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80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

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Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#601

Post by ExoticPearTree »

troupe wrote: post #48
atleastoptimal wrote: post #15

I understand the merits of WFH and in-person work. One thing that is however funny is the guilt tripping used by employers who have this straw-man version of a lazy WFH employee, and more so, employers who have a delusion that their workplace is important enough that people need to sacrifice a large portion of their lives just for the opportunity to be there in person. 90% of jobs aren't people's "passions" and have…

I find it funny that when people were required to be home, employers talked about what great productivity they were getting with people at home. Then when it isn't required anymore, they want everyone back in the office for...productivity. My guess is that most employers really have no way to measure if an employee is being productive or not so managers are just reporting what makes them look good...and now we are ba…

One aspect is company culture. Where there is no trust, people feel the need to micromanage just to feel in control. Where there is trust, people do what they know best and managers intervene only at say critical moments if needed.

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#602

Post by arkey »

dboreham wrote: post #418
arkey wrote: post #334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you think standup meetings are useless? Maybe they are not run properly? I find them to be a pillar of our workday, within our team.

Discussions that should be 1:1 become 1:N, wasting the time of (N-1) people.

As others have pointed out, that's not what a standup should be for. Any tool, process or structure that is not being used properly tends to be annoying and useless.

The problem is therefore not with the concept of a standup, but rather with how they are usually run.

Running efficient standups, or any sort of meeting at that, is a skill.

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#603

Post by arkey »

HellDunkel wrote: post #350
arkey wrote: post #334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you think standup meetings are useless? Maybe they are not run properly? I find them to be a pillar of our workday, within our team.

Just my experience. A work culture where people approach each other without somebody telling them to do so is much better. Respect of each others time is also crucial. Get the motivating factors right and you dont need to bore the x out of everyone.

Indeed, and I would even say that this applies to any meeting you can think of.

However if you get the purpose of the meeting straight and somehow manage for everyone to properly collaborate, you'll get a 3-5min daily meeting that easily enables efficient collaboration and awareness.

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#604

Post by tekknik »

bagacrap wrote: post #586
closeparen wrote: post #579

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have agency in that we could choose to renounce careers in tech. That’s it. There is a price/quality tradeoff in every housing market; all complaints about price can be interpreted as insufficient willingness to compromise on quality. A cardboard box under a bridge is free! “You’re actually obscenely wealthy because you don’t live in a basement and drive 6 hours to work” is not the argument you think it is. Tech w…

You can easily find big tech jobs in Seattle, Austin, NY, Denver, Los Angeles, etc etc. Actions speak louder than words, so no, they are not telling me they want to live elsewhere. They're telling me they like to complain.

That $1.2 mil figure wasn’t any of those cities, nor was it from SF. You seem to be detached from reality.

And btw, I spent a large portion of my life living out of a rack on a warship so don’t talk to me about compromise kiddo.

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#605

Post by wizofaus »

BearfootCoder wrote: post #600
wizofaus wrote: post #583

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why even call it a team then, and what would be the point of stand-ups for such a group?

Group of people == team because all report to same manager. Manager in charge of multiple different projects because "success in organisation" == "number of people managed" regardless of whether they are being managed well or not. Manager needs daily updates of all things going on his "team", because otherwise not have fucking clue about what manager is "managing" and clearly far too difficult for manager to read JIR…

> team because all report to same manager

That's actually not been the case in many teams I've worked on - but we have all been working on the same set of related products (or subset of a product). Actually the managers often weren't even in the teams. I foolishly assumed that's how most people used the term "team"...

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#606

Post by goodpoint »

ekianjo wrote: post #191
Alupis wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a lot of nuance that isn't discussed in the WFH circles. I don't believe the cynical claims some offer of VC's losing out on real estate deals, or mid-level managers needing to boost their butts-in-seats numbers or whatever. For some, perhaps, but on average? What percentage of long-distance relationships work out long-term? Do you become more or less close with friends after they move out of town? Do you sti…

The social animal bullshit is a myth. You can see it around you everyday. People in public places everywhere spending time on their phones rather than talking to people around them

Completely wrong. People are glued to social networks & co precisely because it mimics social interaction.

