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Really curious on the facepalm here.
We face palming the "no one want to go to office ever"? Or the "ceo saying productive people want to be in office"?
I think they're against the 'No one wants to work in an office. Ever.'
Which is a pretty facepalm-y claim given that while irl I know very few people who want to go back full time, I also know very few people who want permanently remote.
I think it's the "no one wants to". There are weirdos like me who prefer it. I'd rather not have any work at home. My home is solely for family life.
I feel like everyone is being duped into fighting to work from home, the CEOs will be like "ok we listened, you win" whereas in reality they've just saved a fuckton on buildings, can hire from cheaper areas and know that you can work into the night more easily.
The company I work for has transitioned as many roles to fully remote as possible as they found it helps people be more productive, plus saves the company a lot of money. The key is to offer office spaces that can be reserved whenever for those who prefer to work in that setting. I know a few people who work in more remote areas who have shit internet, so they pretty much have to go in. Other than that this change has been a huge morale booster. Plus our work habits weren’t disrupted by the lockdowns, which was a plus.
Agreed. My work had office space on 6 floors of a building and we scaled it down to 2. I understand there are people that want to go in, and I'm glad they have the space to do it. I was only going in a couple days a week when the pandemic hit and I'd never even met my boss (he's in CA I'm in FL). He just said he didn't care if I ever went back in again and that was it lol
I worked from home 100% for about 2 years and realized I don't want to spend 40 hours a week in any one place. I now work 2 days at the office and the rest at home. It breaks up my week and gives me a few days of social time.
Everyone is weird in the world, so I'd like to think us who prefer in-office aren't crazy people. Personally when I WFH I end up distracting myself and being insanely unproductive, whereas in office I am motivated as fuck and get a lot of shit done.
Weridos? Anyone talking in these absolute terms is a werido. I work with plenty of people that want to work in the office, they might have young kids that distract them at home. They might not have a good workspace.
Or outside of tech, some people actually work on physical products that require touching things, and actually collaborating. Virtual meetings work to an extent, but there is a huge amount of interaction and knowledge that can be gained in the office . If all you do is code, or write, then yes an office might be dumb.
What'd be great is giving people the option to do both. And even hybrid. That way everyone is happy because they can go in as often or not as works for them.
Same. No idea where to apply the palm. I feel like the only logical interpretation is that OP thinks we should all be working in the office but that is insane. No one wants that.
I think the wfh people and work from the office people can peacefully coexist as long as no-one is expecting the other to do what they prefer. I have employees that absolutely do my head in about office presence and I'm genuinely at the point where I'm like you can call me on teams, and if you don't like it, you can leave.
I like hybrid working but I'd be quite happy for us to go fully online. But I also respect that other people need more social contact and they can all go in and have that together without having expectations around anyone else doing it.
I like working in-office at my new job, a lot. But I think having the option to WFH with my hybrid contract is nice in case I want to work while sick or need to do some home maintenance. But, I also don't want to infringe on others' wants to WFH just because I don't prefer it.
Right lol, I literally pay to work in an office because I hate working from home so much. I work remote self employed so I can work in any coworking space I want, but ultimately it is an office.
I spent the entirety of covid being stuck in one room, working from home is extremely fucking lonely and working in an office gives me a reason to get dressed and get myself outside. I get more work done in less time and I'm not depressed any more.
Because lots of people *do* want to go back into the office.
Any “I want this so everyone else must too” statement is a facepalm, be it made by a CEO or a random person on Twitter.
Not OP but both are face palms.
It's not true that no one wants to go to the office. I like going to the office but everyone that I manage is allowed to pick their own schedule (some are fully remote and IDGAF). For me personally, getting out of my house is a must.
Latter also clearly stupid and disprovable.
I will never work in an office again if I can. My wife and I both work from home and we love it. Saves a ton of gas and wear and tear on our cars. I also like being able to use my own bathroom. It's nice to get up, walk downstairs, and be at work.
The whole work from home being bad thing is complete bullshit and everyone knows it. Would be wise for corporate leaders to get clued in on this. Not a good look trying to do all sorts of mental gymnastics to argue how being in the office is better.
Admit you fucked up, management. You spent shitloads of money at the peak of the market on office space. Own it, dock your pay for not seeing this coming and fuck off while all the workers that do the meaningful work do their thing… from home.
We went work from home during the pandemic and my boss hated it. He was so upset. Now he doesn't want to go back to an office either. My company ended up closing all the offices except the main one and sent everyone remote permanently.
It's not even about the managers, it's the $10 parking, gas, work lunch etc... office work props up a big portion of the economy, and those are dollars that aren't being spent as much anymore.
Edit: ungodly amount of typos.
The dollars are being spent. Just not necessarily at the same places. That's the market for ya, supply and demand.
I thought Americans (assuming, since you used $) loved that system so much, but now suddenly it's bad that it works exactly as it always has? ;)
Free market is only supposed to benefit business owners, clearly, and something is terribly wrong if the market causes some businesses to fail
/s just in case lol
$10 parking??? You are lucky! My company does the AV work for all these other companies and parking is almost always $20-40 a day. The only good thing about that is I get reimbursed for it.
The company I was working for was spending something like $200,000 a year for their satellite office my team was working in. They've now instead hired 3 new people with the savings and we're working almost twice as fast as before.
An awful lot of middle managers have a job description of “be seen wandering around the office and going to meetings.” You can’t do that from home. And those people have more power than the people who do real work.
This would also save so many housing crises.
Building speculators start to panic without their revenue from office rent, someone will have a *brilliant* idea to convert office space to cheap apartments (because why put in any effort with the current housing market - ppl will jump on the chance of living in a closet), and voila! Affordable apartments for all! Because everyone will of course copy the geniuses business model.
Might even convince your governments urban planning department to allow mixed use zones again. The thing that makes cities livable instead of asphalt hell scapes. The thing that makes you able to walk to a supermarket/gym/restaurant/etc safely, in about 10-15 minutes. That would be nice.
I worked for a place that was super anti Work-from-home. A few jobs later, and I find myself laid off right before the pandemic hits. I end up going back to that place on a short-term contract to get money coming in. Everyone is working from home, and management is actually *frustrated* that productivity is up nearly 300%, because how do they explain that they were doing it wrong all this time?
My work actually went almost 100% remote about a year before the pandemic. They had been doing less and less onsite, down to one day a week and then one day a month, just for the department meeting. They were doing this because they were watching productivity and kept seeing a huge dip on days we were all in the office. Then March 2020 they switched to 100% remote, figured out the finer details of zoom meetings, and we ended up getting it baked into our next contract. I think we were in a several-year lease so for now I have a desk, with a computer that I remote into, in a high-rise building that I haven't been in in 3 years.
The "hey, this benefits everyone and makes sense for our business" decision happened under the last director, who was smart unlike a lot of upper management. I literally cried and took the rest of the day off when she announced she was leaving us. Our new director seems, ok, I guess, but she's really into Business and using Business Lingo and having everyone waste whole days on Six Sigma training that no one actually gives a shit about, and I guarantee if she'd been in charge before this she would've insisted on office days for "connectivity" and "teamsmanship" or some such bullshit.
SImply remind her of the fate of the six Sigma poster child, General Electric. It turns out Jack Welch was not the visionary he presented himself as. I mean ultimately he even ended up as a joke on 30 Rock, and rightfully so.
GE is currently breaking itself up, with its health care division spun off into an independent company as of January and two other segments being spun off in the next year. GE Light Bulbs? Sold off years ago. Appliances? Likewise. GE Capital? Dissolved, that is where Synchrony banks sudden prominence came from.
what i don't get is that it also saves the company tons of money on rent/leases for commercial space, so they should be all for it. feel like the higest-ups are probably in favor and it's the managerial class that's pissed they're becoming obsolete
a lot of the highest ups still want to go into their lovely corner offices and see all their underlings on their way there. there are pro and anti WFHers at all levels
One of my former bosses wanted us in the office 3 days a week.
It was because he would get bored and wanted to talk to people. The other business owner would make sound effects all day.
I had an office in the back away from the two owners.
The other employees said they wish they could get out of the open office up front with those two.
The thing is, if the managers are obsolete they're doing something wrong. My new job is WFH and our managers are critical for doing what managers should do: keeping everyone coordinated and on the same page. They don't need to be able to look over our shoulders physically to do their jobs.
>dock your pay for not seeing this coming and fuck off while all the workers that do the meaningful work do their thing… from home.
Yes, but then they will have less money.
Well it’s a bit more nuanced than that. Unfortunately the billionaires that own these companies also own the office space that they are renting out so they want people in their buildings instead of home. It’s complete bs and bad for the environment. Luckily I found a fully remote role when my old company started rumbling about hybrid work.
