| I will never go back to the office. There are enough jobs around, even if they pay less. Hell, to live a comfortable life I could work at a job that pays 5x less than what I get paid now (not that much), even though I'll have to sacrifice some stuff. But I'll have to sacrifice luxuries, not my time or mental health. Personally, I see it like this: Option 1 - at home: * stay in my comfortable air-conditioned room in my underpants on my comfortable chair at my comfortable desk or bed, * surrounded by foods and drinks I like (I a minifridge in my room, it's awesome), and being able to quickly put something in the oven, * picking my nose or scratching my ass wherever I want to, * going to the bathroom whenever I want to (maybe with the laptop if I have to be available), * listening to music on headphones or speakers, * being able to communicate to and pay attention to family and pets for a few minutes here and there (no, this doesn't mean I'll waste my work time walking the dog or talking with people, but it means I can actually take a minute or two break and have an actual life), * smoking on the balcony whenever I want to (a 4 second trip), * alternating between lying on my bed or sitting on my chair or standing or running in place or dancing, * having my breaks in my most comfortable place - home. -------- Option 2 - the office: * wasting time traveling - driving sucks and the public transportation sucks, for different reasons (and no, I won't relocate just to be close to the office, what the actual fuck, I love my house), * having to look presentable, * having to make idle boring chit chat with corporate drones who want to socialize, * sharing a bathroom, * having to choose between listening to the office background noise or wearing uncomfortable noise-cancelling headphones, * having my breaks... in the office (and no, the office PlayStation or ping pong tables don't cut it), * having to prepare food for the next X hours, then having to eat it or reheat it at the office, * being able to attend to my house in case of an emergency (fire, floods, robbers, family or pet health issues and so on - yes, they absolutely come first), * being subjected to cameras and other security theater, as if any employee couldn't wreck the company if they actually wanted to. If you want me in the office, prepare to pay me a lot more. You won't and I understand. It makes no sense. -------- As for productivity - I work hard because I feel obligated, because it's my work ethic and because I don't want to cheat or let people down. If I don't like what I'm doing, I quit instead of "quiet quitting" and doing the bare minimum. It's much, much easier to get "in the zone" at home, to not burn out, to have time for myself (traffic + actual breaks) and to be happy. Edit - just to sum it up - it's my only (AFAIK) life and I'm not spending 10-11 hours a day on work. That would leave me with 5-6 hours of "me time" and I'd be too tired to enjoy it. Edit 2 - similarly, I won't put up with bullshit like: * installing anything on my personal devices (except things like FOSS TOTP 2FA stuff I can control), * leaving the camera and mic in my work machines intact (we all know how secure stuff is and how much we can trust corporations), * taking drug tests. That said, if you're willing to pay me 50 times what I currently make, I might return to the office with a suit, smile under the cameras, take drug tests, sit on my chair all day and discuss the weather with coworkers on the elevator. I'd be happy to do it for 3 or 4 months. |
This point makes you look like a jerk.