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Microsoft is officially sending employees back to the office

businessinsider.com

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Re: Microsoft is officially sending employees back to the office

#461

Post by jayd16 »

mikestew wrote: post #223
zero_shift wrote: post #190

At $org, we too are undertaking a mandatory RTO order, enforced with door access logs. People are up in arms, particularly those in our smaller locales, where the offices we have are perfunctory at best. The rationale is the usual one: collaboration, watercooler chat, unspecific evidence / "research" about productivity (that we are told definitely exists, but is yet to be shared). I remain baffled by executives' obse…

C suites are committed to spending as much as possible on real estate Executives often own the real estate and lease it back to the company. From Steve Ballmer to the owner of the tiny 85 person company I last worked at, it’s not uncommon. So, yeah, there’s often some financial incentive there.

Don't they lease it whether its mandatory or not?

Re: Microsoft is officially sending employees back to the office

#462

Post by jayd16 »

symaxian wrote: post #456
mji wrote: post #435

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think CEO types simply believe (rightly or wrongly) that a large number of people are taking advantage of WFH to barely work.

I'd like to ask these CEOs, for people which are taking advantage of the system, why are they not let go? Could it be that management often have no clue how much value each employee brings to the team? Is RTO being mandated to avoid facing that uncomfortable truth?

If they admit its true but the solution still stands, would you feel any better?

Re: Microsoft is officially sending employees back to the office

#463

Post by abtinf »

xtracto wrote: post #278

Just out of curiosity, how much compensation would people be willing to leave on the table in lieu of "Remote" work? (this is different to, how much would you ASK to go from remote to a new in-office job). 10%, 25%, 50%? I've worked remotely for 5 years now, and there is NO way I would return to an office based job. I even have moved to a small town where there are practically 0 tech jobs; and at this point there's N…

I left an on-site job for a fully remote job, taking about a 35% cut to do so. Literally every aspect of my life improved, including financially.

The financial savings come from 3 things: downsizing to one car and elimination of transport costs; dramatically reduced lunch and coffee expenses; not buying a bunch of stuff to cope with the emotional toll (by far the biggest component).

The savings are even more dramatic if I factor in the opportunity costs of commute time. After accounting for the two way commute time, gas station line time, and vehicle maintenance time, my effective hourly rate working in-office was probably lower than working remote.

Re: Microsoft is officially sending employees back to the office

#464

Post by jayd16 »

oldmanhorton wrote: post #307
nickff wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You seem to be demanding some proof of the RTO side, which is a reversion to the mean, while providing none for your own side. I see and hear people talking about all the non-work things they due while being paid, and am unsurprised that their managers suspect a negative impact on productivity.

If people aren't getting their work done, then they should be having discussions with their manager that eventually lead to pip or firing if not resolved. If they are getting their work done... Who cares if I do a "non work thing" at a "work time"?

In an agile world with an infinite backlog there's no such thing as being done with work. If you could be working on more work things during work time, they probably want that. Maybe you don't like that but c'mon now. It's clearly what they're after.

Re: Microsoft is officially sending employees back to the office

#465

Post by zoeey »

Over the past few years, a lot of teams have shown that remote work can be productive and stable. But as the market cools and power shifts back to management, return-to-office policies are quietly making a comeback.

It feels less about actual performance and more about a need for control. Some of these companies even invested in remote tooling during the pandemic, and now they’re choosing to ignore it. You start to wonder if they’re really looking at output, or just want people back in seats so things look like they’re under control.

Re: Microsoft is officially sending employees back to the office

#466

Post by Rohansi »

notepad0x90 wrote: post #427

Why don't they just pay people less if they think WFH causes less value to the company? Give them an option to RTO or take a pay cut. Why would you want people who don't want your company to succeed anymore working for you? I can't imagine anyone used to 3-4 years of WFH (and liking it) wanting the company to succeed after RTO. If they stay, it's probably because they don't have a choice and they'll probably be the l…

> Give them an option to RTO or take a pay cut.

How much of a pay cut? They could (and probably do) claim that WFH employees are not doing anything so they are worthless.

Re: Microsoft is officially sending employees back to the office

#467

Post by scarface_74 »

yallpendantools wrote: post #292
aeternum wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This theory is often-quoted but doesn't make much sense. Big tech including Microsoft already did multiple rounds of layoffs. Why not just do another round?

If you quit (because of, say, RTO) then you quit. It's a fairly standard deal between you and your employer. If you get laid-off, employer has to give you a severance package for any number of reasons (local labor laws, agreement with the union, corporate PR). This is not a standard deal and is, simply put, more expensive than if the employee just quit of their own accord. In both cases, employer gets the benefit of…

There are absolutely no labor laws in the US where an employer has to give severance.

Re: Microsoft is officially sending employees back to the office

#468

Post by Rohansi »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #57
aaronbrethorst wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I assume that any GitHub employee within 50 miles of a Microsoft office will be expected to commute.

Given that all GitHub teams are remote, the chance of having a team member at the same office is approximately 0. What's the point of commuting if you're not co-located with team members?

This does not stop every company from RTO mandates. My wife's employer is approaching full RTO and literally none of her team would go to the same office as her. And she was remote before COVID.

Re: Microsoft is officially sending employees back to the office

#469

Post by kamaal »

SoftTalker wrote: post #403
ponector wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> where it comes from It's a power play. To show regular folks their place. Big corpo is a modern feodal state, where CEO is an emperor, c-suites are kings, managers are barons, IC are peasants and external contractors are slaves(but leased from other owner). It's not only RTO, it's also about timetable and dress code. Yes, I had a beef with IT manager about dress code in the development office of a bank. Just becau…

The funny thing is, I get more done at the office than at home. And if I’m dressed professionally, I get more done and I get better responses from others than when I’m wearing shorts and a tee shirt. I’d prefer to work from home wearing pajamas but I can sympathize with why my employer wants me in the office and may even have a dress code. Be glad you didn’t work in the development office of a bank in the 1990s, you’…

>>Be glad you didn’t work in the development office of a bank in the 1990s, you’d be expected to wear a suit and tie to work.

Priorities matter.

I worked for a India IT services firm that mandated neck ties. They would even enforce it with fines.

Eventually we saw the whole company had been reduced to these cosmetic pedantry about neck ties, badge-in/out times etc.

Nobody every got anything done, because this was all that was left of their ideas to make the company win.

Re: Microsoft is officially sending employees back to the office

#470

Post by EricDeb »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #267
ponector wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is always an answer to unionizing and other demands: hiring freeze plus offshoring overseas. Eventually even unionized people will be replaced with offshore buddies.

Ohio senator introduces 25% tax on companies that outsource jobs overseas - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45146528 - September 2025 https://www.moreno.senate.gov/press-releases/new-moreno-bill... https://www.moreno.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/The...

This would be very helpful for American jobs.
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