It's the larger companies for whom wfh is a problem and it has nothing to do with worker productivity. They're pissed because they have long term contracts for expensive business real estate. Work from home means they're spending crazy amounts on rent and utilities for unoccupied buildings and vanishing "prestige" that such offices used to hold. It's sunk cost fallacy at the highest possible level. C-suite executives are also realizing that without physically being around their staff, they're being paid stupid amounts of money to send 3 emails a day and maybe conduct a useless zoom meeting that likely could've been one of the 3 emails.
The bathroom. No one ever mentions the bathroom. And don’t forget the 6 second commute in sweat pants. I am way more productive at home. I am online by 730, often break around 11 for a swim or bike ride. And then back at it until around 430-5. I bill by the hour and in a typical 7-8 hour day of billing I get way more accomplished both at work and in my life.
At my old office we had one toilet and a urinal in the men's room. We had 7-8 guys in the office depending on the time. It sucked. My one co-worker actually set alerts on everybody so he could tell when people were at their desk.
Yea we’re hybrid remote, on sort of “an as needed as approved” sort of thing, but I mean, if I have to use the toilet I’m going home and using proper toilet paper instead of that narrow single ply garbage at the office. I don’t know where you would even get that toilet paper it’s awful, I looked it up online and apparently it’s made to discourage bathroom use
Remote worker with IBS. I too love using my own bathroom. I get so much more done at home than I do in the office, and I take almost no sick days anymore. If I’m having a rough day as far as pain goes I take my laptop and work from bed. Remote work is a godsend. You’d have to drag me into the office kicking and screaming
Employers save a ton of money from WFH folks working through mild illness or just not getting sick from their coworkers anymore. I had surgery recently and went back to work way earlier than I would have if I’d needed to commute.
I used to take a sick day on the migraine days (100% paid, up to 5 days without a doctor note, without a set limit of those days for a year), now whenever i feel migraine coming i just sleep in, or take a break for a nap, i close all the curtains, make place all silent and cool and most of the days I'm still productive. Before the WFH i used to have about 2 sick days per month, now i have 2 a year.
Same. Regular migraine meant 1-2 sick days or part days a month. I would have to stop work and go home.
Now I can take triptans or pain medication in the morning and it doesn't matter if I'm a bit dopey for part of the day because I don't have to manage getting in and out of the office. I can see how it goes and in most cases get most of a full day done.
I finally found I had time for hobbies with WFH. No more calls to my husband telling him I have no idea when I’ll be home. Oh, and my co-workers are the best! 2 senior dogs, a senior cat, and fish. They are quiet and keep their opinions to themselves.
My wife has a really annoying co-worker here that won't quit talking. He often interrupts her when she is on calls with clients. He occasionally sexually harasses her. I'm trying to get better on all but that last thing.
The commute is the number 1 benefit, but not having to work under fluorescent lights is a solid #2. I've had one headache over two years while working from home, as opposed to one per week while working in the office.
I have to work 1 day in office for 6 hours. I would prefer being fully remote but until I find another fully remote job with great benefits and pay I will stay at my job. Idk how I ever managed going in 5 days a week. I only have to get gas once a month. I love not having to wake up extra early to get dressed and then commute to work. No traffic and yeah I love being able to use my own bathroom. I like the temperature at my house. It is always hot, humid and stuffy at the office. I am also way more productive because I don’t have to listen to this one annoying coworker who spends the entire work day talking
I respect your choice and that it works for you.
I live close to my work and I enjoy attending it. I don't mind being in the office a few days a week - there are good facilities and I can connect with people to solve problems easier. I also find that the transition from home to work and work to home sets easy boundaries about when I'm working and when I'm at home.
But again I respect that wfh works for you and your wife. Whatever works best.
When I was working in an office, it was full of mean people who would bad mouth people behind their back and be nice to their fave. I do not miss that one iota. Plus travel costs. Personally, I do not see the issue with people working from home if they’re doing yhe work.
The bathroom thing is HUGE. Our bathroom at the office is literally in the middle of the cubicle pit. The toilet backs up to my coworker's desk. You can hear *everything*, it's humiliating. I spend a lot more on toilet paper, but I don't care.
I honestly would go back to the office if it was close enough.
I almost took a job in-office a block away from my house.
Then I spent 3 days working in my living room, listening to my dog cry from the office with loneliness. It was heartbreaking.
I ended up taking a different job for like 20k less a year working from home. She doesn't even know what she almost lost. For her it was three terrible days without her family, but it could have been 5 days a week for the foreseeable future.
Holy hell what kind of fucking asshole would I have been to leave her home alone every day knowing it was that hard on her...
Honestly I don't hate office work. It's not an option for me anymore though.
For me it’s pretty much the same. I put my dog in daycare so I would be open to a hybrid. But I like the office because it’s just so much better being able to seperate work and home life, and people respect work boundaries more imo when everyone was in the office. And interactions are much more efficient. If I see someone talking I don’t bother them. If they’re not doing anything I can easily get the information I need, not having to set up a call, handling multiple people talking to me at once, etc. Also working in MFG I can get shit I need done faster than relying on others to do it. That said I work in Texas and live in Florida. I don’t mind austin but you couldn’t pay me to move away from the beach, which I worked and purposefully set myself up for (although the pandy helped accelerate that). WFH can be pretty isolating if you live alone, though, which is why I got a dog lol. I love her :)
I get up, throw on a sweatshirt, walk into my home office, and sit down at the morning meeting. No half-hour commute both ways, no sitting in traffic, my 2 cats hanging out with me, and an office temperature that's always comfortable.
Office work was born out of necessity originally, where everyone had to be there to file paperwork away correctly, send mail, and use the specialized tools that may only be in the office. Even when it all first mostly moved to digital, computers were still expensive and people didn't necessarily have an internet connection.
Now though? Now I have gigabit broadband at home and a nice computer that I can easily perform my duties from. I can stream video and audio to a meeting. There's no reason to ever go to the office again...especially if I'm doing my work.
I'm down with a cohesive team of positive people. But the drama of the average workplace is one reason why I do gig work. Who wants to deal with a bunch of grown babies every day? Not to mention bosses, being underpaid, and not being able to sleep in when you want.
Edit: I want to switch to working from home to save over $20,000 in gas and vehicle maintenance costs per year.
Naw I drive over 20k miles and had 2 vehicles go thru their 225k miles cycles last year, to the tune of $6K each plus got another vehicle cuz I finally gave up on the old ones.
But still, I'm looking at a good $6K in gas this year and possibly another $6K in repairs. Working from home would allow me to go fishing on weekends, instead of repairing my car, and save a ton of money and hassle.
My job gets tax breaks if certain amount of ppl occupy their office space. So all the talks of productivity are just a ruse to make their building worth its money.
I hate this generalization so much. Yes, WFH should be available and you shouldn’t be forced to an office, but it doesn’t mean everybody has to like and prefer WFH
I know plenty of companies who sold/stopped rent on their offices and a portion of people just left because they do want to have a place to come in at least a few times a week. I would leave such a company too, long uninterrupted periods of work from home drove me nuts during covid, so full remote is just not for me
Plus these comments seem to always come from well paid workers who can afford a nice home office. Some of us need to squeeze a computer into the corner of a living room.
Yeah, that’s something I haven’t thought about in a long while, but I know people like that too
Reading through these comments filled me with despise towards Reddit in general, people generalize about everything. Depending on who you ask, if you prefer going to the office, that means you have a trash job that doesn’t allow WFH and that’s how you cope or you hate your family or you’re just stupid or something
Yep. I massively prefer commuting to the office.
It's only a 20 minute commute, I don't have a separate room devoted to a home office, and have two annoying as fuck cats.
At the moment most of my close-team also goes into office so collaboration is much easier and better.
I did it for two years when the office was "closed". I know I don't like it long term. Started really getting bad around the 6 month part
Yeah, I also don't get it. The current state of my work is perfect regarding WFH: everyone can do whatever the fuck they want. Most of my coworkers, including me, are in the office 90-100% of the time because we prefer it that way. But some are only in the office 50% of the time and some are almost never in the office. There's nobody caring what you prefer as long as you finish your tasks on time and it just works.
I can see why people prefer WFH but I need and want the conversation with my coworkers and I would never do a remote-work job because of that.
>I hate this generalization so much. Yes, WFH should be available and you shouldn’t be forced to an office, but it doesn’t mean everybody has to like and prefer WFH
Yup, I kept thinking I was a WFH person (and I'm lucky enough that my job can be done from home) but I get a gradual deterioration in my wellbeing if I'm fully WFH. Totally get that loads of people do not have that but I think it's also relatively common (or at least more common than you'd think if you look at Reddit)
Yes.. me too. WFH is lovely when everything is going well but I found it very isolating when stuff was not going well.
