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IBM to Managers: Move Near an Office or Leave Company

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Re: IBM to Managers: Move Near an Office or Leave Company

#41
post #13

Controversial opinion time: I was chomping at the bit for remote before COVID. Hell, I still chomp at the bit for remote work. It's genuinely better in almost every way for me; I get that people have kids and it gets annoying to work from home for those people or that people want to be social: I am not those people, I am sorry. I have ADHD and I am not able to actually sit and focus in the office, especially these to…

What is it about in person that makes people think more communication gets done? I swear it's the opposite in basically every experience I've had. When we work in ways that are better for remote things go more smoothly because we're actually communicating. Nearly every time I see people get together, less is accomplished. I attribute a lot of it to the slowdown of communication due to the inefficiency of in-person me…

I've been fully remote for years and overall, remote wins for me.

But there are some things I think are good about periodic in-person meetups.

    What is it about in person that makes people 
    think more communication gets done?
- The real-time nature is helpful for some tasks, although you can accomplish that nearly as well with Zoom/Meet/etc.

- I haven't found an online alternative that truly matches the ease of use and "flow" of a physical whiteboard.

- When in-person meetings are "special" rather than an everyday norm, people seem more likely to bring their "A" game.

- Lot of informal (yet important and job-related) conversation and collaboration happens in informal settings: hallways, at lunch, over drinks, at the water cooler, etc.

Re: IBM to Managers: Move Near an Office or Leave Company

#42
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The money priting machine that pays the salaries of people working on Linux kernel, GNOME, Java, Red-Hat Linux and GCC, as an example.

Did IBM start paying more after acquiring those guys? I don't follow anymore but I'm sure you're right there's still a ton of revenue from the old businesses and their locked-in customers. Probably like a white dwarf, it'll keep burning almost forever, cooling slowly.

They have been paying since around 2000 already.

Re: IBM to Managers: Move Near an Office or Leave Company

#43
post #30

Does this apply to Red Hat or are they still immune to most of the IBM dysfunction?

From what my ex-coworkers are saying it applies to Taos, and BoxBoat - and RH was accquired long before either of them so I'm assuming it applies to them as well.

Doesn’t apply to red hat

Re: IBM to Managers: Move Near an Office or Leave Company

#44

Retired IBM manager here. This has nothing to do with working together. This is another attempt by IBM to get rid of the older workers (again). Most teams are scattered across the world, and in the US they are all over the place. It's just another "Resource Action" targeted at older workers disguised as some kind of great idea to be more productive.

ProPublica has a great report from 2018 on IBM cutting the heads of older workers that is still relevant: https://features.propublica.org/ibm/ibm-age-discrimination-a...

Re: IBM to Managers: Move Near an Office or Leave Company

#45
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From what my ex-coworkers are saying it applies to Taos, and BoxBoat - and RH was accquired long before either of them so I'm assuming it applies to them as well.

Doesn’t apply to red hat

Really, thats interesting... Thanks!
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