[ping_pong]

Both Yahoo and IBM rolled back their very flexible WFH strategies. I don't think super flexible WFH is a lasting trend, because it's obvious that is doesn't work for most of the people. I personally love WFH and I know a lot of HN do too, but I think human nature is that it probably won't work very well for most companies.

[mullingitover]

These don't seem like the greatest examples - eliminating WFH didn't turn Yahoo around (it might've done them in, who knows) and IBM is...well IBM.

What the last year has done was to force knee-jerk 'butts in seats' mentality managers to experiment with remote work. It sure seems like the bottom line results haven't proven remote work to be a failure, and while some old timers may force everyone back to the office, I think many are going to be a lot more open to remote work where they never would've considered it in the pre-pandemic era.

[e40]

Doesn't work for "most of the people" is highly dependent on the company and position.

It works very well for 80% of the positions at my company. I'm sure there are companies for which it only works for a small percentage. The ultimate YMMV.

[slavapestov]

If it doesn't work for most people, then most people can work from an office. It doesn't justify a blanket ban.

[zhengyi13]

From what I recall of talking to a couple Yahoo employees at the time, they felt that Yahoo had a significant issue with tracking/accountability that was a large driver in the decision to roll those policies back and demand butts in seats.

[varispeed]

Tracking as in literally tracking where people are and what they do? Shouldn't they only be interested in outcomes? I'd hate to work with someone constantly looking over my shoulder.

[Salgat]

Which is a shame, because this is more a sign of manager/lead incompetence on how to measure productivity than anything else. When your most important metric is measuring how long an ass keeps a seat warm, you should think real hard about why that's a serious issue.

[varispeed]

Not all employees live in big houses where they can have a separate own room only for work. Different level of distraction will have an effect on productivity - there is a massive difference between working home alone and from a busy cafe.

[emodendroket]

I find most of my work goes well but anything that requires coordination a lot of time gets wasted waiting to hear from people.

[Salgat]

>because it's obvious that is doesn't work for most of the people

According to who?