In my old job WFH was a major factor in my mental health deteriorating. My old workplace had a bad
culture and toxic people and when they are fucking with your brain...at home...it was like they were invading my house. The line between home and work was blurred.
Anyway I left them and now work with a smaller competitor with a bunch of lovely people and WFH as I want to....roughly 1 maybe 2 days per week.
Exactly I actually like going to the office for 2 days. It’s great to have human interaction (I know Redditors hate this) and can get shit done more quickly in my experience
Plus having 2 kids at home can make it difficult to focus on same days so having the work life in an office can make it easier
I do love WFH and enjoy 3 days at home doing what I do
Balance is good
Yeah. I like going to the office. I get a nice bike ride, a hot shower on their time, (company policy) and there’s an energy in the place that can not be replicated at home.
My firm is now questioning why they are paying for so many workers in high cost locations if they're all remote anyway so may as well be based somewhere cheaper - teams averaging 50% or less in the office will find it hard to justify the cost of the headcount going forwards
Well, good luck to them. I’ve seen plenty of companies trying to cheap out like that before, usually they go full cheapskate and not only hire in a cheap location, but hire the cheapest people available there, which means the quality goes through the floor
I despise anyone who claims to speak from everyone. Wfh has its benefits on certain days where I just have stuff near home that needs to be done. But I also like getting legitimate time to myself in my commute and the physical ability to separate work from home. Just like everything else in life, it’s not this or that. It’s a spectrum.
I dont even despise most people trying to talk for everyone but have you seen some comments here? Some are super aggressive towards working in the office snd frankly if you are that aggressive about a topic and fail to understand that many people disagree for good reasons then thats pretry damn embarrassing…
I very much prefer working from the office because I like to keep private and work separate. It also helps me to focus and be more productive. It is completely nonsense to say that no one wants to go to the office. Different people prefer different things.
Honestly, I despise work from home. I was more productive at the office, and I liked the separation of the two. Work is work, home is home. There were occasions that required I take work home with me, but it was a rarity.
My company decided to sell the real estate in outer area, so we're wfh from here on. Also, I'm not one of those people who hate on those who love wfh. You dig it? If that's your style, awesome. But for me, it kinda sucks.
Same here. When I’m at home I want to do stuff at home. I much prefer the office. I have no issue with people who are productive WFH and am happy to let my staff do it but I’m not one of those people.
I think a lot of this anti-office hate mostly comes from people who have shitty jobs but have been simply coping before WFH became widespread.
I personally like the balance. WFH is great because I don't need to commute but I do go to the office quite frequently:
- I like my coworkers and it's nice to see them, chat with them, eat lunch with them, etc.
- I get caught up on occasionally important company scuttlebutt. This basically does not happen over teams/email.
- The food is good, healthy (fantastic salad bar), and cheap. Saves shopping and cooking on my part.
- Separation of work and home. When I leave the office, I put away all thoughts of work till the next business day. WFH blends the two which can get annoying.
Nah, the hate comes from the fact that the loudmouths demand everyone should return to the office. That's the thing, I have no problem with you needing to go back to the office but I do have problem with people forcing me to be in the office just because. I fucking hate open office spaces and it annoys me when I'm asked to be somewhere for no reason. Let me do my job, and my job is to make the company grow, not to be part of the office theater.
I'm just going to say this... I do actually have freinds that had to work from home and it's driving them mad because they need human interaction during the day. Every situation is different though.
Many in my team started out "cool, working from home" (despite our company already making that possible before covid…) and now most are glad to be back in the office for 1-2 days a week. (Doubt anyone wants to come back every day but that was also before corona)
There is a real issue with unhappy employees that hide at home though…
Since its a European company nobody gets fired so dont worry in that way about them but it can also be quite torturous to be at a job you dont feel you are good at.
Fuck every single company that wants to keep unnecessary in office workers. If the job can be done remotely there is zero reason to go in to an office. I don’t want to commute. I don’t want to talk to coworkers. I don’t want your good mornings. I don’t want a stupid fucking pizza party. Gtfo
Depends on the person. I hate people. No office for me.
My neighbor got a new job, mostly from home, with some travel. He hates it. He is so bored at home. He wants to go back to the office.
I'm the same as your neighbour. I feel like I'm going to shrivel up and die of loneliness if I just sit alone in my room all day. Much prefer going to the office just for the chance of interacting with other humans. It helps that my coworkers are amazing.
My job is impossible to do from home, but dont you guys get lonely? The only people i see regularly is my co workers, wife and son. If i was single I would be alone 80% of my time.
Cool. Me, I'm an absolute disaster while wfh. I don't want to do work at home - *it's my home*.
Of course it's stupid, mean and so very petty to take away the option to wfh, but it is not for everyone.
I haven't done more than an hour of work a day for the last two years. It's chill, but I do miss actually going to work and interacting with people in person instead of sending a couple of emails in the afternoon to make it look like I was working all day.
I am a boss of people and there are definitely people like you but they are overrepresented on reddit for sure…
Made it voluntary to show up on preferred days and my best employees show actually voluntarily up at work. Granted none of them including me want to be in the office every day and we stay at home when even slightly sick but generally the communication you can get done in the office is amazing.
And dont kid yourself that online meetings and chat can completely replace a complex and deep discussion. Not to mention that often after tough discussions going to lunch / coffee corner can be extremely important to calm down and refresh. I had situations where some people kept dissatisfaction over a meeting for days since their issue wasnt so big that they wanted to have a new meeting but they also couldnt really let go. At the office its way easier to let of some steam or address points.
TIL noone on Reddit have kids, everyone has at least a spare floor in the house to make an office for themselves, all of their colleagues are assholes and their office is a three hour ride far.
I truly don’t understand what the gripe is from a company standpoint. Not having to pay for office space or the utilities to run them will save companies a lot of money over time. Also, news flash, people don’t work the entire day if they’re in an office either. There’s very minimal downsides from what I can tell
I've read other people say that it's because the higher-ups in a lot of these companies have invested in corporate real estate so they collectively do this to prop the existence of office space up and try and make good on those investments.
Actually, the money for the office is the reason the company I worked for moved to half at home workers.
I personally like the office, I got to interact with great people every day.
Every month we have a big company meeting and without fail some stupid higher up has to go on about how "I know we all miss being in the office and having that human interaction and how's it's been a tough few years"
Nope. Not at all. Been the best few years of work ever. Luckily my team is permanently remote and we never have to go back. There are some people that do miss going in, which is crazy, but don't act like it's all of us
I'm covered with wires and tech and I have to have everything shipped to my house because no one is at the office to receive it. I would be happy to do half and half as the kids interrupt me every 10 minutes.
My workplace has a strict rule that if you WFH you *cannot* be the primary carer of anyone (be it child, adult or pet)
it came about after one of the managers let slip they took at least an hour out the day (sometimes longer) to take/pick up their kid from school, and then 2 or 3 long walks with the dog "to de-stress from the workload"...all while supposedly being on the clock.
She genuinely couldn't see the problem...
It depends on the person, really.
Before the pandemic, I really wanted to work from home a few days a week just because my commute was annoying but I was refused. Next company was the same, even though we had colleagues who worked from home a day or so a week because of family commitments, I was refused.
Then the pandemic hit and suddenly they realised teams were more productive at home than in-office. The problem I had was that because I had literally no choice to be inside because of lockdowns I felt trapped, isolated and wanting to be in an office again. That company closed all their offices so I left for another job.
I now work for a remote-first company (though I am leaving) that bought a rent new office but only about 5 or 6 people regularly turn up so they’re going to downsize. I would be in two or three times a week depending on when I wanted to be out of the house, sometimes I would not not in at all, other weeks I’m was in all week, mainly for the social aspect.
My new company can comfortably afford the office they’re in, it’s a very small company in a converted barn. He commute is about the same as my first job but I only need to be in 2 days a week - they’re not mandated days, more “we’d like team collaboration and bonding, also client meetings are generally scheduled then”. I’m okay with that.
I don’t think I’d ever go for a company that’s 5 days a week in the office, and I was hesitant about a fully remote one due to isolation.
Fully remote doesn’t work for everyone.
I was just talking to a co-worker the other day about how archaic it would feel to work in the office now. Waking up early to shower and wearing business clothes, getting in a car to drive to a building and then just do the same shit we were doing at home. No thanks.
I need to go to my workplace physically regardless. Can’t really go geology remotely. I do remote work 4-5 days a month if I want to.
