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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

#551

Post by dgritsko »

specialist wrote: post #506
stolenmerch wrote: post #452

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

I've been advocating "quiet rooms", for head's down working, like a law library. Mitigation until such time employers acknowledge decades of empirical evidence that open offices and cube farms sabotage productivity, health, morale. (Never.)

Quiet rooms have some benefits, but a big downside is that I want to use the equipment I have at my desk - multiple monitors, mouse and keyboard, etc. The quiet rooms I've experienced have either no peripherals, or a shared set that is a significant downgrade from what I'd have at my (noisy) desk (or home).

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

#552

Post by thirtythree »

belval wrote: post #519
thirtythree wrote: post #441

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OP already explained that the partner does not see sitting at a computer as working. They have different underlying assumptions which need to be addressed. That can be hard but not worth throwing away a relationship unless one person won't work towards resolving it.

HN is not /r/relationships so I don't want to discuss healthy relationships too much, but their partner not seeing sitting at a computer as working does not mean that reminding them that it is in fact working won't change their behavior. If anything I empathize with OP because I had the exact same issue with my partner where she'd come to show me tiktoks while I was working but when I said I did not want to be distur…

I don't know what /r/relationships. I am glad you and your partner resolved your issues. Do you think the same solution will work for every similar problem?

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

#553

Post by tlear »

doix wrote: post #316
eertami wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I really miss my 30 minute bike commute. I've seen this argument before, and I don't understand how working from home changes this honestly. Why not just start your day with a bike ride for leisure? Unbound by the location of your office you can now cycle to any arbitrary location. If you struggle to do it without a reason, perhaps cycle to a bakery or store and pickup some fresh food for the day.

> Why not just start your day with a bike ride for leisure? Unbound by the location of your office you can now cycle to any arbitrary location. If you struggle to do it without a reason, perhaps cycle to a bakery or store and pickup some fresh food for the day. For me, it's a motivation issue. I had to go to work and had to cycle/walk there. Now, going out in the morning is optional. If I stayed up too late or if the…

Once the pandemic is over and if still WFH, get a spot at a coworking space. This is what I been doing for years.

Alternatively find a coffee shop, ride there for your morning fix of caffeine.

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

#554

Post by nonameiguess »

kristianc wrote: post #456

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 anythi…

People experience bad things due to being in the middle of a pandemic, and work from home is a lot more difficult when you're perpetually socially isolated, aren't allowed to go places you'd normally want to go, and your kids are also home bugging you while you try to work when normally they'd be at school. Uncharitably, these effects get attributed to "work from home" and people think they're yearning for a return to the office when really they're yearning for the pandemic to end.

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

#555

Post by JoeAltmaier »

tharne wrote: post #539
JoeAltmaier wrote: post #421

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You clearly do not have small children.

I worked at home through three kids, birth through college. Try again.

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

#556

Post by KptMarchewa »

andrewzah wrote: post #537
whywhywhywhy wrote: post #356

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you can choose your friends, your colleagues not so much I did choose them, luckily I got to audition them from around 300 people I've been forced to interact with through over my career during the past 10 years. Not only do I get to know their characters well because I can decide if I like them or not and find out if they're trustworthy through working together I also get the extra benefit of being recommended for…

There are a plethora of groups for adults. There are groups for tabletop/board games, music, movies, sports, hiking, etc. There's likely groups near you on meetup.com or facebook groups. For music specifically there are local scenes. If you go to local places consistently, you'll see some of the same faces. Etc. I like programming, but I would find it very boring to only be friends with people in the same industry as…

Meetups or facebook groups select people who are into meetups.

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

#557

Post by dang »

mav3rick wrote: post #220
wu_187 wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it's true though. They are a publicly traded company with over 100B in office assets. If they can't get people back into the offices, they would not be able to justify they cost of keeping said property and would have to sell it to appease investors. Please use a brain cell next time.

Lol yes investors want to sell offices. They clearly need brain cells from you.

Yikes, please don't damage HN by responding that way, no matter how wrong another commenter is or you feel they are. This is how we get downward spirals into hell. Think of it this way: you may not owe the comment you disagree with any better, but you owe this community much better if you're participating in it.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

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

#558

Post by arwhatever »

mattm wrote: post #514
arwhatever wrote: post #492

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've created https://sievejobs.com to allow software developers to simply "block" contacts regarding jobs that don't match your preferred working arrangements. I try not to build too much of an us-vs-them philosophy into either the site design or the marketing message, but I hope to soon have an XHR-type feature where the hiring manager instantly sees the effect that each piece of job metadata (remote work-ability, i…

lol, nice domain name :)

Thanks. I'm honestly not crazy about it, but am holding off until profitability justifies purchasing something more succinct. :-)

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

#559

Post by olliej »

scurvy wrote: post #546
bluefirebrand wrote: post #488

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have a door you can close at the office you must be upper management. Everyone else is still in cubes if they are lucky or in open seating plans more likely.

The larger tech companies give everyone an office. Microsoft started the trend back in the 80's.

Wrong.

Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, … are (essentially) open plan.

My experience at google was the cube walls not even being tall enough to do anything when you were sitting.

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

#560

Post by olliej »

JamesSwift wrote: post #493
bluefirebrand wrote: post #488

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have a door you can close at the office you must be upper management. Everyone else is still in cubes if they are lucky or in open seating plans more likely.

OK, then change it to "someone tapping you on the shoulder while you are wearing headphones at your desk at work is rare".

Or stand in front of you and wave to get your attention
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