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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

#831

Post by sokoloff »

IshKebab wrote: post #757
bjarneh wrote: post #715

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I want to be able to quickly resolve any issues in person, not over voice call or slack.. Isn't this the main problem? I hate everyone who comes barging in and wants to "resolve issues" quickly. Not saying I love remote work, but I cannot stand working a place where people are "allowed" to disturb me. I don't even log into Slack/Teams/Skype or any of that nonsense; I don't even want to be disturbed in my virtual wo…

If you're in a position of some power that's maybe what you'd prefer. I'm on the bottom rung and being able to walk up to someone's desk so they can't ignore me would be extremely helpful. Been WFH for a while and it is not uncommon for people to ignore requests, never reply to messages etc. Yes that is a problem with my current team, but I can't really do anything about it. Working from an office would mostly sidest…

Your last sentence sparked some reflection for me. I would absolutely teleport somewhere for a team meeting rather than play Zoom Brady Bunch.

I would 100% do all my coding from home though, unless work returned to the “good old days” of offices with full walls and doors that closed.

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

#832

Post by DJHenk »

ihateolives wrote: post #792
com2kid wrote: post #673

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Some people love the lack of commute and less semi-forced hanging out, some people hate onboarding on a new company as a remote person and so on and so on. My team has been able to hire people from all across the country, gaining access to talent that we normally would not have been able to reach. Because my entire company has gone fully remote, if someone on the team has to take a trip overseas, they can choose to…

> My team has been able to hire people from all across the country, gaining access to talent that we normally would not have been able to reach. It works when the team is used to and knows how to connect with each other online and to keep those connections going through the day/week. I'm an (highly functioning) introvert and even I hate video onboarding. I've done it twice during pandemic and it sucks big time if the…

It's all purely anecdotal. I started a new job just when the pandemic hit. It was perfect timing, the lockdown went into effect between my last interview and my first day of work. Like everyone else, the company was not prepared for it. The only advantage they had was that they had a couple of long term contractors from another country.

So I went in and... it worked out really well. Quality of life is fantastic, productivity too. It's like we've never done it another way. For the contractors it was even an improvement, because now they were on the same level as the rest. Based on this experience, we have started to hire people from abroad and whoever wants can stay remote.

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

#833

Post by therealbilly »

I bet the middle managers cheered when they heard this news. It's been hard for them to show value when everybody is at home. Hope fully most of the folks over there can choose what works for them. Assuming the work gets done regardless.

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

#834

Post by somehnacct3757 »

akeck wrote: post #503

After two years of mostly WFH, I think I'm ready to go back into the office. For me in particular, in the last six months, "work from home" has started to turn into "living at work". Work cadences are no longer meshing well with home cadences. I've gone in a few times a week in recent weeks and the structure of the day, including the quietude of driving home, is a relief. The only issue with returning to the office I…

I do a simulated commute after a day of WFH to combat this. When my 8 hours is up I put on some podcasts and do chores, or go for a walk. Then after my commute time is over I can change into pajamas, flop on the couch, or whatever other unimportant thing I was excited to do and my brain is fully disconnected from work.

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

#836

Post by listenallyall »

bowmessage wrote: post #753
asadlionpk wrote: post #649

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google has announced these too. 4 weeks of work from anywhere, exactly as you described them.

Could be even nicer if they're prescribed all-at-once for all employees, now that I think about it. Similar to how a global reset day is nicer in some ways than an extra day of PTO.

Follow someone else's prescribed schedule? Wouldn't you rather visit relatives on their birthdays? Take a ski trip in January, instead of someone telling you the first off-week will be late March? What if you and your spouse/partner's companies define different weeks?

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

#837

Post by totorovirus »

It only works in big tech companies where you don't need to take care of everything. Still, there are some management issues like sharing same philosophy, mentoring, etc that you wouldn't get in remote work. I think apple sensed this first and now it's google's turn

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

#838

Post by belter »

DJHenk wrote: post #832
ihateolives wrote: post #792

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My team has been able to hire people from all across the country, gaining access to talent that we normally would not have been able to reach. It works when the team is used to and knows how to connect with each other online and to keep those connections going through the day/week. I'm an (highly functioning) introvert and even I hate video onboarding. I've done it twice during pandemic and it sucks big time if the…

It's all purely anecdotal. I started a new job just when the pandemic hit. It was perfect timing, the lockdown went into effect between my last interview and my first day of work. Like everyone else, the company was not prepared for it. The only advantage they had was that they had a couple of long term contractors from another country. So I went in and... it worked out really well. Quality of life is fantastic, prod…

I cannot think of a reason where onsite would be better than remote.

Advantages of remote:

- 100% focus as long as you have a proper working place.

- Perfect time management as you will interact at planned times and under an agenda.

- No more smells from my colleagues atrocious culinary choices.

- No more being annoyed by sales guys trying to jump the queue for their deal this quarter.

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

#839

Post by ihateolives »

sokoloff wrote: post #831
IshKebab wrote: post #757

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're in a position of some power that's maybe what you'd prefer. I'm on the bottom rung and being able to walk up to someone's desk so they can't ignore me would be extremely helpful. Been WFH for a while and it is not uncommon for people to ignore requests, never reply to messages etc. Yes that is a problem with my current team, but I can't really do anything about it. Working from an office would mostly sidest…

Your last sentence sparked some reflection for me. I would absolutely teleport somewhere for a team meeting rather than play Zoom Brady Bunch. I would 100% do all my coding from home though, unless work returned to the “good old days” of offices with full walls and doors that closed.

> I would absolutely teleport somewhere for a team meeting rather than play Zoom Brady Bunch.

Imagine Scotty beaming the team down for a meeting and all of them are in their pajamas, unshaved and groggy, some still holding their cereal bowls.

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

#840

Post by 988747 »

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…

I can tell you that remote work sucks. Not for me, personally, because I like it, but: managing team remotely is very difficult. Over the course of 2 years I had at least two people who were clearly fraud - their work performance was abysmal, probably because they were working two jobs at once. It's hard do motivate, and to control people if you never even met them.
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