Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Is going to the office a broken way of working?

newyorker.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

201–210 of 468 posts

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#201

Post by nzmsv »

mgkimsal wrote: post #41
nzmsv wrote: post #26

All you need to know about requiring work from an office is this: the people selling the supposed benefits of increased collaboration, creativity, and productivity do not themselves work this way. There is no CEO or VC who spends their entire day sitting in a cubicle, even if they have a token one.

Well, their output is measured differently too, so I'd expect their work actions and locations to be different. If the ceo was expected to produce output that was suited to working in a cubicle, they would do that, but that's not how their output is measured.

But sitting in a cubicle can be bad for you even if it helps your productivity metrics in the short term.

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#202

Post by stevage »

zmmmmm wrote: post #173
gaoshan wrote: post #100

I genuinely miss the office. Being in a different space for work (one that was pretty gorgeous), in a nice part of downtown, able to tap people on the shoulder for quick questions rather than having to ping them over chat, more spontaneous collaboration (right before we went remote again I overheard two people discussing an area I have some expertise in and was able to interject and provide useful insight), extra pro…

I get a lot of what you say but this one drives me bonkers: > able to tap people on the shoulder for quick questions rather than having to ping them over chat My work requires so much focus, having people randomly tap me on the shoulder to ask a question they could just drop in chat is debilitating. I'm curious you phrase "having to ping them over chat" negatively? I would say the same sentence almost totally in reve…

Absolutely, that was the worst part of office working. I've worked from home for 5 years now and love that part.

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#203

Post by bserge »

IggleSniggle wrote: post #72
Ancalagon wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the other point I wanted to make (but frankly I was too scared that maybe it’s just because I suck at meeting people now that I haven’t socialized like a normal person in a year). It just seems harder to meet people _in general_ than it did even two years ago. Like where is everybody? Does everyone stay home literally all the time now?

Well, yes. If not "everyone," certainly lots and lots of folks are just staying home whenever possible. Because we are in the middle of a global pandemic. I think this has much more to do with "we are in a global pandemic" than "you can't meet people doing remote work." Certainly, there were a number of larger groups that I used to hang out with consistently pre-pandemic, but now have totally abandoned. I'm not inter…

"wE aRe iN tHe MidDlE oF a GlObAl PaNdEmIc"

Man, fuck off. Sick to the bone of this shit. Where's that massive solar flare to show us real fucking problems. Not a manmade retarded response to a pathetic virus.

Edit: and you, piece of shit going through old comments and downvoting everything. I see you. You're pathetic. At least flag something.

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#204

Post by idiotsecant »

noir_lord wrote: post #62
taurath wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you're correct, but one thing that is really missing nowadays, especially with phones and the internet, is active communities that exist in real life outside of work. Stuff like the elks lodge, rotary, bowling leagues, etc are just not as common anymore as I believe they used to be. Certainly there are many things that exist, but in a way societally it seems like they don't have very much cache, even as far a…

I have a bunch of friends on IRC, we generally hang out in a single channel (it spun out of a topic specific channel but we sorta moved to been adjacent years ago). That acts as my digital water cooler since I'm remote forever.

IRC is becoming the HAM radio of our generation. Pretty soon there will just be a bunch of crusty old men who do it as a hobby but insist how vital and relevant it is.

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#206

Post by ipaddr »

smt88 wrote: post #114
sim_card_map wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Life has always been normal here in Sweden. No lockdowns, mask mandates, restaurants have always been open. And no excess deaths. So don't speak for everyone.

> And no excess deaths. False[1][2][3][4][5]. Sweden had 7.7% higher mortality in 2020 than it averaged from 2016-2019. By comparison, Sweden's closest neighbors (geographically, demographically, and socioeconomically) had far, far lower mortality because of lockdowns, mask mandates, and closing restaurants[3][4]. > "Sweden, with a COVID-19 attributed death rate of 0.54 per 1000 population as of July 5, has a higher…

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/08/05/8993658...

This is what it looked like after the first wave. Belgium was the leader worldwide by large numbers. Sweden was 5th.

Fast forward to today:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_death_rate...

Sweden is now ranked at 45. Better than Italy, UK, Spain, France which are better countries to compare Sweden against. Sweden is the hub of Northern Europe and the rate in Finland or Norway doesn't make a great comparison.

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#207

Post by vesuvianvenus »

jstx1 wrote: post #93
dave78 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's so wrong with letting every employee make their own choice? Then, after 6 months or a year or whatever (to get everyone a chance to get used to it and be confident in their selection), survey everyone to find out who wants to keep working from home. Those that don't - allocate them a desk in an office. Add some additional hoteling desks for travelers or normal WFHers who need to visit, and then adjust the size…

> What's so wrong with letting every employee make their own choice? You're inevitably forcing your colleagues into your own way of working to some extent. Imagine a team of 6 people working on the same product: If 1 is in office and 5 are remote, then the benefits of the office are largely lost even for the 1 person. That 1 person is still working in a remote model just from a different location which happens to be…

Those are Hypothetical anecdotal problems.

Don't fear the idea just because in your mind there are purely hypothetical situations where it might not be optimal.

The direct opposite of your opinion & posited hypothetical situation may exist in someone else's mind.

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#208

Post by bserge »

ipaddr wrote: post #167
Ancalagon wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the other point I wanted to make (but frankly I was too scared that maybe it’s just because I suck at meeting people now that I haven’t socialized like a normal person in a year). It just seems harder to meet people _in general_ than it did even two years ago. Like where is everybody? Does everyone stay home literally all the time now?

People don't want to get covid. Getting close to large groups or new groups feels unsafe. Going out unnecessary feels socially unacceptable.

No wonder everyone seems more of an asshole than usual. Great society we're building. Really future proof. /s

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#209

Post by bserge »

snek_case wrote: post #198
ipaddr wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People don't want to get covid. Getting close to large groups or new groups feels unsafe. Going out unnecessary feels socially unacceptable.

Personally, I'm vaccinated and I feel pretty safe. I'd like to resume a more normal way of life. It's just that there's nothing happening. There's no office, no happy hour or hanging out after work. Very few dinner or coffee invitations. No meetups. No going out dancing. Just way less events in general. > Going out unnecessary feels socially unacceptable. Human beings are social creatures and it's normal that we have…

Local hackerspaces have been closed for months. Meetups online only. Why would I not be 2000km away? Good fucking job.

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#210

Post by perlpimp »

taurath wrote: post #46
Ancalagon wrote: post #8

I’m gonna go against the HN grain here and, despite having been fully for remote work for the first year or so of the pandemic, come out and say that life has really gotten a lot more repetitive and frankly disappointing since covid and the death of the office. I kind of miss meeting people in the office. I was in the unfortunate position of having moved to a new city for a new tech job where I knew nobody just seven…

I think you're correct, but one thing that is really missing nowadays, especially with phones and the internet, is active communities that exist in real life outside of work. Stuff like the elks lodge, rotary, bowling leagues, etc are just not as common anymore as I believe they used to be. Certainly there are many things that exist, but in a way societally it seems like they don't have very much cache, even as far a…

It seems that to participate in group activities you have to bring friends you have nowadays instead of going out and making friends. My view might be wrong.
Post reply on HN