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JPMorgan Workers Ponder Union in Wake of Return-to-Office Mandate

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Re: JPMorgan Workers Ponder Union in Wake of Return-to-Office Mandate

#31

Post by switch007 »

EncomLab wrote: post #11

The key to me is the flexibility - I have the option of WFH 2 days per week, but most weeks I'm in the office 5 days (sometimes a half day on Saturday) because I am fortunate to have a "real office" with a door, a nice view, a stocked break area - and no home distractions. If I was still in a cube farm with a barely stocked vending machine (where I spent the vast majority of my career) I'd be using every WFH moment I…

> why do people hate the office they are expected to return to?

They hate it because it's designed to be hated. The discomfort is the point. You're meant to know your place and be reminded of it everyday.

Re: JPMorgan Workers Ponder Union in Wake of Return-to-Office Mandate

#32

Post by galleywest200 »

EncomLab wrote: post #11

The key to me is the flexibility - I have the option of WFH 2 days per week, but most weeks I'm in the office 5 days (sometimes a half day on Saturday) because I am fortunate to have a "real office" with a door, a nice view, a stocked break area - and no home distractions. If I was still in a cube farm with a barely stocked vending machine (where I spent the vast majority of my career) I'd be using every WFH moment I…

I am not paid for the two hours of sitting in traffic (one hour to work, one hour back). The company does not reimburse for gas, car insurance, vehicle wear and tear, etc. Take the bus? Not sure they pay for bus fare either.

Those are two hours every single week-day that I could use to either do more work for the company or, more realistically, do self-improvement tasks or hobbies.

Re: JPMorgan Workers Ponder Union in Wake of Return-to-Office Mandate

#33

Post by JohnMakin »

999900000999 wrote: post #21

I dislike RTO for one simple reason . I'm not at work to make friends, I'm not at work to chit chat. I'm not at work so we can talk about who won the last football game . I go to work in exchange for currency, which is required to acquire goods and services. All this other crap, all these holiday parties, all of this let's dance in diversity videos, no that's not what I'm here for . Most of the time coming to the off…

> I go to work in exchange for currency, which is required to acquire goods and services

Social currency is also a thing, which is much more difficult to gain in a remote setting - if not impossible. I don't go to work to socialize either, but I'm not naive enough to think that without an extremely established career and reputation at an org that I'll be promoted or employed strictly on merit. there is always some degree of social-ness involved in those kinds of decisions. I'm not saying that's how things should be, it's just how they are.

Re: JPMorgan Workers Ponder Union in Wake of Return-to-Office Mandate

#34

Post by bko »

TrackerFF wrote: post #4

I think RTO mandates will be the straw that broke the camel's back, for a lot of Americans. Workers in sectors that previously wouldn't even think about unionizing, are now having serious discussions. Going back to commutes, wasting time, for no obvious reason - yeah, that did wake up people. EDIT: I'm talking about rigid 5 days a week RTO policy. As other have pointed out, having a flexible WFH policy is often "good…

So why do companies insist?

If it has no meaningful impact on productivity, and workers don't like it (including a lot of managers), why push it?

That's why I believe that companies have some evidence (or belief) that work from home employees are not as productive, enough so to wage this political battle and pay loads in office expenses.

Re: JPMorgan Workers Ponder Union in Wake of Return-to-Office Mandate

#35

Post by 999900000999 »

nickff wrote: post #26
999900000999 wrote: post #21

I dislike RTO for one simple reason . I'm not at work to make friends, I'm not at work to chit chat. I'm not at work so we can talk about who won the last football game . I go to work in exchange for currency, which is required to acquire goods and services. All this other crap, all these holiday parties, all of this let's dance in diversity videos, no that's not what I'm here for . Most of the time coming to the off…

Maybe JPMorgan doesn't want employees like you; maybe they want employees who chit-chat, and become attached to their company, for various (non-kLoC) reasons. Not every workplace is for everyone.

Hell yeah, we can be a family up until the moment their automated performance tracking software flags me and I get let go!

Re: JPMorgan Workers Ponder Union in Wake of Return-to-Office Mandate

#36

Post by cjbgkagh »

HamsterDan wrote: post #25

Workers need to tread carefully here. If you there's no need to be in the office, what's to stop corporate from replacing you with an Indian that costs 1/3rd as much? Push back too hard on RTO and you may not have a job at all in five years.

Ah, the I’ll replace you with an Indian routine that’s been going on for over 25 years years of my career.

Re: JPMorgan Workers Ponder Union in Wake of Return-to-Office Mandate

#37

Post by TheGlav »

HamsterDan wrote: post #25

Workers need to tread carefully here. If you there's no need to be in the office, what's to stop corporate from replacing you with an Indian that costs 1/3rd as much? Push back too hard on RTO and you may not have a job at all in five years.

Maybe.

Quality of work, communication challenges in time zones, language barriers, and setting a company culture are huge barriers to entry for workers remote from India.

Minimum required wages of at least the prevailing wage and limited access for W2's are major ones for bringing them here. Even doubling the W2's wouldn't cover replacing all jobs.

Re: JPMorgan Workers Ponder Union in Wake of Return-to-Office Mandate

#38

Post by onlyrealcuzzo »

999900000999 wrote: post #21

I dislike RTO for one simple reason . I'm not at work to make friends, I'm not at work to chit chat. I'm not at work so we can talk about who won the last football game . I go to work in exchange for currency, which is required to acquire goods and services. All this other crap, all these holiday parties, all of this let's dance in diversity videos, no that's not what I'm here for . Most of the time coming to the off…

> If I had to think, I imagine the entire point of RTO mandates is to keep cities sustainable.

The entire point is to get you to quit because firing people is hard, and they don't care if their best talent leaves.

Re: JPMorgan Workers Ponder Union in Wake of Return-to-Office Mandate

#39

Post by somanyphotons »

HamsterDan wrote: post #25

Workers need to tread carefully here. If you there's no need to be in the office, what's to stop corporate from replacing you with an Indian that costs 1/3rd as much? Push back too hard on RTO and you may not have a job at all in five years.

They would have done this already if they could. Timezones matter much more

Re: JPMorgan Workers Ponder Union in Wake of Return-to-Office Mandate

#40

Post by NegativeLatency »

HamsterDan wrote: post #25

Workers need to tread carefully here. If you there's no need to be in the office, what's to stop corporate from replacing you with an Indian that costs 1/3rd as much? Push back too hard on RTO and you may not have a job at all in five years.

> what's to stop corporate from replacing you with an Indian that costs 1/3rd as much?

I like to think the quality of my work and ability to be more than just a coder (setting priorities, goals, innovating on the product, etc) prevents that.

Ultimately most tech jobs are replaceable but that’s not a good enough reason not to. Especially since there’s already pressure making this happen. I recently watched a previous employer offshore most of the dev work and it seems to be going ok to bad for them.

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