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Return to Office Enters the Desperation Phase

nytimes.com

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Re: Return to Office Enters the Desperation Phase

#21

Post by ineedasername »

bluefishinit wrote: post #15

> “You can interrupt each other without being rude when you’re in person,” said Mr. Medina, whose company, Outreach, is now in the office on a hybrid basis. “In a Zoom conversation, you have to let somebody finish their thought.” How is this not admitting that WFH is superior? If it puts a damper on people like this who feel it's their right to interrupt your thoughts, it's only a good thing. This article title may s…

I very much agree with your response, yet will also say that I’ve still observed plenty of interruptions on Zoom. It may just raise the difficulty barrier, which I don’t regard as bad.

Re: Return to Office Enters the Desperation Phase

#22

Post by uxp100 »

These articles are kinda funny to me since I don’t know anyone in my corner of the industry, in my corner of the world who has been fully wfh since 2021. And like, nobody is all that upset about it? We need to share hardware, we were borrowing lab equipment, passing prototypes and going in to have techs solder stuff, etc, might as well go in a few days a week.

I’m not saying I don’t get why people like wfh, it’s just like, a small subset of workers this applies to who have purely computer jobs, and many of the articles about it seem to imply “everyone” is working from home, never mind carpenters or cooks.

Re: Return to Office Enters the Desperation Phase

#23

Post by Supermancho »

Zetice wrote: post #18

There are so many downsides to WFH, and even the upsides encourage the opposite behaviors you want in a team, so this is in no way surprising. The larger permanent WFH experiment failed. That said, not every role, in every situation, needs in person interaction. It’s even reasonable to argue not every day needs in person interaction.

> There are so many downsides to WFH, and even the upsides encourage the opposite behaviors you want in a team, so this is in no way surprising.

This blanket statement is not compelling on its own. In theory or in practice, it would need to be demonstrated that any of these soft assertions are true.

Re: Return to Office Enters the Desperation Phase

#24

Post by ineedasername »

czbond wrote: post #19
pavel_lishin wrote: post #10

Another anecdote to throw in the bucket: they announced that we'll be returning to the office on July 10th, and also that we'll be pausing catered lunches on July 7th. (I know that it's the peak of privilege to complain about not getting free food delivered to work, but this feels like all-stick, and literally no carrots.)

One could consider a paycheck a carrot....

The paycheck is the baseline, a given when it comes to performing labor in this context. Perks of working in a given location are the carrots above and beyond the standard baseline of “I work, you pay me”.

Re: Return to Office Enters the Desperation Phase

#25

Post by hef19898 »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #10

Another anecdote to throw in the bucket: they announced that we'll be returning to the office on July 10th, and also that we'll be pausing catered lunches on July 7th. (I know that it's the peak of privilege to complain about not getting free food delivered to work, but this feels like all-stick, and literally no carrots.)

Meanwhile, those unflexible, union-backed jobs in Germany now come more often than not with 40% remote work included, and guaranteed by signed, collectively bargained agreements.

Re: Return to Office Enters the Desperation Phase

#26

Post by tennisflyi »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #10

Another anecdote to throw in the bucket: they announced that we'll be returning to the office on July 10th, and also that we'll be pausing catered lunches on July 7th. (I know that it's the peak of privilege to complain about not getting free food delivered to work, but this feels like all-stick, and literally no carrots.)

I like your self-awareness.

Re: Return to Office Enters the Desperation Phase

#27

Post by meepmorp »

czbond wrote: post #19
pavel_lishin wrote: post #10

Another anecdote to throw in the bucket: they announced that we'll be returning to the office on July 10th, and also that we'll be pausing catered lunches on July 7th. (I know that it's the peak of privilege to complain about not getting free food delivered to work, but this feels like all-stick, and literally no carrots.)

One could consider a paycheck a carrot....

No, my paycheck is why I show up at all, it's table stakes. Carrots are things that show I'm appreciated, and the bare fucking minimum to keep me there isn't a show of appreciation.

Re: Return to Office Enters the Desperation Phase

#28

Post by esarbe »

Zetice wrote: post #18

There are so many downsides to WFH, and even the upsides encourage the opposite behaviors you want in a team, so this is in no way surprising. The larger permanent WFH experiment failed. That said, not every role, in every situation, needs in person interaction. It’s even reasonable to argue not every day needs in person interaction.

I'm really wondering what kind of downsides you see to WFH; to me, there are only upsides:

- no commute

- being at home with the people you love and miss

- not getting distracted by office drama

- simplified work/life integration

As a company we're using WFH as a selling point for engineers - they love it.

Re: Return to Office Enters the Desperation Phase

#29

Post by nologic01 »

The pre-pandemic work arrangements were in what is called a meta-stable state.

"If the ball is only slightly pushed, it will settle back into its hollow, but a stronger push may start the ball rolling down the slope" [1]

They only looked normal because there just aren't many mechanisms for society to explore (at scale) nearby states that might be more adapted but require a lot of energy to reach.

We have now tunneled by force into a more stable state. Everybody knows that massive amounts of knowledge work can be done remotely. There are tradeoffs of-course, a new equilibrium must be reached, but it has nothing to do with the old one.

That is a good thing. Somehow we should be able to get to better states without going through existential risks.

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

Re: Return to Office Enters the Desperation Phase

#30

Post by thebigwinning »

nine_zeros wrote: post #14

If there is one thing everyone should know, it is that board members, CxOs and VCs are all just regular humans. They think exactly like you. Which means, they are as dumb as you. "They would much rather focus on their own returns than on the continued well-being of the company." Apply this line to your job, your career, your family. This is life in modern America.

Yes. Well all those positions are just employees as well, not owners.
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