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Google mandates workers back to Silicon Valley, other offices from April 4

reuters.com

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Re: Google mandates workers back to Silicon Valley, other offices from April 4

#561

Post by 3np »

inlined wrote: post #534
carom wrote: post #393

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lonely is an incredibly accurate way to describe working at Google. Everyone says the office perks are there to trick you to stay, but our work area was quieter than a library and no one hung around. If people were talking they'd legit catch themselves and be like, we should grab a conference room. Incredibly polite but also an uncomfortably quiet environment. I think a lot of people just wanted to put in their hours…

I made more enduring friendships in each of my 3yr tenures at Facebook and Microsoft than I did at 8yrs of google

Why do you think that is?

Re: Google mandates workers back to Silicon Valley, other offices from April 4

#562

Post by closeparen »

carom wrote: post #393
skybrian wrote: post #201

I've worked at a startup where everyone being there was essential in how we worked. (We were all pair programming.) It was great. It beats code reviews any day. I learned a lot. But when I was at Google, we would schedule VC meetings with people in a different part of campus just to avoid the walk. Also, I worked on teams that had people worked out in many offices, mostly not Mountain View. I was surrounded by Google…

Lonely is an incredibly accurate way to describe working at Google. Everyone says the office perks are there to trick you to stay, but our work area was quieter than a library and no one hung around. If people were talking they'd legit catch themselves and be like, we should grab a conference room. Incredibly polite but also an uncomfortably quiet environment. I think a lot of people just wanted to put in their hours…

That sounds amazing, I dearly wish for "library rules" on the floor. The office has plenty of social and collaborative spaces that aren't where my keyboard/monitor/charger are, and switching to one of those spaces when you're going to have a conversation is a good norm.

Re: Google mandates workers back to Silicon Valley, other offices from April 4

#563

Post by scarface74 »

librish wrote: post #84

I think anyone who's claiming that remote work has been "proven" to be better or worse is wrong. There are some studies but they use estimations and proxies, carrying the same flaws as doing performance reviews based on lines of code. We've proven that the big tech companies can go fully remote and not completely crash and burn, that's about it. Some people love the lack of commute and less semi-forced hanging out, s…

And I prefer never going into a loud open office again where I am constantly interrupted. I traveled to my departments headquarters for an internal conference and I stayed two days after. The first half day I went into the office before the meeting, I could get nothing done because of all of the noise.

The second day I just worked from the hotel.

Switching cost from constant interruptions is a real phenomenon.

Re: Google mandates workers back to Silicon Valley, other offices from April 4

#564

Post by nsonha »

skybrian wrote: post #201

I've worked at a startup where everyone being there was essential in how we worked. (We were all pair programming.) It was great. It beats code reviews any day. I learned a lot. But when I was at Google, we would schedule VC meetings with people in a different part of campus just to avoid the walk. Also, I worked on teams that had people worked out in many offices, mostly not Mountain View. I was surrounded by Google…

> pair programming... It was great. It beats code reviews...

this false dichotomy again, who said that pair programming was to replace code review, or vice versa?

Re: Google mandates workers back to Silicon Valley, other offices from April 4

#565

Post by [deleted] »

cebert wrote: post #360
2spicy4me wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speaking for myself, I need the structure and am currently getting very little done. A lot of us aren’t trying to scam the remote work system, we’re just hanging on by our fingernails until the office opens back up.

How does going back to the office help with that?

[deleted]

Re: Google mandates workers back to Silicon Valley, other offices from April 4

#566

Post by scarface74 »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #443
ignu wrote: post #432

I'd prefer to work an environment where I can't get interrupted synchronously by someone wanting their problem resolved that moment. Also, one thing with those in person interactions is you have no artifact of the interaction. Slack or tickets are great for documenting how decisions are made. But ultimately, I have no desire to waste an extra 5 to 10 hours of my life just driving back and forth to sit at a different…

> I'd prefer to work an environment where I can't get interrupted synchronously by someone wanting their problem resolved that moment. FWIW, I found synchronous interruptions to be more of a problem when remote. Too many people used Slack messages or video calls for everything because it was only a click away, as opposed to having to get up and walk over to someone’s desk > Also, one thing with those in person intera…

The difference is when I work remotely, I can quit Slack, block my calendar and do “deep work”.

