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CEOs Are Using Return to Office Mandates to Mask Poor Management

forbes.com

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Re: CEOs Are Using Return to Office Mandates to Mask Poor Management

#91

Post by datadrivenangel »

programmertote wrote: post #81

I left Amazon a month ago (voluntarily) for a fully remote role because they asked me to move to Seattle/Arlington. When I joined them, I was already in a different state because of my wife's work. So I told them, I cannot join if they don't give me remote exception; it took them ~4-5 weeks to get the sign off for remote exception from the VP. I took the job and 9 months in, Jassy decided to force everyone back to th…

Anecdotally, I know a few other Amazon people who have decided to effectively quiet quit / just do their jobs and risk the pip because of senior management's lack of care.

Re: CEOs Are Using Return to Office Mandates to Mask Poor Management

#92

Post by declan_roberts »

2c2c2c wrote: post #13

does anyone really find RTO surprising? I know several people personally who just blatantly don't work. it's more obvious in roles where the work is less quantifiable, but even in engineering roles everyone hears stories the alternative seems to be aggressively metricize and cut-- but that seems bad for different reasons

I knew plenty of these people when I was in the office full-time.

Re: CEOs Are Using Return to Office Mandates to Mask Poor Management

#93

Post by dpflan »

programmertote wrote: post #81

I left Amazon a month ago (voluntarily) for a fully remote role because they asked me to move to Seattle/Arlington. When I joined them, I was already in a different state because of my wife's work. So I told them, I cannot join if they don't give me remote exception; it took them ~4-5 weeks to get the sign off for remote exception from the VP. I took the job and 9 months in, Jassy decided to force everyone back to th…

> "Since the RTO, a lot of my colleagues have started working at 9 am and log out at 5pm pronto"

In office workers have more defined working schedules? Is that what this means? That seems healthy for the worker.

-- UPDATE --

Must consider the commute factor for time-demand on employee.

Re: CEOs Are Using Return to Office Mandates to Mask Poor Management

#94

Post by xoac »

crowcroft wrote: post #26

Is it possible for someone to 1. Be a really good 'in person' manager (able to foster a good in-office culture, motivate and coach people effectively in real time). 2. Be a really bad 'remote' manager. Not saying RTO mandates are a good idea, but to say it's masking poor management as a black and white statement lacks nuance.

Not only is it possible but it's very often the case in my experience. A manager without any remote experience is going to have a hard time managing a remote organization or team.

Re: CEOs Are Using Return to Office Mandates to Mask Poor Management

#95

Post by mrguyorama »

datadrivenangel wrote: post #70

"Executives should focus on figuring out the right workforce model for their business while recognizing that there is not a one-size-fits-all solution. The key is to focus on implementing a model that is reflective of the nature of their own business model and stakeholder needs. This does not mean that hybrid work with mandating office attendance a few times a week is the only option." Actually thinking about the goa…

Apparently not in modern management. So much easier to just spend all day in do-nothing meetings and cargo cult whatever Apple, Spotify, or Google do.

Re: CEOs Are Using Return to Office Mandates to Mask Poor Management

#96

Post by DanAtC »

jorblumesea wrote: post #48
2c2c2c wrote: post #13

does anyone really find RTO surprising? I know several people personally who just blatantly don't work. it's more obvious in roles where the work is less quantifiable, but even in engineering roles everyone hears stories the alternative seems to be aggressively metricize and cut-- but that seems bad for different reasons

Do you think rto solves that? Your manager isn't going to be following your around physically. They're in meetings 6 hours a day. Everyone knows that one person who takes the 1 hour lunch break, leaves early, talks about this super hard bug that somehow takes them 3 weeks but no one has time to look into it.

1 hour lunch is excessive now? Americans, I swear

Re: CEOs Are Using Return to Office Mandates to Mask Poor Management

#97

Post by lysecret »

dpflan wrote: post #63

"Offices across the U.S. are at an all-time occupancy low, and commercial real estate is starting to see an all-time high of almost 20% of unleased space, according to the Wall Street Journal. The reduction in real estate spend has enabled companies to reduce their operating expenses, thereby positively impacting their financial health. This poses the question: Are return-to-work mandates better for the workforce or…

Contracts are usually on the order of 10 years.

Re: CEOs Are Using Return to Office Mandates to Mask Poor Management

#98

Post by TylerE »

fnordpiglet wrote: post #22
bolvyk wrote: post #6

People really want to push remote work as being great for businesses. The sad reality is that it’s not (at least for knowledge workers)… it kills productivity and the output is always lower quality.

At my prior ultra mega corp we meticulously capture telemetry on everyone’s work habits super big brother like. We had been for 5 years before covid and ramped up considerably with covid. Our sample size was over 300,000 knowledge workers. We found an average 20-30% productivity improvement and nearly 40% morale improvement with remote work. When our elderly CEO decided enough was enough and forced everyone back into…

Actually, funding every employee to buy a really kick ass ergonomic chair for home office is use is probably dollar for dollar one of the best benefits most companies could offer, and may even make financial sense - less missed days for surgeries, happier healthier employees, etc.

Re: CEOs Are Using Return to Office Mandates to Mask Poor Management

#99

Post by barbazoo »

whywhywhywhy wrote: post #73

If you don't want RTO just leave and work somewhere where remote is the culture. I just don't get this whole thing where you're still trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Just better for everyone if the in office people work in office and the remote people go to remote companies.

Many of us aren’t in a position to change jobs willy nilly, the job market isn’t like that anymore.

Re: CEOs Are Using Return to Office Mandates to Mask Poor Management

#100

Post by bluedino »

dpflan wrote: post #63

"Offices across the U.S. are at an all-time occupancy low, and commercial real estate is starting to see an all-time high of almost 20% of unleased space, according to the Wall Street Journal. The reduction in real estate spend has enabled companies to reduce their operating expenses, thereby positively impacting their financial health. This poses the question: Are return-to-work mandates better for the workforce or…

>> How long are commercial real estate contracts usually for?

It depends. Amazone has a 17 year lease on space in Manhattan. 3-10 years is pretty common.

https://www.geekwire.com/2014/amazon-inks-17-year-lease-4700...

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