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Google is accelerating reopening of offices and putting limits on remote work

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Re: Google is accelerating reopening of offices and putting limits on remote work

#211

Post by dvfjsdhgfv »

blub wrote: post #177
hyko wrote: post #140

When will introverts realise that their working conditions are being dictated to them by extroverts? The pandemic-driven remote working is hell for some people, and unfortunately they call the shots. I don’t mind coming into your office now and again (there’s a special dimension to IRL connections), but the reason I don’t want to work there full time is that it’s crap for knowledge work. I outspend you by 10x per hea…

For most people home office makes sense for practical reasons - long commute, spending more time with the family, living in a nicer / cheaper location but having a well paying job. On the other hand, extreme introverts that don't tolerate working in an office are a tiny minority and should dictate the working conditions even less than the extroverts. Personally I tend toward introvert (it's not black and white) and h…

> I'm convinced that most people need at least a couple of days per week of social office time for their own sanity.

"A couple" can mean anything from two to full week. I can assure you that at least for some people one day is enough.

Re: Google is accelerating reopening of offices and putting limits on remote work

#212

Post by iovrthoughtthis »

the problem was never remote vs colocated. it was commuting.

offices are fine (though not required). travelling for > 15-20 mins to and from work is what sucks the most.

we need local office hubs. work around your local community for your employer near your home.

Re: Google is accelerating reopening of offices and putting limits on remote work

#213

Post by [deleted] »

danans wrote: post #195
izacus wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is long commute something that's normal for "most people"? Most people around here have commutes shorter than 30 minutes one way.

Commute length and comfort is often inversely proportional to income. Sometimes you end up in a job with no good transit routes from where you can afford to live, so you have to drive hours a day. Search the web for stories about "supercommuters". Compared to any of that, a 30 min bike ride is downright lovely.

[deleted]

Re: Google is accelerating reopening of offices and putting limits on remote work

#214

Post by dijit »

tudorconstantin wrote: post #159
hyko wrote: post #140

When will introverts realise that their working conditions are being dictated to them by extroverts? The pandemic-driven remote working is hell for some people, and unfortunately they call the shots. I don’t mind coming into your office now and again (there’s a special dimension to IRL connections), but the reason I don’t want to work there full time is that it’s crap for knowledge work. I outspend you by 10x per hea…

I'm totally not an introvert: I love being around nice people, I love playing table tennis and having lunch with my colleagues. But wasting 1h-2h daily on commuting to/from work is in absolutely no way worthy of this. It's our duty as human beings to resist going back to the office as much as possible. To gain back some of the life we otherwise would spend on commute. Work is for work, not for socializing, or having…

> I love playing table tennis and having lunch with my colleagues.

I don't know how others feel, but I am not outgoing enough to use the foosball and pingpong tables that are common in development studios, I feel so judged; so those are (for me) not perks at all.

Re: Google is accelerating reopening of offices and putting limits on remote work

#215

Post by darawk »

ohthehugemanate wrote: post #199

Just in case you were operating under the illusion that tech giants are run by forward thinking executives who are immune to the usual politics and problems of corporate life. Nope, most of their exec layer is a bunch of people who cut their teeth the industry in the 90's, and are operating within a thick fog of local workplace politics. I guarantee that behind this move is an executive who believes that developers n…

Have you considered the possibility that executives in charge of tens of thousands of developers might have some data you don't regarding its impacts on productivity in aggregate?

Re: Google is accelerating reopening of offices and putting limits on remote work

#216

Post by timthorn »

helmholtz wrote: post #192
tudorconstantin wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm totally not an introvert: I love being around nice people, I love playing table tennis and having lunch with my colleagues. But wasting 1h-2h daily on commuting to/from work is in absolutely no way worthy of this. It's our duty as human beings to resist going back to the office as much as possible. To gain back some of the life we otherwise would spend on commute. Work is for work, not for socializing, or having…

I never understand why long commutes aren't "Pants On Fire" emergencies for people. If you're driving two hours every day , and not spending all your free time wondering how you can either change jobs or change housing, well, it's a finite life that you're pissing away. I'm certain that there will be an outpouring of hundreds of reasons why people cannot move, and I'm sure all of those reasons have merit. But it does…

I have regularly had 2-3h (each way) commutes. It's not because I couldn't change, but because I actively enjoyed the travel each day. Dedicated, no interruption thinking space, and a clear buffer between the stress of work and my home life.

Re: Google is accelerating reopening of offices and putting limits on remote work

#217

Post by yuhong »

tyingq wrote: post #104

And, now that they don't have to be first, Amazon is in: Amazon updates remote work guidance, plans to ‘return to an office-centric culture as our baseline’ https://www.geekwire.com/2021/amazon-updates-remote-work-gui... oof.

For Amazon it might make more sense as they are a retailer that ships goods.

Re: Google is accelerating reopening of offices and putting limits on remote work

#218

Post by pts_ »

dboreham wrote: post #117

Datapoint: long ago (decades) I worked for a large well known valley software company, for several years. During that time I worked with many colleagues who were somewhere on the same campus, but I never physically met them. Obviously I was around my team mates, manager, and I attended many cross-group in-person physical meetings, but the number of people I interacted with online only was large. This was before video…

I always preferred text since irc days.

Re: Google is accelerating reopening of offices and putting limits on remote work

#220

Post by mav3rick »

wu_187 wrote: post #209
dang wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please don't post unsubstantive and/or flamebait comments. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

it's true though. They are a publicly traded company with over 100B in office assets. If they can't get people back into the offices, they would not be able to justify they cost of keeping said property and would have to sell it to appease investors. Please use a brain cell next time.

Lol yes investors want to sell offices. They clearly need brain cells from you.
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