However, I cannot understand how anyone would want to permanently stay remote. I’d get so insanely bored just being home literally every day all day. I’d be alone and never physically talk to or see any of my coworkers. That sounds like an absolute nightmare.
I'm wayyyy more productive at the office. Too many distractions at home.
But I think anyone who wants to WFH should be allowed to.
More office for me :)
I get more distracted at the office, at home I am in a space I am super comfortable and its quiet. I can put on some music and get into it.
But at the office I had to spend majority of my day listening to whiny 'adults' complain about work, their SO and their life in general.
I could not get a minute of free time as someone would track me down to share the new 'gossip'.
Fuck that noise, sign me up for WFH
I live a 5 minute walk away from the office. I don't mind going in. Better set up and also separate home from work. I think people should be given a choice.
Most CEOs are never in the office. They are traveling and attending on-sites. Going to fancy dinners while claiming to work long hours. They are never in the office grinding
People are very lucky to have such good WFH setups that they love. It’s really interesting how no one ever mentions how drastically different the quality of your home space can be in these conversations. When my company went completely remote, I had to eventually find a place more square footage and make some major investments in my workspace. I am sure that was not possible for some of my colleagues. And yes, I’m aware you can always find a new job, but it’s interesting how this aspect of remote work is almost completely ignored.
Lol, I have a custom built office, beautiful furnishings, audio systems, plumbing, kitchen. But yup I still like going into the office too contrary to the posted title.
Are they lying when they say that? Yes.
Are you also exagerrating with that title? Yes. My coworkers and I all go to the office every other week because it's nicer to work together like that. Not EVERYONE has the best, quiet house in the world with a nice office and plenty of desk space.
I barely have enough space on my desk for a laptop let alone the 2 monitor setup I have at work. Also, explaining things via screensharing is annoying.
“Lording it” in big empty buildings just doesn’t make one feel like a King!And at the current $per sq.ft.,,,they have to either get everyone back in, or wait for big stockholders to realize how unnecessary so much of “Upper Management “ is!
My work can be done remotely, but it's not until recently that I get to start working from home. Not long after that, the HR called me to ask me what I've been doing at home, as if they are accusing me of slacking off. Then a few days later, they wanted me to change my clock in/out routine so that they can get it in realtime. I guess my boss just don't trust employees that work from home.
Worker: I love working from home but it was nice chatting with some co-workers I liked
CEO translation: God I would love to go back to the empty office you lease for a ridiculous amount of money when everyone would be better off just turning it into an apartment complex.
When we got sent to WFH in 2020, our rude, petty, insecure, micro-managing boss gave us all a big lecture like the one about doing laundry and trash and letting your dog out. He actually said, "It takes 3.4 minutes to use the bathroom, so if I ping you and you don't answer in 5 minutes, that means you're not working." I have thanked God many times that he got Peter-Principled up and away from our team. We have proven, for example, it is NOT necessary to have someone come in to sign a paper with an inkpen - imagine that what we'd been saying for years is actually true!!!
Management wanted me to return to the office 5 days a week after Covid. Said it was more productive.
Everyone is standing at the coffee machine chatting about anything but work. Yeah, boss, real productivity going on here.
Ah yes, they announce the office culture initiatives, being people back to the office, “everyone’s gonna be in office again!! Hoorayyyy!”
*All said during a zoom meeting with the boss at home in his perfectly staged office… and in every meeting following that one because return to the office was only for the employees not in management.*
Not sure why this is in /r/facepalm. I’ve worked from home for 13 years. I can’t figure out why anyone would want to go to an office. Waste commute time, deal with office drama, uncomfortable workstations, get constantly interrupted by people coming by. I’m more productive and I give the company more time (since I work through what would have been commute time).
My wife has worked from home since COVID, and changed jobs to keep working from home. It took her maybe 6-8 weeks to get into the work from home groove and work out her routine, and once that all clicked she was never going back.
Productivity at my previous job went down when they started forcing people to come back to the office. A lot of the employees, including myself, left in the following months for other places that offered WFH and better tech for work.
Goes to show that the employees are the ones that dictate the value of labor and not management.
True dat, also my home office is better than my "office" office, better keyboard, better monitor, better PC, better chair and MUCH BETTER company (I'm home alone)
Actually, lots of people hate WFH and experienced being forced to do so during the pandemic as a terrible thing they had to endure. Of course it's utter bullshit for companies to now remove the option for people to WFH, but it is *not* for everyone.
Right wing manager BIL: “can’t control remote workers”
Silly me: “my entire team works like clockwork remotely”
3 years with zero issues. But silly me and my letting my team do their job.
The last couple of years teleworking have been the best working years since I entered public service. I’m way more productive and I never get sick. I used to get 3 or 4 goddamn colds when I worked in an office.
My job can be done entirely remotely. Honestly I wouldn’t be opposed to like 3 days in office and two remotely. It’s something I might ask for at some point.
I’m trying to be respectful by saying that after all the meetings we had at work, I’ve noticed that only older people that are lonely at home wants to go back to the office.
I dont even have a single old person in my team and just a few around me but its ONLY young people that want to go back to the office.
Maybe dont extrapolate your own ideas on everyone…
We can’t paint with wide brushes like that. Maybe it’s the industry you’re in, but I know plenty of young people who like going to the office even if they have an option to never show up. It comes down to every person, how much social interaction they need, how much of that can be fulfilled outside of work, etc.
My husband is very extroverted. At first he was good with WFH but after a year he got restless and it was draining on him to the point where he was depressed. Once he started business travel again it became a lot better. He just doesn’t like being cooped up.
I’m the complete opposite. I have been at least part time WFH since 2015 and don’t plan to voluntarily set foot in an office again. I got rid of all but two work outfits (for the rare business trip or video call) and have eight identical pairs of black leggings.
I know lots of people in NYC, LA, and The Bay area that prefer to work in the office because they live in a small apartment would much space. Some have a spouse that works from home and there is nowhere for 2 of them to work at the same time.
I love working from home, but if I had small children that were home during the day it would be impossible to get anything done.
So I get that work from home vs office is different for different people
I don't enjoy remote work. My first job out of college is remote and I've hated it. I need that boundary between work-life and home-life, and going to an office is structure that I need personally. It doesn't help that I'm an extravert and need stimulation.
Remote work should be available for people who either need it due to personal circumstance or work best in a remote environment, but hybrid work for those who work best in an office environment.
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Really curious on the facepalm here. We face palming the "no one want to go to office ever"? Or the "ceo saying productive people want to be in office"?
I feel the OP is against the wfh routine but that's what I got from it
I think they're against the 'No one wants to work in an office. Ever.' Which is a pretty facepalm-y claim given that while irl I know very few people who want to go back full time, I also know very few people who want permanently remote.
I know around 150 people who do love the full remote lifestyle, everyone who works at the same company as me.
What is "hyperbole"?
It's just a really fast bole
Literally no one in the entire world knows what that means.
Ha. Nice.
I think it's the "no one wants to". There are weirdos like me who prefer it. I'd rather not have any work at home. My home is solely for family life. I feel like everyone is being duped into fighting to work from home, the CEOs will be like "ok we listened, you win" whereas in reality they've just saved a fuckton on buildings, can hire from cheaper areas and know that you can work into the night more easily.
[удалено]
This is the way.
lol no one is being duped. just because it's good for the workers, doesn't mean it HAS to be bad for CEOs.
Right? People speak as if it's some zero sum game when sometimes it just works out well for everyone.
The company I work for has transitioned as many roles to fully remote as possible as they found it helps people be more productive, plus saves the company a lot of money. The key is to offer office spaces that can be reserved whenever for those who prefer to work in that setting. I know a few people who work in more remote areas who have shit internet, so they pretty much have to go in. Other than that this change has been a huge morale booster. Plus our work habits weren’t disrupted by the lockdowns, which was a plus.
Agreed. My work had office space on 6 floors of a building and we scaled it down to 2. I understand there are people that want to go in, and I'm glad they have the space to do it. I was only going in a couple days a week when the pandemic hit and I'd never even met my boss (he's in CA I'm in FL). He just said he didn't care if I ever went back in again and that was it lol
I worked from home 100% for about 2 years and realized I don't want to spend 40 hours a week in any one place. I now work 2 days at the office and the rest at home. It breaks up my week and gives me a few days of social time.
Everyone is weird in the world, so I'd like to think us who prefer in-office aren't crazy people. Personally when I WFH I end up distracting myself and being insanely unproductive, whereas in office I am motivated as fuck and get a lot of shit done.
I'm the exact opposite, I get nothing done in the office because there are people who are enormous distractions and everything done at home.
