[ahoho]

Commuting is not so bad when public transportation is good and/or you live close to the office.

I used to live a fifteen minute walk from my previous job. It was something I relished, and on days with poor weather, I just worked remotely. Now I take a subway and I can read for 20 minutes.

I wonder if employers might start setting up smaller, “hybrid-first” offices in less expensive, more residential areas (eg, in the outer boroughs in Manhattan). I enjoy working from an office, but if no one comes in, the appeal is diminished.

[dunefox]

> Commuting is not so bad when public transportation is good and/or you live close to the office.

You mean iff you can afford to live that close to your work that you can just walk in 15-20 minutes? Yeah, then it might not be bad. I still lose almost 3 hours per commute twice a week because I can only afford to live 60 km away from the capital in which I work.

[ahoho]

I’m a PhD in one of the highest CoL cities in the US, so I wouldn’t say I’m speaking from a position of particular financial privilege

[kodah]

"Hybrid first" really needs to be far away from major cities. I live in San Jose; not a single new tech business should be opened here given the cost of homes and rent as well as the slim options.

My last company naively went "hybrid-first" and a lot of people who weren't married to other high income earners left because they're getting financially squeezed in these metropolises.

[unity1001]

> given the cost of homes and rent

Yes, at this point the economic value that the real estate sector extracts from the economy looks outrageous compared to the benefit it provides. They are literally crippling tech sector in places like San Francisco. Forcing them out, crippling synergy in between the organizations that happen when organizations are in close proximity to similar ones.

[unity1001]

> Commuting is not so bad when public transportation is good and/or you live close to the office.

Nope. Consider the BEST case:

You live NEXT DOOR to your office. You get up in the morning. You quickly grab a bite. Then prepare for ~10 minutes for going to the office. Getting out of your house, going into the next building, settling down etc all take another 10-15 minutes. And that's for people who prepare in the morning fast, walk fast, settle down fast.

So its still ~1 hour lost every day.

> Now I take a subway and I can read for 20 minutes.

Would you sit and read for 20 minutes if you didnt have to commute? That sounds more like pulling something good out of an undesirable situation through discipline and personal talent than any benefit. Not to mention that if you actually sat and read in your own house, that 20 minutes of reading would also be totally different than reading in the subway.

[kredd]

It’s a bit over-optimizing for every aspect of life. I’ve been WFH for the past 2.5 years, but I didn’t mind my 20 minute commute on subway before.

My previous employers were completely fine for us to work from home (bad weather, repairs, or just simple sickness) if we ever needed to, but in-office environment was fun. Not everything needs to be over-optimized to the T when you have plenty of free time in the morning.

[ahoho]

I appreciate the nudge to go for a walk/read—at home I can end up sitting on my couch mindlessly scrolling hackernews comments.

I had to work from home consistently during the pandemic and I despised it. Once a week or so is ok, all the time is hell—I can’t bounce ideas off my colleagues or have serendipitous conversations. In fact I’ve made some not-insubstantial personal sacrifices to avoid working from home. Everyone is different.

[g9yuayon]

The challenge of "living close to the office" is that people change jobs every few years, especially in the bay area. Unfortunately we don't change our addresses as often.