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CEOs are running companies from afar even as workers return to office

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Re: CEOs are running companies from afar even as workers return to office

#271

Post by hintymad »

nsokolsky wrote: post #269
hintymad wrote: post #196

What I don't understand is why tech companies don't believe that they can enforce a high-performance culture without return-to-office. With or without remote work, the way we evaluate one's performance has not changed, right? Then, why can't we enforce the same expectation of engineers and teams? We break down a project into milestones, and we hold teams accountable to delivering the milestones on time and on budget.…

> we hold teams accountable to delivering the milestones on time and on budget Holding someone "accountable" means firing them very quickly for a drop in performance. This is hard in large companies for many reasons.

Very true

Re: CEOs are running companies from afar even as workers return to office

#272

Post by Alupis »

BobbyTables2 wrote: post #176
Alupis wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yet somehow it's the ones with computers, earning significantly above average income, writing and reading this now. You can start a company on a library computer...

Starting a company is easy. Just a few short forms and a small fee… Developing and selling a product (at a profit) that someone actually buys — not so easy.

Yet in this thread the ones who do actually make something people want to buy are villainized because they aren't giving it all away to employees (who are compensated for their time and expertise along the way).

Re: CEOs are running companies from afar even as workers return to office

#273

Post by mulmen »

cm2012 wrote: post #150
mulmen wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it 39x more stressful than destroying your body on a factory floor so you can feed your kids?

I've never been a CEO of a big company, but I've been the CEO of a company that did $5m a year in business. I've also worked for $6 an hour sweeping, busked on the subway, and been the lowest paid person at a few companies besides. The CEO role had by far the most stress, to the point it caused me debilitating health issues.

People who work in factories also suffer debilitating health issues.

Re: CEOs are running companies from afar even as workers return to office

#274

Post by listenallyall »

ElevenLathe wrote: post #243
listenallyall wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Zoom works great" - not for cultivating real relationships (friends, business, family, etc) it doesn't

How is this an argument for leaving your family behind to go work in an identical office across the country?

if you truly believe Zoom works great then you should be perfectly happy Zoom calling your family from whatever workplace you choose to go visit

Re: CEOs are running companies from afar even as workers return to office

#275

Post by ElevenLathe »

listenallyall wrote: post #274
ElevenLathe wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is this an argument for leaving your family behind to go work in an identical office across the country?

if you truly believe Zoom works great then you should be perfectly happy Zoom calling your family from whatever workplace you choose to go visit

Well, you got me. No way to weasel out of that logic. No hard feelings, and have a lucrative life!

Re: CEOs are running companies from afar even as workers return to office

#276

Post by missedthecue »

confidantlake wrote: post #250
missedthecue wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't an article about WFH. It's an article about long commutes to the office -- in the case of the Starbucks CEO, about 1000 miles.

My comment did not mention WFH. What are you on about?

RTO implies WFH. What are you returning from if not remote work?

Re: CEOs are running companies from afar even as workers return to office

#277

Post by saagarjha »

theshackleford wrote: post #189
saagarjha wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you actually on call? Like, do you have a beeper next to you? Will you suffer consequences if you don't respond? There is "oh things aren't going great I guess I need to cut my vacation to Austria short" and then there is "I cannot go out for drinks, I cannot take a nap, I must have my company laptop with me and with good Wi-Fi" on-call. Oh, and for the latter you're getting paid a few hundred an hour at best. Ju…

> Oh, and for the latter you're getting paid a few hundred an hour at best. Just putting that out there. Some may receive compensation of this nature, many more may not. You are making wild assumptions. Just putting that out there.

You think people are being paid more than this?

Re: CEOs are running companies from afar even as workers return to office

#278

Post by carlmr »

NeutralCrane wrote: post #252
nox101 wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see the opposite. Conversations that used to happen in ear reach so I'd know what was going on with various team members and be able to contribute when I knew a solution are now conversation that happen in private chat or private VC. Productivity is way down. Even more interesting, a team lead lives in another country 6 times zones away. Some times they visit the main office for 1-2 weeks. Productivity shoots throu…

That doesn’t seem like a sustainable alternative. In the case you are describing, the productivity boost is highly dependent on actually having the right people within ear reach. You are relying on the right people happening to hear other conversations. What if your team is large, so that even if you are all in office, the chances of stumbling into the right conversation is lower? What if you are grabbing lunch, or i…

>The most effective solution in my experience has been when working remote, and having a culture where a team has open discussions on their own Slack channel, with threads for particular conversations.

IME a lot of the really useful "in earshot range" conversations are those that were intended privately but were overheard by someone that has an idea.

Engineer A might go to engineer B to ask B on how to do X. B is being asked because they are usually knowledgeable about similar topics. In this case they don't know.

In slack A would message B directly. B answers that they don't know.

In the office C might overhear it and have an idea and chime in.

I think this unintentional broadcasting can be really helpful to productivity and spreading ideas. It just doesn't work so well in a messaging app.

Re: CEOs are running companies from afar even as workers return to office

#279

Post by theendisney4 »

Scarblac wrote: post #214
toomuchtodo wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s a shame you can’t hire extras for the day to make the office lively. Edit: Maybe you can? Check with someone who does local casting?

Share an office with a completely different type of company, for fun?

You could have shared employees. It reminds me of many strange hybrid company ideas I use to ponder.

A lauromat can have big machines that produce steam and hot water. You can power an indoor troppical garden with a swinming pool and an interesting lunchroom. Desk work can be done laying in the grass etc etc

Thats the general formula.

The office can be a showroom for a vintage motorcycle shop.

Re: CEOs are running companies from afar even as workers return to office

#280

Post by acdha »

BartjeD wrote: post #183
zeroonetwothree wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t see why you should be able to do anything about this legally as an employee. As a shareholder you have more of a claim.

In the Netherlands there is work from home legislation. Legally requiring it to be allowed, where possible and reasonable. The reasoning is that it reduces traffic and reduces stress. This existed since 2000 ish. It has expanded since covid. I now only go to the office once every two weeks. Used to be two times a week.

It’s been really interesting how quickly we’ve forgotten how much air quality and greenhouse emissions slowed during the pandemic. If you’re looking for a quick climate change mitigation it’s hard to beat not requiring people to commute when the job doesn’t require it.
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