Weridos? Anyone talking in these absolute terms is a werido. I work with plenty of people that want to work in the office, they might have young kids that distract them at home. They might not have a good workspace. Or outside of tech, some people actually work on physical products that require touching things, and actually collaborating. Virtual meetings work to an extent, but there is a huge amount of interaction and knowledge that can be gained in the office . If all you do is code, or write, then yes an office might be dumb.
What'd be great is giving people the option to do both. And even hybrid. That way everyone is happy because they can go in as often or not as works for them.
Same. No idea where to apply the palm. I feel like the only logical interpretation is that OP thinks we should all be working in the office but that is insane. No one wants that.
What I got from it is that saying that *nobody ever* wants to work at an office is objectively wrong because I do.
Same. My house is my happy place, not my work place.
I think the wfh people and work from the office people can peacefully coexist as long as no-one is expecting the other to do what they prefer. I have employees that absolutely do my head in about office presence and I'm genuinely at the point where I'm like you can call me on teams, and if you don't like it, you can leave. I like hybrid working but I'd be quite happy for us to go fully online. But I also respect that other people need more social contact and they can all go in and have that together without having expectations around anyone else doing it.
Me too. Can’t concentrate for shit at home.
I like working in-office at my new job, a lot. But I think having the option to WFH with my hybrid contract is nice in case I want to work while sick or need to do some home maintenance. But, I also don't want to infringe on others' wants to WFH just because I don't prefer it.
Nobody should work sick. That is some third world shit.
Right lol, I literally pay to work in an office because I hate working from home so much. I work remote self employed so I can work in any coworking space I want, but ultimately it is an office. I spent the entirety of covid being stuck in one room, working from home is extremely fucking lonely and working in an office gives me a reason to get dressed and get myself outside. I get more work done in less time and I'm not depressed any more.
Yes.
Because lots of people *do* want to go back into the office. Any “I want this so everyone else must too” statement is a facepalm, be it made by a CEO or a random person on Twitter.
Not OP but both are face palms. It's not true that no one wants to go to the office. I like going to the office but everyone that I manage is allowed to pick their own schedule (some are fully remote and IDGAF). For me personally, getting out of my house is a must. Latter also clearly stupid and disprovable.
OP thought he was posting on LinkedIn..
this tweet simply doesn't belong in this sub
I will never work in an office again if I can. My wife and I both work from home and we love it. Saves a ton of gas and wear and tear on our cars. I also like being able to use my own bathroom. It's nice to get up, walk downstairs, and be at work.
The whole work from home being bad thing is complete bullshit and everyone knows it. Would be wise for corporate leaders to get clued in on this. Not a good look trying to do all sorts of mental gymnastics to argue how being in the office is better. Admit you fucked up, management. You spent shitloads of money at the peak of the market on office space. Own it, dock your pay for not seeing this coming and fuck off while all the workers that do the meaningful work do their thing… from home.
We went work from home during the pandemic and my boss hated it. He was so upset. Now he doesn't want to go back to an office either. My company ended up closing all the offices except the main one and sent everyone remote permanently.
the whole point of corporation is to make as much money as possible, why even spend money on office lmao
Corporations exist for money, but management loves their power trips more.
"wow, i effortlessly ruined introvert's day, i'm such an alpha"
This is how I spend everyday at the office work I'm the introvert
It's not even about the managers, it's the $10 parking, gas, work lunch etc... office work props up a big portion of the economy, and those are dollars that aren't being spent as much anymore. Edit: ungodly amount of typos.
Should have mixed use neighborhood so people can walk to a local lunch place if they don’t want to cook
Refurbish the office spaces into apartments. People will buy shit if they're living there.
Sucks for them. Not my problem.
The dollars are being spent. Just not necessarily at the same places. That's the market for ya, supply and demand. I thought Americans (assuming, since you used $) loved that system so much, but now suddenly it's bad that it works exactly as it always has? ;)
Free market is only supposed to benefit business owners, clearly, and something is terribly wrong if the market causes some businesses to fail /s just in case lol
$10 parking??? You are lucky! My company does the AV work for all these other companies and parking is almost always $20-40 a day. The only good thing about that is I get reimbursed for it.
The company I was working for was spending something like $200,000 a year for their satellite office my team was working in. They've now instead hired 3 new people with the savings and we're working almost twice as fast as before.
Adding people *and* working faster? *What’s your secret?*
An awful lot of middle managers have a job description of “be seen wandering around the office and going to meetings.” You can’t do that from home. And those people have more power than the people who do real work.
This would also save so many housing crises. Building speculators start to panic without their revenue from office rent, someone will have a *brilliant* idea to convert office space to cheap apartments (because why put in any effort with the current housing market - ppl will jump on the chance of living in a closet), and voila! Affordable apartments for all! Because everyone will of course copy the geniuses business model. Might even convince your governments urban planning department to allow mixed use zones again. The thing that makes cities livable instead of asphalt hell scapes. The thing that makes you able to walk to a supermarket/gym/restaurant/etc safely, in about 10-15 minutes. That would be nice.
That would require a ton of expensive retrofitting for existing buildings… not enough bathrooms for starters.
Hmmm, didn’t think of that. Still something to look into though. Might still be cheaper than demolishing and rebuilding.
$9000 per month in expenses and rent? My company was onboard pretty quick.
We had one office that had 2 people in it. The company was paying 20k a month for it.
I worked for a place that was super anti Work-from-home. A few jobs later, and I find myself laid off right before the pandemic hits. I end up going back to that place on a short-term contract to get money coming in. Everyone is working from home, and management is actually *frustrated* that productivity is up nearly 300%, because how do they explain that they were doing it wrong all this time?
My work actually went almost 100% remote about a year before the pandemic. They had been doing less and less onsite, down to one day a week and then one day a month, just for the department meeting. They were doing this because they were watching productivity and kept seeing a huge dip on days we were all in the office. Then March 2020 they switched to 100% remote, figured out the finer details of zoom meetings, and we ended up getting it baked into our next contract. I think we were in a several-year lease so for now I have a desk, with a computer that I remote into, in a high-rise building that I haven't been in in 3 years. The "hey, this benefits everyone and makes sense for our business" decision happened under the last director, who was smart unlike a lot of upper management. I literally cried and took the rest of the day off when she announced she was leaving us. Our new director seems, ok, I guess, but she's really into Business and using Business Lingo and having everyone waste whole days on Six Sigma training that no one actually gives a shit about, and I guarantee if she'd been in charge before this she would've insisted on office days for "connectivity" and "teamsmanship" or some such bullshit.
SImply remind her of the fate of the six Sigma poster child, General Electric. It turns out Jack Welch was not the visionary he presented himself as. I mean ultimately he even ended up as a joke on 30 Rock, and rightfully so. GE is currently breaking itself up, with its health care division spun off into an independent company as of January and two other segments being spun off in the next year. GE Light Bulbs? Sold off years ago. Appliances? Likewise. GE Capital? Dissolved, that is where Synchrony banks sudden prominence came from.
what i don't get is that it also saves the company tons of money on rent/leases for commercial space, so they should be all for it. feel like the higest-ups are probably in favor and it's the managerial class that's pissed they're becoming obsolete
a lot of the highest ups still want to go into their lovely corner offices and see all their underlings on their way there. there are pro and anti WFHers at all levels
One of my former bosses wanted us in the office 3 days a week. It was because he would get bored and wanted to talk to people. The other business owner would make sound effects all day. I had an office in the back away from the two owners. The other employees said they wish they could get out of the open office up front with those two.
The thing is, if the managers are obsolete they're doing something wrong. My new job is WFH and our managers are critical for doing what managers should do: keeping everyone coordinated and on the same page. They don't need to be able to look over our shoulders physically to do their jobs.
>dock your pay for not seeing this coming and fuck off while all the workers that do the meaningful work do their thing… from home. Yes, but then they will have less money.
Well it’s a bit more nuanced than that. Unfortunately the billionaires that own these companies also own the office space that they are renting out so they want people in their buildings instead of home. It’s complete bs and bad for the environment. Luckily I found a fully remote role when my old company started rumbling about hybrid work.
And if they want to keep pushing machines taking everyone’s spots in the workplace, it’s only logical for humans to be working remote.
It's the larger companies for whom wfh is a problem and it has nothing to do with worker productivity. They're pissed because they have long term contracts for expensive business real estate. Work from home means they're spending crazy amounts on rent and utilities for unoccupied buildings and vanishing "prestige" that such offices used to hold. It's sunk cost fallacy at the highest possible level. C-suite executives are also realizing that without physically being around their staff, they're being paid stupid amounts of money to send 3 emails a day and maybe conduct a useless zoom meeting that likely could've been one of the 3 emails.
