laugh or cry but it was definitely a detriment to productivity. Collaboration. Soccer yeah

You could request them to not to play and be quiet, right.

Or maybe he already knows that the only thing worse than annoying co-workers are co-workers you have asked to keep quiet?

I once shared a space with a girl who played dance music quite loudly. I asked her to turn it down a bit and from her reaction you would think I had just kicked her new puppy to death.

The following few weeks were frosty, to say the least, and I ended up moving elsewhere.

Re: Airbnb’s design to live and work anywhere

#190
post #128

Ive worked for a coding bootcamp since before covid. We used to be in person only and Ive gotten to see the ups and downs of the full-remote transition for at this point hundreds of jr devs entering the field. Long story short everything I thought would get negative blowback or go up in flames didnt. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and it never does. Our students work through around 1000 hours of computer s…

> I still can't believe there's no catch Do you believe that remote work is a net gain for society but is a net negative for many individuals?

I think this depends largely on whether you live alone. I would never go back to an office, even part time. One of my best friends lives by himself and struggled hard during the covid-induced requirement to work from home.

Much like schools double as a day care for children, work often doubles as a social club for adults.

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