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Google's push to bring employees back to offices, some say they'll rather quit
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Re: Google's push to bring employees back to offices, some say they'll rather quit
#42It seems strange that Google management would push so hard on this. Nearly everyone I've spoken to has reported that WFH productivity has been equal, if not better than pre-pandemic. What possible upside could there be that justifies forcing the issue and hurting morale by pissing so many people off? Sure, maybe there's an argument that a fully remote company has a hard time propagating a coherent corporate culture.…
> Nearly everyone I've spoken to has reported that WFH productivity has been equal, if not better than pre-pandemic.
I feel like this should be taken with a grain of salt, depending on what your bubble looks like.
Re: Google's push to bring employees back to offices, some say they'll rather quit
#43It seems strange that Google management would push so hard on this. Nearly everyone I've spoken to has reported that WFH productivity has been equal, if not better than pre-pandemic. What possible upside could there be that justifies forcing the issue and hurting morale by pissing so many people off? Sure, maybe there's an argument that a fully remote company has a hard time propagating a coherent corporate culture.…
Because above a certain level managers derive their sense of self-worth from the number of physical people surrounding them?
Something I've been thinking about is that your typical rank and file employees work is pretty transparent. I created 6 widgets, I served 4 customers, I wrote 100 lines of code. Middle management that isn't really true, they can mill around and informally talk with people as part of their work. If everyone is remote, middle management's efforts become much more measurable.
Re: Google's push to bring employees back to offices, some say they'll rather quit
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
“Productivity” is not something a person can measure themselves. Sure, some people may be closing bugs faster than when in the office. But productivity manifests itself in different ways over longer time periods. Is there a strong corporate culture? Are junior staff being mentored and trained? Are new product ideas like Chromecast being thought of and shipped? The individual employee is not going to be a reliable ind…
You say that like senior management typically makes decisions based on data and facts, rather than the reality where they just shoot from the hip using their "gut." By the same logic implied here, we cannot trust senior management to know what they're doing. PS - Also Google's measures of productivity are terrible, that's why they keep starting/killing new projects ever other week, and killed their golden goose in th…
Yet somehow, these boneheads haven’t driven Google to bankruptcy yet, so I don’t think their decisionmaking authority is in immediate jeopardy.
Re: Google's push to bring employees back to offices, some say they'll rather quit
#45It seems strange that Google management would push so hard on this. Nearly everyone I've spoken to has reported that WFH productivity has been equal, if not better than pre-pandemic. What possible upside could there be that justifies forcing the issue and hurting morale by pissing so many people off? Sure, maybe there's an argument that a fully remote company has a hard time propagating a coherent corporate culture.…
Not strange if you've worked there; they absolutely love centralizing people at their hubs and were _never_ WFH/remote friendly
Re: Google's push to bring employees back to offices, some say they'll rather quit
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
“Productivity” is not something a person can measure themselves. Sure, some people may be closing bugs faster than when in the office. But productivity manifests itself in different ways over longer time periods. Is there a strong corporate culture? Are junior staff being mentored and trained? Are new product ideas like Chromecast being thought of and shipped? The individual employee is not going to be a reliable ind…
You say that like senior management typically makes decisions based on data and facts, rather than the reality where they just shoot from the hip using their "gut." By the same logic implied here, we cannot trust senior management to know what they're doing. PS - Also Google's measures of productivity are terrible, that's why they keep starting/killing new projects ever other week, and killed their golden goose in th…
This is one of the worst comments I’ve ever read.
Re: Google's push to bring employees back to offices, some say they'll rather quit
#47It seems strange that Google management would push so hard on this. Nearly everyone I've spoken to has reported that WFH productivity has been equal, if not better than pre-pandemic. What possible upside could there be that justifies forcing the issue and hurting morale by pissing so many people off? Sure, maybe there's an argument that a fully remote company has a hard time propagating a coherent corporate culture.…
Apart from the "WFH is not good for everyone" (which I agree with, and there are many situations where people actively do not want to WFH), there is also the internal company cult, which makes top management believe that people stay at a job for the vibes and relationships.
It is partly true, because not going to work and interacting with people all day will make you have less regrets about leaving for another company. This is not generally a huge factor (compared to, say, salary), but it exists.
Managers with a lot of company cult thinking also believe that you get more attached to the company if they can see you everyday.
At my company they are shocked that engineering talent is leaving despite the great financials results, and are trying to find an explanation. Apparently the "no raises this year" policy they set 6 months ago did not enter their radar.
Re: Google's push to bring employees back to offices, some say they'll rather quit
#48"I'll quit!" they say. It's about as empty a threat as telling the customer service person that you'll sue the company.
When your recruited multiple times a week it’s not hard.
I tell all recruiters I won’t work in an office ever and post pandemic the number who agree to that has jumped by a large percentage
Re: Google's push to bring employees back to offices, some say they'll rather quit
#49It seems to me a big divide in this question is people who derive a sense of identity/value/community from their workplace and those who view it in a more utilitarian light. For me I much prefer WFH but I also have 3 kids and a wife that I'd rather spend time with than any of my co-workers; however when I was younger I enjoyed associating with my co-workers because I didn't have as much other social connection.
Single and live alone and still prefer it. I get more time to hangout with my friends, and for those who also work remote we hang out at a cafe and work together
Re: Google's push to bring employees back to offices, some say they'll rather quit
#50It seems strange that Google management would push so hard on this. Nearly everyone I've spoken to has reported that WFH productivity has been equal, if not better than pre-pandemic. What possible upside could there be that justifies forcing the issue and hurting morale by pissing so many people off? Sure, maybe there's an argument that a fully remote company has a hard time propagating a coherent corporate culture.…
> Nearly everyone I've spoken to has reported that WFH productivity has been equal, if not better than pre-pandemic.
Out of curiosity, how many of the people you have spoken to have kids? From my perspective, it seems the people without kids seem to handle working from home okay, but the ones with younger kids at home seem to struggle a lot.