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Big tech companies are at war with employees over remote work

arstechnica.com

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Re: Big tech companies are at war with employees over remote work

#221

Post by marenkay »

akagusu wrote: post #211

This conversation is not about remote work but wage reduction. Before the pandemic, companies had employed remote workers and paid them based on business value, but now they want to pay us based on the location we live. They are creating a narrative that they pay us based on the cost of living, but it's just an excuse to reduce our salary. They are forcing us to go back to offices because corporate executives are eli…

Companies should not be allowed to pay you less for remote work, since you shoulder the costs of work for office, energy, etc.

Why should employees pay for saving money for the company?

Re: Big tech companies are at war with employees over remote work

#222

Post by bmat »

bradlys wrote: post #174
bmat wrote: post #66

If you work at one of these companies and are frustrated by the decision to return to the office, I encourage you to seriously consider leaving to pursue a remote-first career. Not only to send a message, but also because there are many great remote opportunities out there right now. Ironically I had this battle with Google pre-COVID back in 2019. I was worn down by my commute and itching for a change of environment,…

> And most recently I took a full-time position at a fully remote company (as in no offices at all) with better comp and benefits than what I had at Google. Really? What company pays more than Google and is full remote like that? I’m not saying that they don’t exist but the $400k bar is hard for most remote companies to swallow.

I don't want to call out the company without their blessing, but they're a unicorn with $100M+ raised so that certainly helps them be competitive.

Re: Big tech companies are at war with employees over remote work

#223

Post by jonathankoren »

sharken wrote: post #216
jonathankoren wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then you need to read it again. No one is making you make changes to your body. You are always free to go somewhere else. Come on. If vaccines are ao offensive, why do you want to work for someone that only wants people that are vaccinated around them? Take some responsibility for your life choices instead crying, “Woe is me!” No one owes you a job, nor do you owe any employer your labor. Walk if you don’t like it. F…

Well, if all companies apply the same rule then you are not really free to choose are you ? I don't take offense with the vaccine, it has helped to turn things around, it's the mandate that i have a problem with. And again, tattoos, hair style and so on are things that you freely choose to do, they are not mandated and thus are not the same thing.

> Well, if all companies apply the same rule then you are not really free to choose are you ?

You are always free to start your own company and endanger other people’s health there.

At this point you’re basically complaining that it sucks to be unpopular. Well, that’s a personal problem. Stop trying to say that people are being forced to do anything. They’re not. They just aren’t free of of the consequences of their (in)actions.

You’re not allowed to enroll in a public school or the military without specific panel of vaccines. Again, you’re always welcome to not join the military or to enroll in a private school that doesn’t require vaccines or even homeschool. Whining that that private schools are too expensive, or homeschool is too much of a time sink, isn’t the responsibility of anyone except the person that decided to opt out of the system. Take the responsibility. Antivax folks don’t have a right to endanger others.

Re: Big tech companies are at war with employees over remote work

#224

Post by paulryanrogers »

matz1 wrote: post #219
paulryanrogers wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One step closer to a company town. And makes the prospect of a job change that much more painful.

Yes, it can be painful but not necessarily have to. Its not like there is no way to mitigate the pain.

How does one mitigate the pain of having to move out of company housing because of a job change?

Re: Big tech companies are at war with employees over remote work

#225

Post by matz1 »

paulryanrogers wrote: post #224
matz1 wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it can be painful but not necessarily have to. Its not like there is no way to mitigate the pain.

How does one mitigate the pain of having to move out of company housing because of a job change?

One way, the company could maybe give some amount of money to help with the moving out cost or maybe allow for the employee to stay for a bit longer while they looking for new place to live.

Re: Big tech companies are at war with employees over remote work

#226

Post by bradlys »

bmat wrote: post #222
bradlys wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And most recently I took a full-time position at a fully remote company (as in no offices at all) with better comp and benefits than what I had at Google. Really? What company pays more than Google and is full remote like that? I’m not saying that they don’t exist but the $400k bar is hard for most remote companies to swallow.

I don't want to call out the company without their blessing, but they're a unicorn with $100M+ raised so that certainly helps them be competitive.

How are you getting paid more than Google if they're a private company? Are they paying $400k liquid? Monopoly money stocks cannot be factored in as real liquid comp unless you can actually liquidate it. If this is a known company to IPO in a year or something then maybe you can make an argument but... I don't think they're comparable, IMO.

Re: Big tech companies are at war with employees over remote work

#227

Post by paulryanrogers »

matz1 wrote: post #225
paulryanrogers wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does one mitigate the pain of having to move out of company housing because of a job change?

One way, the company could maybe give some amount of money to help with the moving out cost or maybe allow for the employee to stay for a bit longer while they looking for new place to live.

Still that's a lot of hassle compared to just not having to move, such as from independent housing.

Re: Big tech companies are at war with employees over remote work

#228

Post by dang »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #138
dang wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please don't post like this - it breaks the site guideline against name-calling (which applies also to arguments) and generally goes against the desired culture of the site, which is curious conversation. Of course you can still have your views; you just need to post about them in the key of curiosity. That includes, btw, respect for the opposite point of view, since curiosity is somewhere short of certainty. https:/…

> That includes, btw, respect for the opposite point of view, since curiosity is somewhere short of certainty. Noted! I will endeavor to be more curious and less certain.

Me too.

Re: Big tech companies are at war with employees over remote work

#230

Post by _1gwx »

NonContro wrote: post #203
3gg wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is indeed a more accurate statement.

As an aside, its also a a reason why immigration from poor countries is so dangerous - people in the 2nd/3rd world have much simpler lifestyles and are thus willing to accept much lower salaries. Note, I am from Ukraine, and I am speaking from personal experience moving to the USA. My American friends eat out all the time, buy very expensive home appliances, and tip extremely generously. I live a frugal life since th…

I am actually in a very similar position to yours and agree with most of your points. I also assume you are in tech. I don't know what the immigration situation as a whole is, but I'm not sure tech is a good example of immigrants driving salaries down. Also, isn't it technically illegal for a company to pay the immigrant less? Rather than imposing limits on immigration, which I think is what the average conservative mindset would push for, I'd argue that companies should be punished for exploiting their workers -- regardless of where they come from.
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