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80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

cnbc.com

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Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#441

Post by gardenhedge »

HellDunkel wrote: post #322
lamontcg wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I find it funny that when people were required to be home, employers talked about what great productivity they were getting with people at home. Then when it isn't required anymore, they want everyone back in the office for...productivity. The decades of evidence that open office plans are utter shit for productivity already proved that the emperor wears no clothes and they have no idea what makes for better produc…

100%. And don‘t forget about the useless standup meetings which are nothing more than a complete waste of time.

Mine are also useless. Communicating with your team is super important but the mandatory status checkin when team members are working on unrelated things is pointless and draining.

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#442

Post by hkon »

I remember in covid times, everyone was on remote, we would just call each other, hang out in teams, discuss work, really collaborating. Low threshold for doing some ad-hoc discussions etc.

With the "hybrid" solution, when I am at the office "no-one" else is, can't really get everyone together anymore, some will be in office, others at home. People in the office busy with talking to other non-project colleagues etc. Must schedule everything etc.

Also, for international teams, going to an office in a country where maybe none of their closest co-workers are located, really make no sense at all. Yet due to some company policy people must clock-in, and will generally be less available to their respective teams.

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#443

Post by johannes1234321 »

Tomte wrote: post #311
azmodeus wrote: post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Germany you can tax deduct your rent for an office room with a door and a proportion of your utilities for the office

Only if you don't use the room for anything except work. You've got a computer in there that you're also using for private stuff? Not tax-deductible anymore. Private books on the bookshelf? Not tax-deductible anymore. You've got a wardrobe with some clothes you're only accessing once per season (to store off-season clothes)? Not tax-deductible anymore.

Depending on the state they allow to deduce a room partially and during corona they were a lot more tolerant.

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#444

Post by x86x87 »

kylixz wrote: post #226

I did software work for most of my career and am a huge fan of remote and hybrid arrangements. But having started a hardware robotics company… it does seem more difficult to run the team remotely. When we get together in person, everything moves faster. We have more equipment. EEs can fix things on the spot. Perception engineers can perceive their algorithm’s behavior in front of their face. We can mitigate safety co…

Don't feel bad. Working/developing with real hardware seems to me a legitimate case where wfh might not work.

This does not mean that the constraints you have apply to everyone and most places that are forcing RTO are actually optimizing for other things like CRE.

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#445

Post by dougmwne »

catmanjan wrote: post #338
dougmwne wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I think you’ve really got it there. The federal government is absolutely trying to orchestrate this situation for the benefit of companies. They try to keep unemployment at a sweet spot number where not too many people are living on the street, but companies have a pliable and plentiful labor pool. It’s achieved through a careful balance of monetary policy, taxes, immigration, education, and laws limiting reprod…

Is it really possible for an individual to “build wealth” without exploiting the working class

For some definitions of wealth, sure. I think the minimum definition is that you are freed from at least some need to labor. Clearly there’s a wealth point at which you need to capture excess value from the labor of others.

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#446

Post by Pannoniae »

wtarreau wrote: post #400
ekianjo wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The social animal bullshit is a myth. You can see it around you everyday. People in public places everywhere spending time on their phones rather than talking to people around them

It's true that we can see them everywhere but you'll probably notice that you don't know what jobs such people do and that those who you know and who need to benefit from others' experience typically do not do this. I tend to think there is a class (and a large one) of people who live only for their phone and social networks just because they have no life and they're trying to get one in such superficial stuff. Or ma…

"It often makes me sad to see how they can be absorbed by these non-sense activities instead of simply being proud of what they are."

....because "being proud of what you are" doesn't work when no one cares about what you do or who you are. Then, your options are two-fold: you either become an isolated loner who doesn't care about socialising, or you participate in those superficial activities in hope of human connection.

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#447

Post by commonlisp94 »

pharmakom wrote: post #422
mattgreenrocks wrote: post #392

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Save 50% of your gross salary, invest in index funds, and be patient. You can speed up the process via geo-arbitrage, climbing the career ladder without lifestyle creep, working at a FAANG, being more frugal, or side hustles. Search for FIRE for more details. It’s not easy by any stretch.

Let's be honest, it's only possible for people with rare skills and/or prestigious credentials (which are largely a function of your parents social class). Earning median wage most of that goes towards rent. There's nothing left to save. Move further away and you lose big on earnings.

ordinary behavior is unlikely to bring extraordinary results

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#448

Post by commonlisp94 »

throwaway892238 wrote: post #60

I decided I will never again work in an office, for the rest of my life. It's a lifestyle choice. I refuse to put up with the B.S. anymore. I'm lucky that I've had a long career and my skills are very much in demand, so I will always be able to find a remote job somewhere. People doing jobs with more qualified candidates in the pool will probably have a harder time, and that sucks. For them, I hope they can band toge…

> I'm lucky that I've had a long career and my skills are very much in demand, so I will always be able to find a remote job somewhere.

Yep, this is exactly who WFH benefits, and nobody else.

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#449

Post by [deleted] »

itronitron wrote: post #14

>> The sunk cost of unused office space has been a major factor in companies’ decisions to change their RTO approach, says Kacher. I'm not sure that the author, or the company executives, know what a sunk cost is. Just to clarify, since there is a younger generation on HN now, 'sunk cost' is something you have spent money on that you can't get back. The 'sunk cost fallacy' is the mistaken belief that you have to use…

[deleted]

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#450

Post by [deleted] »

ggm wrote: post #212

The article mentions NY costs of $16,000 p.a. per person-space. This is the underlying problem: Listed Property trusts are facing massive write down of value, and many industries at scale are partially invested in property assets. Deciding to unwind a lease has consequences all round. Getting staff back "in" may be logistically simpler for the CFO and risk committee of the organisation. HR comes second.

[deleted]
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