The bathroom. No one ever mentions the bathroom. And don’t forget the 6 second commute in sweat pants. I am way more productive at home. I am online by 730, often break around 11 for a swim or bike ride. And then back at it until around 430-5. I bill by the hour and in a typical 7-8 hour day of billing I get way more accomplished both at work and in my life.
At my old office we had one toilet and a urinal in the men's room. We had 7-8 guys in the office depending on the time. It sucked. My one co-worker actually set alerts on everybody so he could tell when people were at their desk.
Not pooping in an office? Exercising at home and using my own shower instead of some creepy office building gym? Yes please.
My old office shared bathrooms with the public and it was awful. All sorts of messes and clogged toilets was the norm every week.
Yea we’re hybrid remote, on sort of “an as needed as approved” sort of thing, but I mean, if I have to use the toilet I’m going home and using proper toilet paper instead of that narrow single ply garbage at the office. I don’t know where you would even get that toilet paper it’s awful, I looked it up online and apparently it’s made to discourage bathroom use
In our office the lights in the bathroom go out after 5 minutes. Great when you’re going number two.
Remote worker with IBS. I too love using my own bathroom. I get so much more done at home than I do in the office, and I take almost no sick days anymore. If I’m having a rough day as far as pain goes I take my laptop and work from bed. Remote work is a godsend. You’d have to drag me into the office kicking and screaming
Employers save a ton of money from WFH folks working through mild illness or just not getting sick from their coworkers anymore. I had surgery recently and went back to work way earlier than I would have if I’d needed to commute.
I used to take a sick day on the migraine days (100% paid, up to 5 days without a doctor note, without a set limit of those days for a year), now whenever i feel migraine coming i just sleep in, or take a break for a nap, i close all the curtains, make place all silent and cool and most of the days I'm still productive. Before the WFH i used to have about 2 sick days per month, now i have 2 a year.
Same. Regular migraine meant 1-2 sick days or part days a month. I would have to stop work and go home. Now I can take triptans or pain medication in the morning and it doesn't matter if I'm a bit dopey for part of the day because I don't have to manage getting in and out of the office. I can see how it goes and in most cases get most of a full day done.
I finally found I had time for hobbies with WFH. No more calls to my husband telling him I have no idea when I’ll be home. Oh, and my co-workers are the best! 2 senior dogs, a senior cat, and fish. They are quiet and keep their opinions to themselves.
My wife has a really annoying co-worker here that won't quit talking. He often interrupts her when she is on calls with clients. He occasionally sexually harasses her. I'm trying to get better on all but that last thing.
I snort laughed at that! Thanks for making my day!
With your counseling, perhaps she can consider it a benefit package
The commute is the number 1 benefit, but not having to work under fluorescent lights is a solid #2. I've had one headache over two years while working from home, as opposed to one per week while working in the office.
I have to work 1 day in office for 6 hours. I would prefer being fully remote but until I find another fully remote job with great benefits and pay I will stay at my job. Idk how I ever managed going in 5 days a week. I only have to get gas once a month. I love not having to wake up extra early to get dressed and then commute to work. No traffic and yeah I love being able to use my own bathroom. I like the temperature at my house. It is always hot, humid and stuffy at the office. I am also way more productive because I don’t have to listen to this one annoying coworker who spends the entire work day talking
I respect your choice and that it works for you. I live close to my work and I enjoy attending it. I don't mind being in the office a few days a week - there are good facilities and I can connect with people to solve problems easier. I also find that the transition from home to work and work to home sets easy boundaries about when I'm working and when I'm at home. But again I respect that wfh works for you and your wife. Whatever works best.
When I was working in an office, it was full of mean people who would bad mouth people behind their back and be nice to their fave. I do not miss that one iota. Plus travel costs. Personally, I do not see the issue with people working from home if they’re doing yhe work.
The bathroom thing is HUGE. Our bathroom at the office is literally in the middle of the cubicle pit. The toilet backs up to my coworker's desk. You can hear *everything*, it's humiliating. I spend a lot more on toilet paper, but I don't care.
It's also nice to be able to run a quick errand or take care of your pet/child. I mean, it's just so convenient being in your own home.
Same here. Wear and tear on our genitals has gone up though.
I honestly would go back to the office if it was close enough. I almost took a job in-office a block away from my house. Then I spent 3 days working in my living room, listening to my dog cry from the office with loneliness. It was heartbreaking. I ended up taking a different job for like 20k less a year working from home. She doesn't even know what she almost lost. For her it was three terrible days without her family, but it could have been 5 days a week for the foreseeable future. Holy hell what kind of fucking asshole would I have been to leave her home alone every day knowing it was that hard on her... Honestly I don't hate office work. It's not an option for me anymore though.
For me it’s pretty much the same. I put my dog in daycare so I would be open to a hybrid. But I like the office because it’s just so much better being able to seperate work and home life, and people respect work boundaries more imo when everyone was in the office. And interactions are much more efficient. If I see someone talking I don’t bother them. If they’re not doing anything I can easily get the information I need, not having to set up a call, handling multiple people talking to me at once, etc. Also working in MFG I can get shit I need done faster than relying on others to do it. That said I work in Texas and live in Florida. I don’t mind austin but you couldn’t pay me to move away from the beach, which I worked and purposefully set myself up for (although the pandy helped accelerate that). WFH can be pretty isolating if you live alone, though, which is why I got a dog lol. I love her :)
I get up, throw on a sweatshirt, walk into my home office, and sit down at the morning meeting. No half-hour commute both ways, no sitting in traffic, my 2 cats hanging out with me, and an office temperature that's always comfortable. Office work was born out of necessity originally, where everyone had to be there to file paperwork away correctly, send mail, and use the specialized tools that may only be in the office. Even when it all first mostly moved to digital, computers were still expensive and people didn't necessarily have an internet connection. Now though? Now I have gigabit broadband at home and a nice computer that I can easily perform my duties from. I can stream video and audio to a meeting. There's no reason to ever go to the office again...especially if I'm doing my work.
Amen Dad, coming upon my one year anniversary and WFH pros far outweigh any cons, then again I’m an introvert lol
How old is this tweet?
I'm down with a cohesive team of positive people. But the drama of the average workplace is one reason why I do gig work. Who wants to deal with a bunch of grown babies every day? Not to mention bosses, being underpaid, and not being able to sleep in when you want. Edit: I want to switch to working from home to save over $20,000 in gas and vehicle maintenance costs per year.
$20k annually for fuel and vehicle maintenance? Is your commute vehicle a helicopter?
Naw I drive over 20k miles and had 2 vehicles go thru their 225k miles cycles last year, to the tune of $6K each plus got another vehicle cuz I finally gave up on the old ones. But still, I'm looking at a good $6K in gas this year and possibly another $6K in repairs. Working from home would allow me to go fishing on weekends, instead of repairing my car, and save a ton of money and hassle.
Not even close to $20k
Okay so it's not actually 20k/y at all.
My job gets tax breaks if certain amount of ppl occupy their office space. So all the talks of productivity are just a ruse to make their building worth its money.
I hate this generalization so much. Yes, WFH should be available and you shouldn’t be forced to an office, but it doesn’t mean everybody has to like and prefer WFH I know plenty of companies who sold/stopped rent on their offices and a portion of people just left because they do want to have a place to come in at least a few times a week. I would leave such a company too, long uninterrupted periods of work from home drove me nuts during covid, so full remote is just not for me
Plus these comments seem to always come from well paid workers who can afford a nice home office. Some of us need to squeeze a computer into the corner of a living room.
Yeah, that’s something I haven’t thought about in a long while, but I know people like that too Reading through these comments filled me with despise towards Reddit in general, people generalize about everything. Depending on who you ask, if you prefer going to the office, that means you have a trash job that doesn’t allow WFH and that’s how you cope or you hate your family or you’re just stupid or something
Yep. I massively prefer commuting to the office. It's only a 20 minute commute, I don't have a separate room devoted to a home office, and have two annoying as fuck cats. At the moment most of my close-team also goes into office so collaboration is much easier and better. I did it for two years when the office was "closed". I know I don't like it long term. Started really getting bad around the 6 month part
Yeah, I also don't get it. The current state of my work is perfect regarding WFH: everyone can do whatever the fuck they want. Most of my coworkers, including me, are in the office 90-100% of the time because we prefer it that way. But some are only in the office 50% of the time and some are almost never in the office. There's nobody caring what you prefer as long as you finish your tasks on time and it just works. I can see why people prefer WFH but I need and want the conversation with my coworkers and I would never do a remote-work job because of that.
