[atonse]

Yup I look back at the insanity of driving two hours a day to sit in a stupid office that’s downtown for random reasons apart from “I’m required to”

I hated it before the pandemic. But now I never ever want to go back to it.

It is amazing to see my kids and family for longer.

It isn’t perfect. The weaker boundaries can take their toll. But overall I can’t imagine what circumstance would make me want to commute ever again.

And I’m the CEO so I can’t imagine any client demanding such. And I will never demand it of my employees.

[furyofantares]

Used to be I'd leave home at 815 to get to work at 9, and leave work at 5 to get home at 6

Last September I decided to start going into the office one day a week again. Except my new schedule was go upstairs at 9 and go downstairs at 5, so I left at 9 to get to work at 945 and left work at 4 to get home at 5

I immediately went back to full time WFH. If I commute it's gonna cut into my 8 hours, not into my personal time. That's the new reality, and it's not worth it to the company to cut 25% of my time so they can have me in the office

[ThalesX]

Just this last week, I had three meetings with a state entity that had us be there. 2.5 hours there, 4 hour (mostly useless) meeting, 2.5 hours back.

That was 9 hours of my life, not including the lack of will to do anything after that, for something that could have been summarized in probably two average Medium articles.

Madness.

(Ironically the meetings were regarding Digitalization and Green Energy)

[simulate-me]

All your reasons for liking WFH have to do with you and your personal time. Less time spent driving, more time with friends and family, etc. I like those things too. But I have a feeling most companies will try to optimize for what’s best for the company. If it’s possible to hire talent that can come into the office, then they will in the long term.

[betwixthewires]

But there's no scenario in which on location information work benefits companies. Paying premium real estate for a location, equipment, office perks like snacks, then that guy willing to come in is going to charge a premium exceeding his rate for the commute and expenses because he doesn't want to but he's willing to for more money, so they've got to balance what's good for the company... slashing of large, tangible overhead vs some studies show that people are more productive when they've got a water cooler to fuck around at. What it really comes down to is middle management types who liked the level of control they had pushing for it and city governments pressuring companies to prevent a collapse of city economies.

Some companies might try to fight it but they will fail. For information workers like programmers, data entry, accountants and call center reps, work from home is the new normal and that's just how it is now. If you've got to go somewhere for work, it's because you have to be there to do something, like dig a home or cook a steak or mop a floor. The question "why do I need to be there" is now a normal question to ask when considering a job, and a real answer better exist. And if it does, you'd better pay me for my commute.

[r00tanon]

Many companies have actually experienced more optimal business in WFH during the pandemic. And many metro areas less pollution, lighter traffic, etc. The fact is most work is done hybrid anyway in companies with large geographic footprints and outsourcing. Of course different business models and sizes may still benefit from 100% in office so not a onesize model.

[gumby]

I agree with you but many cities can't see it that way.

There's an infrastructure of service businesses (restaurants, tailors, hair cutters) and retailers who depend on the foot traffic of office workers. They are suffering too. There's a critical density of foot traffic that makes a city survive. I feel intuitively that that density is lower than one might expect, but the data may not bear that out.

==

Last week my GF went into the office for the first time (she switched employers in the autumn of 2020) for the new "three days office two days WFH" schedule. That was on Monday, the program's first day. She spent the time on Teams calls same as when she was at home. She hasn't been in since and nobody has said anything.

I thought it would be fun to to drive up with her for some moral support. I found out I could get a wework in the building next to her for $29. Turns out for $29 what was actually on offer was an entire floor. It wasn't only me -- people came to service the kitchen during the day.

[netizen-936824]

Dynamics change, just because we used to do something is not a reason to keep doing it forever

That's simply how life works, its dynamic and constantly changing

New businesses and business models will evolve and change as they always have

[trillic]

I've decided that I am willing to go into the office, but the price of that labor is higher than the price of my WFH labor.

I also think I am more productive at home, and am upfront about that.

I think the labor market will have a higher rate for in person SWE work compared to the WFH market.

[atonse]

Granted we are a small company (13 people) but I actually see happy (and as a result, invested) employees as a productivity gain, especially with information work. In fact, I've had the opposite issue where I have to remind people to make sure they take lunch breaks, etc.

We are already discussing things like having sprint kickoffs as picnics, meeting at coffee shops, etc. So we do have those face-to-face interactions where it counts, but they can also be in an environment that is unconventional. Let's see how it turns out. It may be a pain, who knows? The point is that I have an opportunity to build the ideal company I'd like to work for, so I'm trying that.

But again, I understand this might be a smaller company thing (where people in smaller companies tend to be more invested than ones in larger companies regardless). In a larger company that might not be as easily done.

[mbrodersen]

Companies that are more WFH flexible will be more competitive in the job market. It’s that simple.