‘Great Resignation’ gains steam as return-to-work plans take effect • Hacker News Board

Re: ‘Great Resignation’ gains steam as return-to-work plans take effect

#51

Post by PenguinCoder » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 1:59 PM UTC

ziggus wrote: post #38

Fine, you want to WFH? Awesome, expect a pay cut. Part of a modern white-collar salary has some expectations built into it, like the fact that people need to be compensated for the inconveniences of leaving their homes and coming to the office and therefore having to pay for things like childcare, cars, clothing, parking, etc. Don't have those expenses anymore? Then why should I compensate you the same as if you did?…

Because you're still competing for me against local companies. You need to pay market rate at least for the area , for the work you want. Sure market rate in India is cheaper; but can they do what you actually need, in the time you need it? AT the time you need it ?

Re: ‘Great Resignation’ gains steam as return-to-work plans take effect

#52

Post by Tyr42 » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 2:01 PM UTC

gaws wrote: post #33

kaycebasques wrote: post #10

Here's a blog post outlining why I left Google this month (June 2021) to take a 1-year sabbatical: https://kayce.basqu.es/sabbatical/prologue/ (Per AnIdiotOnTheNet's feedback here is a summary of my motivations and a compare/contrast with the ideas mentioned in the CNBC post) The main thing for me was the prospect of having kids in the next 5 years. It doesn't seem like it will ever get easier to have a sabbatical th…

I'd like to follow your blog, but I don't see an RSS feed link. Will you consider adding one?

atom also works.

Re: ‘Great Resignation’ gains steam as return-to-work plans take effect

#53

Post by makeitdouble » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 2:02 PM UTC

mdorazio wrote: post #19

null_object wrote: post #12

I honestly don't know whether these articles are over-stating their case, and neither do I know how typical my own experience is, but for some reason it bothers me that the tone of the HN discussion is so reflexively dismissive. I understand that a lot of people will respond to a question of whether they intend to quit their job with a 'you bet!' even at the best of times, but I'm seeing a lot of people quitting and…

I can only speak from personal experience, but fwiw I'm currently consulting with 2 non-tech Fortune 500 companies. Both have implemented "hybrid" return to office policies where employees have to live within 100 miles of the office and be able to come in 1 day a week or 1 day a month depending on team. I've talked with executives in charge of large teams at both companies about this issue and so far it looks like th…

For now tech workers are at the edge, but I think if a company lets its engineering team have it, the other roles will come for it as well.

We’ve already seen it before the pandemic: where engineers had one day or half a day a week of remote as an exception, it generally resulted in a push to have it applied to the other roles that could work from home (marketing etc.)

Re: ‘Great Resignation’ gains steam as return-to-work plans take effect

#54

Post by pc86 » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 2:02 PM UTC

alexdias wrote: post #26

dcolkitt wrote: post #15

I’m honestly perplexed what the FANGs are even thinking in being so aggressive about pushing an end to WFH. Sure it could all work out fine for them. Maybe employees will grumble for a bit, then settle back into office life. But maybe it wont’t . There’s a very real possibility that you lose a non-negligible percent of your staff (disproportionately the most talented who have other options), handicap your ability to…

> I’m honestly perplexed what the FANGs are even thinking in being so aggressive about pushing an end to WFH. Yes, aggressive measures such as: -Allowing employees to apply to be permanent remote employees -Allowing 2 WFH days per week

Anything but allowing permanent WFH without any approval, never requiring any on-site visits, and never requiring the camera is "aggressive" to a lot of people for some reason.

Re: ‘Great Resignation’ gains steam as return-to-work plans take effect

#55

Post by sam0x17 » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 2:03 PM UTC

dcolkitt wrote: post #15

I’m honestly perplexed what the FANGs are even thinking in being so aggressive about pushing an end to WFH. Sure it could all work out fine for them. Maybe employees will grumble for a bit, then settle back into office life. But maybe it wont’t . There’s a very real possibility that you lose a non-negligible percent of your staff (disproportionately the most talented who have other options), handicap your ability to…

> I’m honestly perplexed what the FANGs are even thinking in being so aggressive about pushing an end to WFH.

