OT: General OT Thread [NO POLITICS, RACE OR RELIGION]

[vital_signs]

Rich white CEOs are so annoying. Ours pulled all directors/managers in this last week and said all WFH at our company is done. There is no hybrid, and he knows some might not agree but he doesn't care. He wants an in person culture. Aka we paid millions for this building and I don't want it to go to waste.

Needless to say, the resume has been fired up.

Ours said during our first q meeting that theres a good chance AI takes your job which led to a lot of backlash. He then doubledowned last meeting saying "it's what we want" and "don't complain about the raises we give you."

He's also incredibly anti WFH unless you're his darling sales team and I told my manager WFH is something I'm looking for in the next year, as I'm looking to move, and now HR is in my meeting with him tomorrow. I'm bringing discs to work and if I'm not hitting the course come lunch I'll be upset. Company is a joke.

[MickeyDavis]

If you have a job where it can be verified that you're getting everything done and doing it well then WFH should never be a problem. But many managers, and especially senior management, just doesn't trust that you are as productive at home.

When I'm at home I get up, shower, go into my home office and start working. Computer is always on. When I go into the office I get up, take a shower, grab my backpack, drive to the office, park, walk to the building (about 10 minutes), through the lobby, up an elevator, unpack my stuff, boot up my laptop. And then deal with off and on people stopping by my desk for work and non work stuff. Easy pass. I go in once every 2-3 weeks. Almost never in winter.

[jschligs]

If you have a job where it can be verified that you're getting everything done and doing it well then WFH should never be a problem. But many managers, and especially senior management, just doesn't trust that you are as productive at home.

When I'm at home I get up, shower, go into my home office and start working. Computer is always on. When I go into the office I get up, take a shower, grab my backpack, drive to the office, park, walk to the building (about 10 minutes), through the lobby, up an elevator, unpack my stuff, boot up my laptop. And then deal with off and on people stopping by my desk for work and non work stuff. Easy pass. I go in once every 2-3 weeks. Almost never in winter.

That's the funny part. The time I waste commuting, getting ready for work, talking to people around the office, dealing with other random things is easily equal or above the time I waste at home throwing in a load of dishes.

My work is, for the most part, trackable. As our my developers, my designers, etc. I can without question look at their task list and say if they are doing more or less than they should.

I have a solid resume though, I have been offered two roles recently that I turned down so I'll find something. Fortunately my job isn't that hard, I just tell people what to do.

[ReasonablySober]

I always worked harder when I was at home, mostly because I didn't want to give anyone the impression that I was slacking off.

[KidA24]

WFH has been a boon to any company worth its salt. People are more productive, better rested and happier.

The people it has hurt are:

1) C-Suite who rented/bought the office space and can't get out of it
2) Middle managers who think managing is looking over someone's shoulder to be sure they are working.

Those two groups have been working to f-over workers for, well, 150 years or so now.

[TroyD92]

I think we are going to be hybrid for a long time, but like MD it’s mostly left up to managers and my team works from home constantly (even if some go in).

[Beorn]

I work on for an IT Infrastructure service provider (I am specialized in Public Cloud Operations), on my previous company* I visited office ~5 times in my 2 years there (I was hired during the pandemic though). Company really wanted to bring everyone to the office 3 times a week since ~late 2021, but was not pushing people because they didn't want to risk anyone leaving**.

Now I work for a similar Greek company, and I have the same issue with MD. I need ~45 mins to get to the office and start working, which means I am sleeping less. Additionally, I am less productive while in office as there are way too many distractions: people coming over and discussing stuff about work, good-natured banter and longer breaks for lunch/coffee in comparison to WFH.
Management is a bunch of old guys who are pushing for more office presence (We work 2/5 workdays from home).

I have way more fun while at the office, but the cons of waking up much earlier and having to actually dress decently are way more important for me. I am 30, so I still socialize outside of my working hours...

Spoiler:

*US-based MSP with offices in Greece, among others
**They always tried to match offers, but never gave raises >5% every year....

