Lower than I'd like to see it. I think a lot of companies will justify forced commute because of this. 34% isn't even a majority.
34% of remote workers would quit rather than return to full-time office work
221–230 of 341 posts
Re: 34% of remote workers would quit rather than return to full-time office work
#222I feel like I'm in the minority here, but I am chomping at the bit to get back into the office. I'm a Senior SWE. I've got ADHD. Work from home has been * catastrophic* for me. I don't have the ability to focus. I have no space in my home where I can work distraction-free, and no ability to create a space separate from my family. From home I can slack off for an hour... or two... or days, and nobody notices because m…
You are not alone. Senior engineers in general - all of the leads I’ve talked to - feel like the current situation is completely broken. I can imagine it works for relatively low-technology low-complexity teams or very very small teams, but it is disastrous for complex and medium/large teams and projects. It’s just very challenging to impossible to keep an appropriate level of awareness.
Re: 34% of remote workers would quit rather than return to full-time office work
#223Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is certainly going to vary from person to person, and will not be a _one size fits all_ kind of thing. I am the exact opposite, and the year of remote working has probably been the best and most healthy year of my work life.
Is your city/country implementing lockdowns, and do you have a small apartment and/or your spouse working at the same time in the same space and/or young kids? Those variables tend to make all the difference between "happy to work from home" and "about to experience a mental breakdown".
> Is your city/country implementing lockdowns,
they have and I didn't care, because I don't need to leave my home to enjoy my life. If anything a fully remote world would be even better because then I can go live in the countryside and have my own land without having to see other humans
> do you have a small apartment and/or your spouse working at the same time in the same space
yep, and we get along great. I love spending all day with my partner and we've never been happier individually or as a couple
> young kids?
I choose not to have kids specifically so I don't feel like I have to get away from my own home and family to feel sane.
I've gotten the impression that the lockdown, pandemic world has been a brief breath of fresh air for the hermits, introverts, misanthropes of the world, and a taste for extroverts of how miserable it is for many of us to adapt to a world that doesn't accommodate our personalities and social preferences
Re: 34% of remote workers would quit rather than return to full-time office work
#224The worst part for me about working in the office is that my view is completely open. Zero privacy, distractions all day.
Cubicles look like the caricature of boring office work, I don’t know but for me it would be awesome. Have a little corner I can personalize, not to have to see my colleagues eyes staring right into my face all da6 because they happen to sit right in front of me and have a better posture. Can I get a rest please? I’ll admit I suffer from trauma related stress but regardless how is it good for anybody?
If we agree that separating work from personal time is important, why wouldn’t this apply AT work to separate focus, from socializing time?
Re: 34% of remote workers would quit rather than return to full-time office work
#225Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think it's about forcing anyone to work remotely, it's about being allowed to continue and not being forced to go back to commute times and water coolers. My employer is in an industry that thrived on in-person interactions (save for any field writers/photogs). They had no remote working policy prior to the pandemic for the bulk of the staff. They have made a complete 180° change on that and acknowledged that…
The problem is the current situation is not reflective of real remote work. One of the biggest advocates of remote work that I know is squarely someone for whom “remote work” has meant “running errands, walking the dog, heading out early for dinner, long lunches, runs after lunch” and so on. He’s much much more productive WAH this year than he was any of the last five years because all of these non-work activities ha…
How do you know these activities have been suppressed if he's working from home now?
Our team has always been one where you could step away from the office to run an errand or a doctor's appt. etc. Yet once we started WFH, it became more acceptable to go the store, take a walk, etc during "normal" business hours. As long as you get your work done, no one seems to care, and our mgmt seems to feel that our mental health is important, at least during the pandemic. Sure some may take advantage of this and screw off with their time, but if they get their work done, are they really screwing off? The old metric of "butts in the seats" is industrial age management.
Also, what is "real remote work?"
And yes, the time range of work has expanded for some, but that's a boundaries issue. Unless I'm on call, or we have an outage/issue that needs my attention, work doesn't expect me after 5pm. I start around 7-8am.