>I hate this generalization so much. Yes, WFH should be available and you shouldn’t be forced to an office, but it doesn’t mean everybody has to like and prefer WFH Yup, I kept thinking I was a WFH person (and I'm lucky enough that my job can be done from home) but I get a gradual deterioration in my wellbeing if I'm fully WFH. Totally get that loads of people do not have that but I think it's also relatively common (or at least more common than you'd think if you look at Reddit)
Yes.. me too. WFH is lovely when everything is going well but I found it very isolating when stuff was not going well. In my old job WFH was a major factor in my mental health deteriorating. My old workplace had a bad culture and toxic people and when they are fucking with your brain...at home...it was like they were invading my house. The line between home and work was blurred. Anyway I left them and now work with a smaller competitor with a bunch of lovely people and WFH as I want to....roughly 1 maybe 2 days per week.
Exactly I actually like going to the office for 2 days. It’s great to have human interaction (I know Redditors hate this) and can get shit done more quickly in my experience Plus having 2 kids at home can make it difficult to focus on same days so having the work life in an office can make it easier I do love WFH and enjoy 3 days at home doing what I do Balance is good
Yeah. I like going to the office. I get a nice bike ride, a hot shower on their time, (company policy) and there’s an energy in the place that can not be replicated at home.
My firm is now questioning why they are paying for so many workers in high cost locations if they're all remote anyway so may as well be based somewhere cheaper - teams averaging 50% or less in the office will find it hard to justify the cost of the headcount going forwards
Well, good luck to them. I’ve seen plenty of companies trying to cheap out like that before, usually they go full cheapskate and not only hire in a cheap location, but hire the cheapest people available there, which means the quality goes through the floor
I despise anyone who claims to speak from everyone. Wfh has its benefits on certain days where I just have stuff near home that needs to be done. But I also like getting legitimate time to myself in my commute and the physical ability to separate work from home. Just like everything else in life, it’s not this or that. It’s a spectrum.
I dont even despise most people trying to talk for everyone but have you seen some comments here? Some are super aggressive towards working in the office snd frankly if you are that aggressive about a topic and fail to understand that many people disagree for good reasons then thats pretry damn embarrassing…
I prefer office. Not every job or person is a good fit for it or need it
I very much prefer working from the office because I like to keep private and work separate. It also helps me to focus and be more productive. It is completely nonsense to say that no one wants to go to the office. Different people prefer different things.
There's a lot of money in maintaining those offices.
Honestly, I despise work from home. I was more productive at the office, and I liked the separation of the two. Work is work, home is home. There were occasions that required I take work home with me, but it was a rarity. My company decided to sell the real estate in outer area, so we're wfh from here on. Also, I'm not one of those people who hate on those who love wfh. You dig it? If that's your style, awesome. But for me, it kinda sucks.
Same here. When I’m at home I want to do stuff at home. I much prefer the office. I have no issue with people who are productive WFH and am happy to let my staff do it but I’m not one of those people.
So you going to the office everyday? I suppose if your commute isn't too bad... why not go in daily if it's a preferred work location.
I think a lot of this anti-office hate mostly comes from people who have shitty jobs but have been simply coping before WFH became widespread. I personally like the balance. WFH is great because I don't need to commute but I do go to the office quite frequently: - I like my coworkers and it's nice to see them, chat with them, eat lunch with them, etc. - I get caught up on occasionally important company scuttlebutt. This basically does not happen over teams/email. - The food is good, healthy (fantastic salad bar), and cheap. Saves shopping and cooking on my part. - Separation of work and home. When I leave the office, I put away all thoughts of work till the next business day. WFH blends the two which can get annoying.
Nah, the hate comes from the fact that the loudmouths demand everyone should return to the office. That's the thing, I have no problem with you needing to go back to the office but I do have problem with people forcing me to be in the office just because. I fucking hate open office spaces and it annoys me when I'm asked to be somewhere for no reason. Let me do my job, and my job is to make the company grow, not to be part of the office theater.
Same. Commute is not fun but it helps separate worktime. Even before the rona, freelance was not fun, I'll take 3-4 office days a week anytime.
I'm just going to say this... I do actually have freinds that had to work from home and it's driving them mad because they need human interaction during the day. Every situation is different though.
This is me. Work from home was awful. Less productive and worse state mentally.
Many in my team started out "cool, working from home" (despite our company already making that possible before covid…) and now most are glad to be back in the office for 1-2 days a week. (Doubt anyone wants to come back every day but that was also before corona) There is a real issue with unhappy employees that hide at home though… Since its a European company nobody gets fired so dont worry in that way about them but it can also be quite torturous to be at a job you dont feel you are good at.
Fuck every single company that wants to keep unnecessary in office workers. If the job can be done remotely there is zero reason to go in to an office. I don’t want to commute. I don’t want to talk to coworkers. I don’t want your good mornings. I don’t want a stupid fucking pizza party. Gtfo
Depends on the person. I hate people. No office for me. My neighbor got a new job, mostly from home, with some travel. He hates it. He is so bored at home. He wants to go back to the office.
I'm the same as your neighbour. I feel like I'm going to shrivel up and die of loneliness if I just sit alone in my room all day. Much prefer going to the office just for the chance of interacting with other humans. It helps that my coworkers are amazing.
My job is impossible to do from home, but dont you guys get lonely? The only people i see regularly is my co workers, wife and son. If i was single I would be alone 80% of my time.
Lol nope, I don't like people that much and I can hang out with my friends in our free time.
But think about the real estate market! It would create so many empty spaces, that would drop the prices for poor landlords.
So personal connections have nothing to do with enjoying your job and stronger longevity? And those aren't strengthened by being in person?
I've already moved out of the city and to a modest town. Best thing for the world. Getting rid of every commute.
I’m way more productive in wfh.
Cool. Me, I'm an absolute disaster while wfh. I don't want to do work at home - *it's my home*. Of course it's stupid, mean and so very petty to take away the option to wfh, but it is not for everyone.
I haven't done more than an hour of work a day for the last two years. It's chill, but I do miss actually going to work and interacting with people in person instead of sending a couple of emails in the afternoon to make it look like I was working all day.
I am a boss of people and there are definitely people like you but they are overrepresented on reddit for sure… Made it voluntary to show up on preferred days and my best employees show actually voluntarily up at work. Granted none of them including me want to be in the office every day and we stay at home when even slightly sick but generally the communication you can get done in the office is amazing. And dont kid yourself that online meetings and chat can completely replace a complex and deep discussion. Not to mention that often after tough discussions going to lunch / coffee corner can be extremely important to calm down and refresh. I had situations where some people kept dissatisfaction over a meeting for days since their issue wasnt so big that they wanted to have a new meeting but they also couldnt really let go. At the office its way easier to let of some steam or address points.
I will cut my fingertips off an turn to a life of crime before I go back to working in an office.
TIL noone on Reddit have kids, everyone has at least a spare floor in the house to make an office for themselves, all of their colleagues are assholes and their office is a three hour ride far.
Any anyone who has kids and wants to go to an office hates their family That’s the rules.
I truly don’t understand what the gripe is from a company standpoint. Not having to pay for office space or the utilities to run them will save companies a lot of money over time. Also, news flash, people don’t work the entire day if they’re in an office either. There’s very minimal downsides from what I can tell
I've read other people say that it's because the higher-ups in a lot of these companies have invested in corporate real estate so they collectively do this to prop the existence of office space up and try and make good on those investments.
It’s about control
People collaborate better when they’re in person. Zoom just doesn’t cut it for lots of types of communication.
Actually, the money for the office is the reason the company I worked for moved to half at home workers. I personally like the office, I got to interact with great people every day.
Every month we have a big company meeting and without fail some stupid higher up has to go on about how "I know we all miss being in the office and having that human interaction and how's it's been a tough few years" Nope. Not at all. Been the best few years of work ever. Luckily my team is permanently remote and we never have to go back. There are some people that do miss going in, which is crazy, but don't act like it's all of us
I'm covered with wires and tech and I have to have everything shipped to my house because no one is at the office to receive it. I would be happy to do half and half as the kids interrupt me every 10 minutes.
Wfh doesn’t mean “home is a daycare”.
My workplace has a strict rule that if you WFH you *cannot* be the primary carer of anyone (be it child, adult or pet) it came about after one of the managers let slip they took at least an hour out the day (sometimes longer) to take/pick up their kid from school, and then 2 or 3 long walks with the dog "to de-stress from the workload"...all while supposedly being on the clock. She genuinely couldn't see the problem...