[Iheartfootball]

WFH has been a boon to any company worth its salt. People are more productive, better rested and happier.

The people it has hurt are:

1) C-Suite who rented/bought the office space and can't get out of it
2) Middle managers who think managing is looking over someone's shoulder to be sure they are working.

Those two groups have been working to f-over workers for, well, 150 years or so now.

I work for a developer with a few million square feet of commercial space. The pandemic and WFH have been devasting for us. Prior to the pandemic we had already begun diversifying our portfolio by converting some to a retail/entertainment/restaurant space and also selling some land to a residential builder but we still had to "furlough" (they never came back) nearly half of my department. I had a coworker who left to work for the Google development project in Mountain View and he was let go after 3 months because their entire plan halted. They are sitting on thousands of acres of new commercial buildings that remain vacant and will stay that way for the foreseeable future. It's wild and reminds me of how China built cities for residents that didn't live there and they just sit vacant.

Even we are a hybrid model, and I work at the property that we lease and maintain so face time and job walks with/for our tenants are important (required 3 days in the office). I love going to the office so I'm here 5 days a week but I also enjoy as much flexibility as I need; that's important to me.

However, that's until I finish grad school and completely change fields again...

[buckboy]

Rich white CEOs are so annoying. Ours pulled all directors/managers in this last week and said all WFH at our company is done. There is no hybrid, and he knows some might not agree but he doesn't care. He wants an in person culture. Aka we paid millions for this building and I don't want it to go to waste.

Needless to say, the resume has been fired up.

**no race unless it's rich white guys.

[StickeeFingaz]

I must be in the minority. I’m not a huge fan of WFH, don’t like to sleep at the same place I work. I like the separation.

[LittleRooster]

I must be in the minority. I’m not a huge fan of WFH, don’t like to sleep at the same place I work. I like the separation.

While I don’t have the option to WFH, I feel I’d be the same


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[trwi7]

Work from home is **** brutal.

Signed,

Someone who worked from home for 8 years

[ReasonablySober]

I'd like another shot at WFH because I know how terribly I approached it the first time. Feel like I could handle it knowing what I know now.

[jschligs]

I don't want fully remote. I want hybrid. I need some human interaction but if I have a crap load of busy work or things I need to focus on there is nothing better than my office.

[jute2003]

I must be in the minority. I’m not a huge fan of WFH, don’t like to sleep at the same place I work. I like the separation.

While I don’t have the option to WFH, I feel I’d be the same


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Can't do it.

[MikeIsGood]

It's almost like different work styles work for different people and we should enable them to be productive how they see fit.

........nah.

[humanrefutation]

I work a hybrid schedule and I enjoy it. I think I'm generally more productive in my office - there are too many distractions at home sometimes. Also, it's a lot easier to get things done when I can knock on a door and talk to someone face-to-face. Teams/Zoom/Phone is a nice alternative, of course, but I still prefer to put in the time in-person when convenient. Plus, I think building relationships with your colleagues and bosses is an underrated benefit of in-person work and can lead to being happier with your workplace.

But many days, I don't need to do that. I just need to get my work done. So, it's nice to just roll out of bed, shower, make a cup of coffee, and head into my home office.

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

Love WFH. But at the same time, I get why companies want you in person. I travel 1/4 of the time and that one week is extremely effective of having real face to face, over hearing conversations, brainstorming etc. The plants we go to have huddle boards, action plans and such that is on the walls. Some of it is captured in dashboards but it's hard to beat the accountability of having it visually there and having to explain an update in person. No quiet quiting in those meetings.

That said, anyone going to the office should get a 30% premium to make up for drive time compared to people working from home. If companies think it is important, pay for that commute time.

[Jez2983]

It's almost like different work styles work for different people and we should enable them to be productive how they see fit.

........nah.

My opinion is that for years people with physical disabilities were discriminated against without actual discussions to that effect, as it was too hard for workplaces.

WFH destroys that. Surely we will see more of such people in the workforce.


........nah.

[Finn]

I have a better solution of where to work - nowhere. I highly recommend retirement.