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#607

Post by anthonypasq »

mattgreenrocks wrote: post #392
catmanjan wrote: post #338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it really possible for an individual to “build wealth” without exploiting the working class

Save 50% of your gross salary, invest in index funds, and be patient. You can speed up the process via geo-arbitrage, climbing the career ladder without lifestyle creep, working at a FAANG, being more frugal, or side hustles. Search for FIRE for more details. It’s not easy by any stretch.

this doesnt work if you have kids. I honestly think the only way to actually achieve financial independence to is to an entrepreneur

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#608

Post by kevinventullo »

justrealist wrote: post #179
dylan604 wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But you're assuming that one likes cake/pizza/whatever cheap mediocre food product that's been mentioned. If I was that manager, I'd raise your cake/pizza/whatever with a freshly grilled filet and baked potato with a nice glass of wine. Remind them just what possibilities they are missing for being in the office like peasants! After all, isn't that the point of having direct reports being in the office while you're a…

To be clear, I've worked remotely for a decade. It's worth it on balance, but there's no need to try to sugarcoat missing office food. It's lame!

I’m currently hybrid and the in-office food is absolutely one of the main reasons I like going in.

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#609

Post by bart_spoon »

commonlisp94 wrote: post #527
throwaway892238 wrote: post #515

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uh? WFH benefits a whole lot of people: - The people who need to stay home to take care of their children and family members. - The companies who can't find [good] enough local talent, or can't afford them. - The people who can't find jobs locally and cannot move, due to financial, familial, environmental, or other reasons. - People with diverse needs who require a flexible schedule and safe space. - People who live…

You're right, I left out a lot of life situations that could benefit. Let me be a little more specific: - if you're young you probably want to be around others to learn from. - if you're not well established, you want others to know you and see your impact. - if you're struggling financially or to find a job, you probably don't want to compete with the whole world for basic employment (especially against low cost of…

> if you're young you probably want to be around others to learn from

You can easily learn from coworkers working remotely, I personally have had no issues doing so. The idea that you can't is a weird one and I have no idea where it comes from.

> if you're not well established, you want others to know you and see your impact.

So make others know you through your impact. Your work speaks for itself. If you have to be in person to demonstrate your impact, are you actually having an impact, or just making a show of having one?

> if you're struggling financially or to find a job, you probably don't want to compete with the whole world for basic employment (especially against low cost of living countries.)

Low cost of living countries come with plenty of their own barriers that prevent hiring, and out-sourcing isn't some new concept that has emerged from the pandemic era of WFH. On the contrary, what has emerged is the ability for those capable of WFH to move from high COL areas to low COL areas, or for those in non-traditional hubs to gain access to high paying, high quality jobs they didn't have access to before without relocation. Its a huge boon to those struggling financially.

Re: 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans

#610

Post by bart_spoon »

floucky wrote: post #320
throwaway892238 wrote: post #60

I decided I will never again work in an office, for the rest of my life. It's a lifestyle choice. I refuse to put up with the B.S. anymore. I'm lucky that I've had a long career and my skills are very much in demand, so I will always be able to find a remote job somewhere. People doing jobs with more qualified candidates in the pool will probably have a harder time, and that sucks. For them, I hope they can band toge…

Don't you think full remote is kind of selfish? I mean, I also love it, but what about new hires and junior? How are they going to learn and improve if each time they have a question, they need to post it on slack and just wait...

New hires and juniors can easily learn by taking an active part in their own education. Firing a question into a public slack channel waiting for someone to answer is the laziest attempt to actually get an answer. Better is identifying someone who can help you and asking them a question directly. Take the time on your own to figure out what it is you don't understand, make a list of questions, and ask them directly, or better yet, hop on a quick video meeting and ask. The most effective way to learn in person isn't any different. What you are describing is in fact the laziest way to learn, which is to try nothing on your own, and expect everyone else to tell you exactly what to do.

Requiring everyone to be in an office because your personal learning style involves no personal effort and requires everyone else to enable you to be effective is in fact selfish.

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