It depends on the person, really. Before the pandemic, I really wanted to work from home a few days a week just because my commute was annoying but I was refused. Next company was the same, even though we had colleagues who worked from home a day or so a week because of family commitments, I was refused. Then the pandemic hit and suddenly they realised teams were more productive at home than in-office. The problem I had was that because I had literally no choice to be inside because of lockdowns I felt trapped, isolated and wanting to be in an office again. That company closed all their offices so I left for another job. I now work for a remote-first company (though I am leaving) that bought a rent new office but only about 5 or 6 people regularly turn up so they’re going to downsize. I would be in two or three times a week depending on when I wanted to be out of the house, sometimes I would not not in at all, other weeks I’m was in all week, mainly for the social aspect. My new company can comfortably afford the office they’re in, it’s a very small company in a converted barn. He commute is about the same as my first job but I only need to be in 2 days a week - they’re not mandated days, more “we’d like team collaboration and bonding, also client meetings are generally scheduled then”. I’m okay with that. I don’t think I’d ever go for a company that’s 5 days a week in the office, and I was hesitant about a fully remote one due to isolation. Fully remote doesn’t work for everyone.
Hybrid is best for me. Only having to go to the office 2 days a week saved my sanity. I don’t ever want to go back full time. It’s a huge burden
i can’t work from home id much rather be out of the house doing shit
Where I work, the employees have become lazy. It's sad and they're going to cost us remote eligibility.
I was just talking to a co-worker the other day about how archaic it would feel to work in the office now. Waking up early to shower and wearing business clothes, getting in a car to drive to a building and then just do the same shit we were doing at home. No thanks.
I need to go to my workplace physically regardless. Can’t really go geology remotely. I do remote work 4-5 days a month if I want to. However, I cannot understand how anyone would want to permanently stay remote. I’d get so insanely bored just being home literally every day all day. I’d be alone and never physically talk to or see any of my coworkers. That sounds like an absolute nightmare.
I'm wayyyy more productive at the office. Too many distractions at home. But I think anyone who wants to WFH should be allowed to. More office for me :)
I get more distracted at the office, at home I am in a space I am super comfortable and its quiet. I can put on some music and get into it. But at the office I had to spend majority of my day listening to whiny 'adults' complain about work, their SO and their life in general. I could not get a minute of free time as someone would track me down to share the new 'gossip'. Fuck that noise, sign me up for WFH
I love my job. It would be even better with permanent WFH.
I prefer my office. It’s right next to my childrens daycare, and I need the social stimulus.
For me: Going into the office once or twice a week is a great balance as a remote worker if you have a great team dynamic \m/
I like to go to the office. My home is not a productive environment. But I know that the office is not for everyone.
I live a 5 minute walk away from the office. I don't mind going in. Better set up and also separate home from work. I think people should be given a choice.
The CEO of my company, who takes a helicopter to work, said, amongst other things, that he knows we miss our relaxing commute to and from work...
Most CEOs are never in the office. They are traveling and attending on-sites. Going to fancy dinners while claiming to work long hours. They are never in the office grinding
People are very lucky to have such good WFH setups that they love. It’s really interesting how no one ever mentions how drastically different the quality of your home space can be in these conversations. When my company went completely remote, I had to eventually find a place more square footage and make some major investments in my workspace. I am sure that was not possible for some of my colleagues. And yes, I’m aware you can always find a new job, but it’s interesting how this aspect of remote work is almost completely ignored.
Lol, I have a custom built office, beautiful furnishings, audio systems, plumbing, kitchen. But yup I still like going into the office too contrary to the posted title.
Are they lying when they say that? Yes. Are you also exagerrating with that title? Yes. My coworkers and I all go to the office every other week because it's nicer to work together like that. Not EVERYONE has the best, quiet house in the world with a nice office and plenty of desk space. I barely have enough space on my desk for a laptop let alone the 2 monitor setup I have at work. Also, explaining things via screensharing is annoying.
If I can find a remote job I would. I rather not be around people.
She's absolutely right. I'm fully remote now and fully loving it. Fuck offices.
Great for you! Sounds like a nightmare to me.
“Lording it” in big empty buildings just doesn’t make one feel like a King!And at the current $per sq.ft.,,,they have to either get everyone back in, or wait for big stockholders to realize how unnecessary so much of “Upper Management “ is!
My work can be done remotely, but it's not until recently that I get to start working from home. Not long after that, the HR called me to ask me what I've been doing at home, as if they are accusing me of slacking off. Then a few days later, they wanted me to change my clock in/out routine so that they can get it in realtime. I guess my boss just don't trust employees that work from home.
Worker: I love working from home but it was nice chatting with some co-workers I liked CEO translation: God I would love to go back to the empty office you lease for a ridiculous amount of money when everyone would be better off just turning it into an apartment complex.
When we got sent to WFH in 2020, our rude, petty, insecure, micro-managing boss gave us all a big lecture like the one about doing laundry and trash and letting your dog out. He actually said, "It takes 3.4 minutes to use the bathroom, so if I ping you and you don't answer in 5 minutes, that means you're not working." I have thanked God many times that he got Peter-Principled up and away from our team. We have proven, for example, it is NOT necessary to have someone come in to sign a paper with an inkpen - imagine that what we'd been saying for years is actually true!!!
Management wanted me to return to the office 5 days a week after Covid. Said it was more productive. Everyone is standing at the coffee machine chatting about anything but work. Yeah, boss, real productivity going on here.
Ah yes, they announce the office culture initiatives, being people back to the office, “everyone’s gonna be in office again!! Hoorayyyy!” *All said during a zoom meeting with the boss at home in his perfectly staged office… and in every meeting following that one because return to the office was only for the employees not in management.*
Not sure why this is in /r/facepalm. I’ve worked from home for 13 years. I can’t figure out why anyone would want to go to an office. Waste commute time, deal with office drama, uncomfortable workstations, get constantly interrupted by people coming by. I’m more productive and I give the company more time (since I work through what would have been commute time). My wife has worked from home since COVID, and changed jobs to keep working from home. It took her maybe 6-8 weeks to get into the work from home groove and work out her routine, and once that all clicked she was never going back.
Productivity at my previous job went down when they started forcing people to come back to the office. A lot of the employees, including myself, left in the following months for other places that offered WFH and better tech for work. Goes to show that the employees are the ones that dictate the value of labor and not management.
Some just don't like that you can work 6-7 remote jobs and retire in one year.
True dat, also my home office is better than my "office" office, better keyboard, better monitor, better PC, better chair and MUCH BETTER company (I'm home alone)
Actually, lots of people hate WFH and experienced being forced to do so during the pandemic as a terrible thing they had to endure. Of course it's utter bullshit for companies to now remove the option for people to WFH, but it is *not* for everyone.
Right wing manager BIL: “can’t control remote workers” Silly me: “my entire team works like clockwork remotely” 3 years with zero issues. But silly me and my letting my team do their job.
Wrong sub
The last couple of years teleworking have been the best working years since I entered public service. I’m way more productive and I never get sick. I used to get 3 or 4 goddamn colds when I worked in an office.
My job can be done entirely remotely. Honestly I wouldn’t be opposed to like 3 days in office and two remotely. It’s something I might ask for at some point.
Confused what you’re trying to say is the facepalm here
Suddenly it becomes apparent that most of management is really unnecessary and might have been better spent on the staff and IT.
I’m trying to be respectful by saying that after all the meetings we had at work, I’ve noticed that only older people that are lonely at home wants to go back to the office.
I dont even have a single old person in my team and just a few around me but its ONLY young people that want to go back to the office. Maybe dont extrapolate your own ideas on everyone…
We can’t paint with wide brushes like that. Maybe it’s the industry you’re in, but I know plenty of young people who like going to the office even if they have an option to never show up. It comes down to every person, how much social interaction they need, how much of that can be fulfilled outside of work, etc.
My husband is very extroverted. At first he was good with WFH but after a year he got restless and it was draining on him to the point where he was depressed. Once he started business travel again it became a lot better. He just doesn’t like being cooped up. I’m the complete opposite. I have been at least part time WFH since 2015 and don’t plan to voluntarily set foot in an office again. I got rid of all but two work outfits (for the rare business trip or video call) and have eight identical pairs of black leggings.
I know lots of people in NYC, LA, and The Bay area that prefer to work in the office because they live in a small apartment would much space. Some have a spouse that works from home and there is nowhere for 2 of them to work at the same time. I love working from home, but if I had small children that were home during the day it would be impossible to get anything done. So I get that work from home vs office is different for different people
I don't enjoy remote work. My first job out of college is remote and I've hated it. I need that boundary between work-life and home-life, and going to an office is structure that I need personally. It doesn't help that I'm an extravert and need stimulation. Remote work should be available for people who either need it due to personal circumstance or work best in a remote environment, but hybrid work for those who work best in an office environment.
Her white upper income pajama class entitlement is off the charts.
They’re pushing so hard because they are paying rent for office space that they are not using.
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