Re: Google mandates workers back to Silicon Valley, other offices from April 4

#567

Post by [deleted] »

30minAdayHN wrote: post #361
julianlam wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Agreed. We've proven that big tech companies can continue to be productive for up to two years going remote. This sentence amuses me a bit. Does that also mean that American Democracy has only been proven to work for up to 245 years? :-)

I think so. Systems like remote work, American Democracy are not simple enough to have a scientific proof to provide guarantees. So many factors that might not otherwise have affected the outcomes could affect an outcome in future. So the only fair statements are that remote work has been proven to work for 2 years and american democracy for 200ish years :-) This is quite fascinating

[deleted]

Re: Google mandates workers back to Silicon Valley, other offices from April 4

#568

Post by throwaway-9990 »

cebert wrote: post #360
2spicy4me wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speaking for myself, I need the structure and am currently getting very little done. A lot of us aren’t trying to scam the remote work system, we’re just hanging on by our fingernails until the office opens back up.

How does going back to the office help with that?

(throwaway cause I'd rather people who know me personally not know this)

I'll just add one more anecdote to this. I'm also far less healthy during forced-remote COVID time. Try as I might, I just can't get myself to be active and eat healthier.

In the office, I biked to and from work which started me off well, and the structure of the day kept me more on top of everything too. During WFH, I don't exercise - I should, but I just can't make the habit stick. I sleep in cause it's easy - I shouldn't, but I can't seem to stop myself. Making and keeping friendships is harder than it used to be, giving me less reason to go out too. Everything spirals from there. Doing things has become hard.

I've tried habit-forming tricks to try to make it work. I've tried different routines to see if one sticks better than others: different times of the day, different exercises, different types of breaks. I've gone to a psychiatrist and therapist to help improve that "even little things are hard" feeling. I've tried medications like anti-depressants, which I never needed before. Ultimately nothing has worked, and I've spent almost 2 years now at a personal low for mental and physical well-being.

I very much wish I could be like the other people who thrive working remotely. But it's just incompatible with me on a level I can't really explain, and seems silly from the outside. If the tech industry goes full remote, I'll probably consider a career switch, because this isn't sustainable for me. And to be clear, there's only an issue when remote work is involved: I've spent time unintentionally unemployed, and was very happy and healthy. It's really working remotely in particular that does me in. Working in general is hard and stressful, and I need the positives of working in person to counteract that enough that I'm still happy and healthy.

I'm very happy for the people who've found happiness in remote work, and am happy many more people who want it will have that option going forward. But it really isn't for me, as much as I'd like it to be.

Re: Google mandates workers back to Silicon Valley, other offices from April 4

#569

Post by Consultant32452 »

alecbz wrote: post #208
Consultant32452 wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing that I find bothersome is wanting to force others to comply with our individual preferences. And it's all sides of everything these days.

Remote and in-office are both pretty inherently social decisions. If you're remote, you don't want to be left out if other team members are in person. If you're in-office, most of the benefits depend on other people also being in-office.

I'll be frank. I don't want to be forced to socialize with coworkers. They need to make friends outside of work if they need socialization time. I may socialize with people from work, but will do it on my own terms. The collaboration thing is almost never really about collaborating or efficiency, it's just the polite way of saying they want to force others to fulfill their social needs.

Re: Google mandates workers back to Silicon Valley, other offices from April 4

#570

Post by scarface74 »

skybrian wrote: post #201

I've worked at a startup where everyone being there was essential in how we worked. (We were all pair programming.) It was great. It beats code reviews any day. I learned a lot. But when I was at Google, we would schedule VC meetings with people in a different part of campus just to avoid the walk. Also, I worked on teams that had people worked out in many offices, mostly not Mountain View. I was surrounded by Google…

Constant pair programming is one of my deal breakers - along with open offices.
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