Re: 34% of remote workers would quit rather than return to full-time office work
#226Absolutely on the other side of this. My wife and I are both 100% remote (except for some in person classes which we teach). We ended up renting an office (a really nice coworking space in Phoenix called industrious, which we have kindof fallen in love with). We pay for this out of our own pocket because it turns out that the amenities typical to an office are really nice. Our productivity is up substantially since w…
But that’s not back in the office in terms of anything involving collaboration, it’s just getting out of the house. I think no companies would foot the bill for this. It’s more expensive than the amortized cost of an office and misses the key features that being in person brings.
Re: 34% of remote workers would quit rather than return to full-time office work
#227Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Does a quick interruption that unblocks me and allows me to continue working outweigh allowing you to finish your thing first? No, absolutely not. As my coworker you have no right to my time, at all. Certainly not on-demand. You are in no position to prioritize my time, especially in the context of you finishing your task. > Because maybe you're unblocked but I'm blocked by you now, and the thing that's actually bl…
> Solving your problems is your problem. Not mine. No, solving the company's problems is both our problems. You have a tremendously adversarial attitude toward your coworkers. Why don't you trust them to know the cost of interrupting you and decide whether or not it's a net gain?
> No, solving the company's problems is both our problems.
Yes, this requires effective collaboration.
> You have a tremendously adversarial attitude toward your coworkers.
I do not have an adversarial attitude toward my coworkers. In fact I am very well liked by the people I work with. Probably because I treat them with respect.
> Why don't you trust them to know the cost of interrupting you and decide whether or not it's a net gain?
How can they possibly know this? That would require everyone on the team having complete knowledge of what everyone else is doing at all times. Further, if you believe you know more than your coworker about their situation then it speaks to a distrust of their abilities.
Re: 34% of remote workers would quit rather than return to full-time office work
#228For me, its all about the commute. Just do the math. 1-Hour commute time both ways: 21.8 Days a year you are spending commuting to/from work. 3-fucking-weeks of time, poof, gone. I'll get my social interaction else where for 3 weeks of my life back. Thanks.
While commuting is time-inefficient activity, if you let all 22 days a year disappear...thats on you. There are plenty of things to do in a car ride, train ride, bus ride, walk that are not 'poof, gone' uses of time.
If you are driving to work the most you can do during that drive is listen to a podcast, news, or book on tape. Stuff I can already do at home doing other things too. But have to deal with things like someone just cut you off, and now you just forgot what was happening and need to rewind. It is far from a productive time period. Without having to commute I have a lot more time to do things that are much more valuable to me.
Re: 34% of remote workers would quit rather than return to full-time office work
#229For me, its all about the commute. Just do the math. 1-Hour commute time both ways: 21.8 Days a year you are spending commuting to/from work. 3-fucking-weeks of time, poof, gone. I'll get my social interaction else where for 3 weeks of my life back. Thanks.
While commuting is time-inefficient activity, if you let all 22 days a year disappear...thats on you. There are plenty of things to do in a car ride, train ride, bus ride, walk that are not 'poof, gone' uses of time.
Nah let's fight for structural change instead of timidly complying and listening to podcasts while we become traffic and lose 22 days a year.
Re: 34% of remote workers would quit rather than return to full-time office work
#230Earlier quoted context omitted.
34% being unwilling to work in offices does not imply not the 66% prefer to work in offices. It is entirely possible (however unlikely) that 100% of people prefer to work remotely but that 34% demand it. You just can't infer anything about the preferences of the 66% based on the preferences of the 34%. Some jobs have to be done in person, sure. But some jobs don't. Personally the extra two hours a day and reduced str…
Have you considered that the reason why you aren't missing face-to-face meetings is because everyone is forced to do full time remote? My team is really dreading the move to back to office, but I couldn't be happier. I get the nudge I need in the mornings to hit the gym again, I get cheap and healthy food during lunch with no effort on my part. And I get to see and interact with people who don't work in my team and I…
> I get the nudge I need in the mornings to hit the gym again, I get cheap and healthy food during lunch with no effort on my part.
Let's clarify that this is strictly specific to you.
I and several other colleagues I chat with started doing more exercise due to the pandemic.