Many just built multi-billion-dollar campuses that, in the WFH economy, are big useless pieces of real estate

Re: ‘Great Resignation’ gains steam as return-to-work plans take effect

#56

Post by eplanit » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 2:04 PM UTC

dcolkitt wrote: post #15

I’m honestly perplexed what the FANGs are even thinking in being so aggressive about pushing an end to WFH. Sure it could all work out fine for them. Maybe employees will grumble for a bit, then settle back into office life. But maybe it wont’t . There’s a very real possibility that you lose a non-negligible percent of your staff (disproportionately the most talented who have other options), handicap your ability to…

Handicapping FAANG companies could be beneficial to society, overall. Covid-19 brought a few positive outcomes -- less pollution last year, more WFH, ... Following that up with a decline or temporary slowdown in FAANG would be another.

Re: ‘Great Resignation’ gains steam as return-to-work plans take effect

#57

Post by aikinai » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 2:05 PM UTC

pjc50 wrote: post #29

dcolkitt wrote: post #15

I’m honestly perplexed what the FANGs are even thinking in being so aggressive about pushing an end to WFH. Sure it could all work out fine for them. Maybe employees will grumble for a bit, then settle back into office life. But maybe it wont’t . There’s a very real possibility that you lose a non-negligible percent of your staff (disproportionately the most talented who have other options), handicap your ability to…

I suspect it's individual managers who've never quite got past "if you can't see someone how do you know they're working?" Never underestimate human irrationality in these things.

This is the most blatantly ridiculous straw man, I can’t believe people on HN keep trying to make it especially against FAANG. Do you really think these companies are run by middle managers that just want to watch people work?

At least at Google, a huge number of employees already work in a different floor, office, city, or even country than their managers that this couldn’t even be a factor for them.

Re: ‘Great Resignation’ gains steam as return-to-work plans take effect

#58

Post by minikites » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 2:05 PM UTC

It's hard to feel sorry for employers that have been treating employees like garbage for decades. I hope this new freedom awakens the spirit of collective action in enough employees that labor unions make a comeback.

Re: ‘Great Resignation’ gains steam as return-to-work plans take effect

#59

Post by klipklop » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 2:05 PM UTC

dcolkitt wrote: post #15

I’m honestly perplexed what the FANGs are even thinking in being so aggressive about pushing an end to WFH. Sure it could all work out fine for them. Maybe employees will grumble for a bit, then settle back into office life. But maybe it wont’t . There’s a very real possibility that you lose a non-negligible percent of your staff (disproportionately the most talented who have other options), handicap your ability to…

Nobody wants to give up a something once it becomes a part of their life that they enjoy.

The FANG workers got a taste of not having a daily long commute and don't want to give this small life improvement back. Getting back several hours of your life is pretty big.

FANG companies however have gotten a taste of nearly unlimited power and have not heard "no" in years. They too don't want to give this up. This is why they demand the butts back in the cramped open seating office. Does anyone buy their "we will allow you to apply for remote work" BS? That is just something to get you back in the office. They will quietly deny your request later.

People can call these FANGers spoiled, but I really hope they win. It would benefit everybody, but the CEOs of the world.

Re: ‘Great Resignation’ gains steam as return-to-work plans take effect

#60

Post by sokoloff » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 2:06 PM UTC

onion2k wrote: post #31

mdorazio wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can only speak from personal experience, but fwiw I'm currently consulting with 2 non-tech Fortune 500 companies. Both have implemented "hybrid" return to office policies where employees have to live within 100 miles of the office and be able to come in 1 day a week or 1 day a month depending on team. I've talked with executives in charge of large teams at both companies about this issue and so far it looks like th…

10% of people leaving during a time when hiring has gotten significantly harder sounds like a serious problem for any company.

A greater percentage than that leave every year anyway, so it doesn't sound all that dire. (I'd love for it to be that dire as we've gone remote-first with pretty good support for that, but I don't think it's actually going to be as massive a tailwind for us as this and similar articles suggest.)