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Google is accelerating reopening of offices and putting limits on remote work

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Re: Google is accelerating reopening of offices and putting limits on remote work

#451

Post by ozgung »

hyko wrote: post #140

When will introverts realise that their working conditions are being dictated to them by extroverts? The pandemic-driven remote working is hell for some people, and unfortunately they call the shots. I don’t mind coming into your office now and again (there’s a special dimension to IRL connections), but the reason I don’t want to work there full time is that it’s crap for knowledge work. I outspend you by 10x per hea…

I agree but I think this is more than an introverts vs extroverts issue. Managers need an office to manage. They also want a large private office for themselves. They don’t want to be a “manager” in a Zoom window. They want all the people they manage around them. This is the career they’re trained to do and worked hard for. Not the Zoom thing.

Re: Google is accelerating reopening of offices and putting limits on remote work

#452

Post by stolenmerch »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #421
bumbada wrote: post #334

I have been working remotely for decades. Most people can't work remotely and productively because they are not trained to do so. E.g. You are in your office (inside your home) and your wife, your dog or child enters it demanding you do some kind of non important issue right now, distracting you from your work.You need to be trained to not them let them distract you. The people living in your house need to be trained…

This chestnut 'home has too many distractions' line is getting old. Work has equivalent distractions, and those people actually get paid to distract you. It takes time management wherever you sit your butt.

> Work has equivalent distractions

For you maybe. For some of us, the office is like a monastery compared to home and is the only place where deep work is even close to possible. As we return to normal, I hope more employers embrace a hybrid approach that allows everyone to thrive.

Re: Google is accelerating reopening of offices and putting limits on remote work

#453

Post by betterunix2 »

varispeed wrote: post #352
beforeolives wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not just about socializing or climbing the ladder - you need to communicate with other people to get stuff done. Even if you only care about technical contribution and getting work done, if you aren't in the office and everyone else is, you'll have a difficult time.

Could you explain why? Everyone is on Slack or Teams or even Discord and always available to talk during "office" hours.

Whiteboards were a huge part of my daily work prior to COVID and the lack of whiteboards had a negative impact on my team. Touchscreens have not really been the same for us, it is too much overhead when all you wanted was to quickly work out an idea with someone else.

Re: Google is accelerating reopening of offices and putting limits on remote work

#454

Post by jquery »

intricatedetail wrote: post #380
bumbada wrote: post #334

I have been working remotely for decades. Most people can't work remotely and productively because they are not trained to do so. E.g. You are in your office (inside your home) and your wife, your dog or child enters it demanding you do some kind of non important issue right now, distracting you from your work.You need to be trained to not them let them distract you. The people living in your house need to be trained…

Worst thing is that my partner thinks sitting by a computer is not work and she feels entitled to interrupt any time she pleases. I didn't know that side when I worked in office. The first few months were difficult and she only came to terms with that when I started packing my things and said I will be moving out. I learned that this is probably wrong relationship but it is hard to throw away those years, but I can't…

I can relate. What worked for me was getting noise cancelling headphones and working inside a room with a door. It took some “training” (aka listening to loud music on noise cancelling headphones if she tried to interrupt) but she no longer interrupts me during work hours except on rare occasions when it actually is important. She will usually IM me too, instead of talking through the door.

In other words, respect your own boundaries first. That goes a long way towards helping other people recognize the same boundaries.

Re: Google is accelerating reopening of offices and putting limits on remote work

#456

Post by kristianc »

What surprises me about this whole discourse is how quickly the narrative has been rewritten.

Read any article from the likes of HBR from 2019 and it's apparent that much, much research shows that offices, and open offices in particular are toxic for productivity - and that the 'water cooler' collaboration effect has been vastly overstated.

Sometimes in an open office you could go several hours without getting anything done at all because someone had decided to hold an impromptu meeting by your desk. And irony of all ironies - you put your headphones in at a loud enough volume to drown out the noise and then get tapped on the shoulder for 'distracting' people.

Fast forward a year and a half and the 'water cooler' myth seems to be accepted as fact, and none of the business press seems to mention at all the harmful effects of open offices on productivity. It's not like good ideas ever came from those interactions - they tended to produce the half baked ideas, and definitely didn't produce the x-functional alignment it actually takes to get anything done in most orgs.

The switching cost of interruption - or even the fear that you could at any moment be interrupted - is a complete inhibitor to deep work. My only hope is that when people are inevitably forced back into the office, people will be able to be more productive because of 40% fewer people being in them.

Re: Google is accelerating reopening of offices and putting limits on remote work

#457

Post by ericmay »

intricatedetail wrote: post #391
kelnos wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For Google, this doesn't surprise me at all. A big part of how they get people to work more is to keep them on campus as long as possible, and on-site incentives like meals, laundry, massage, etc. all serve that goal. The fact that Google's offices are often referred to as "campuses" rather than "offices" drives that point home as well.

I find these "services" that some companies offer degrading, as they decide for me what should I eat or where wash my clothes etc. They should instead pay employees more so they could afford these things on their own if they wanted.

It’s not an issue of pay, it’s an issue of time and convenience.

Re: Google is accelerating reopening of offices and putting limits on remote work

#459

Post by ClumsyPilot »

bsagdiyev wrote: post #397
intricatedetail wrote: post #380

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Worst thing is that my partner thinks sitting by a computer is not work and she feels entitled to interrupt any time she pleases. I didn't know that side when I worked in office. The first few months were difficult and she only came to terms with that when I started packing my things and said I will be moving out. I learned that this is probably wrong relationship but it is hard to throw away those years, but I can't…

I can help with this a bit, we suffered this really badly when COVID started which was exacerbated by our first child only being 9 months old or so at the time. Aside from the obvious (wear headphones, keep work area away from common areas) something else we did was set a boundary limit. If I was in the bedroom, that was now the “office” and was to be treated as such. This one is more personal but I tended to get too…

"I think some of the issue is just most people not being prepared or having the right accommodations."

This is definately a significant factor, many of us literally dont have a door to lock

Re: Google is accelerating reopening of offices and putting limits on remote work

#460

Post by bluGill »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #421
bumbada wrote: post #334

I have been working remotely for decades. Most people can't work remotely and productively because they are not trained to do so. E.g. You are in your office (inside your home) and your wife, your dog or child enters it demanding you do some kind of non important issue right now, distracting you from your work.You need to be trained to not them let them distract you. The people living in your house need to be trained…

This chestnut 'home has too many distractions' line is getting old. Work has equivalent distractions, and those people actually get paid to distract you. It takes time management wherever you sit your butt.

Work distractions are generally work related. The person at work who closes his door gets more output, but often that isn't the output that is needed. The person who pays attention to work distractions gets less work done total, but more useful work. Home distractions are not the same.
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