I actually have read of loads of people who don’t have any desire to get back to the office. That doesn’t mean they are using the pandemic as an excuse; it’s still a present and imperative consideration. But sure, loads of folk are not into “office culture” – who don’t need the socialness and believe they can get their work done more efficiently without that. Or hate the commute and the time and energy (personal and travel-powering) it eats up. Or just prefer being more in charge of their time and scheduling. Or just like being alone.
My S has been WFH since the start–he loves it, would love never to go back, but hoping for at least only being in once or twice a week. He just got a promotion, bonus, and large raise, so apparently he’s getting his work done!
Obviously my main profession (teaching) is mostly better f2f, but if I had an office type job as I have had in the past, I would always opt for WFH if possible.
No one is hiding that preference behind Covid considerations as far as I have heard—both can be true at the same time.
Definitely hear plenty of what you mention @garland . I would also venture to say that while 18 months of this seems LONG, it is also SHORT in the life of a career - maybe a couple/few years out this idea of staying home will too pass. We shall see!
NO problem with people who just prefer to work at home and can be productive. However I can also count on more than my hands the number of occasions where I have heard/read people who say that they are nervous to go back to the office due to COVID - but who are in restaurants on a regular basis, in and out of airports taking trips, NOT taking daily precautions to the same level as they seem to hold work precautions.
I guess also saying that some of these workplace decisions may not fall the way some employees want and these are choices they will have to make. MAYBE a job can be done at home but the employer does not want to change their culture to a WFH option. If that’s the case, it is the employer prerogative just as it’s the employee prerogative to stay or leave the job.
There is also the problem of what to do with all of that office space.
My husband is old, that’s what he says his problem is! But he says that he is more productive at the office. He has his own office and that may contribute to it.
I think that managers may think that they can better manage and see what their employees are doing from day to day when everyone is in the office. It’s also easier to train face to face for many jobs than remotely.
These are very complex issues that still need to be worked out.
Some people are more productive WFH. But just like when people weren’t remote, there are people who just aren’t as productive. As a manager it may be hard to ascertain what is happening.
H feels more productive in the office, too. Government is allowing some agencies to make their own decisions about reopening. Given his agency is regulatory more than public-facing, they have allowed folks to remain working at home so that folks whose functions require being in the office have a safer workspace.
They are supposed to head back in early October, but Metro, in its infinite wisdom, decided to start THIS WEEK a three month project on the platforms on our end of the rail line. One would have to take a bus to the first open station or drive there (limited parking, 40 minute drive in rush hour). Freaking nuts!
So, H says he’ll go in if necessary, but otherwise will WFH til the Metro work is done. He spends his days on calls or writing, so where it gets done is of relatively little significance.
Personally, I can’t wait til he’s back in the office. It severely limits my access to the desktop and many projects, plus he’s a slob. He has papers, food, dishes, boxes and cables everywhere. Would also like to reclaim the guest bathroom so it’s not the men’s room. It all needs a thorough deep cleaning.
I love my H, but having him back at school, though scary, works for me. I like having quiet, just me in the house, time (I can get so much more done, plus it is just recharging for this introvert to be totally alone sometimes), and yes, when he was teaching at home, we lost the dining room table and half the living room. Stuff EVERYWHERE. He loves being back in the classroom (though still apprehensive about safety.)
We finally moved my husband’s home office into a spare bedroom we emptied out for the purpose (had to get rid of a lot of stuff, repaint and repair a wall, buy new computer desks because he has an elaborate multi-screen trading set-up) but now I have my dining room and living room back and I am so happy!
The first week of in-person classes just ended. The students are mostly compliant re masks but there is some slippage down the nose on some of them midway through class. It’s all boys, excuse me, “young men.” I tell the class at the beginning of session that masks need to be worn over the nose and mouth and I model that behavior myself, but I am not going to start throwing people out of class because it will ruin the vibe and any discussion we have managed to get going.
I am only going to campus 2 days a week for my classes and plan on attending all other meetings remotely if I can. My husband only goes into the office 3 days a week (other 2 days, works from home).
I am so excited, my daughter will be in her office (for the first time ever as she got this job during the pandemic) starting on Monday. She is assigned to be there on Mondays and Tuesdays (not sure if she can go in another day if she wants to - she is in a support area and many of her users have never worked from home).
She wants to be in the office. She really feels she will be able to do her job better when she can interact with coworkers and users in person
Just saw this - I think there is a lot of truth in this
The proliferation of remote work has created a unique problem for employees: It’s harder to feel engaged at a new job when you’ve never met your colleagues face-to-face. It’s resulted in an “easy-come, easy-go attitude toward workplaces,” writes The New York Times, with more remote hires “feeling freer to bid adieu to jobs.” Many said the inability to form in-person bonds made them feel detached and question the purpose of their roles, prompting some companies to rethink their corporate culture and hire new leaders to oversee remote work.
I saw that, and I felt that it was written by a business type who loves the concept of corporate culture, as opposed to idea of looking at it critically and wondering is it really an essential thing, or just assumed to be so that it’s normalized as necessary. People are taught to see the office in a social way. My family shares a love of the movie “Office Space” which hilariously, and insightfully, questions that.
I think that both the pandemic and work from home have contributed to “easy come, easy go”. The statistics definitely show people are quitting jobs in record numbers, and anecdotally I am witnessing this.
One factor a person uses to decide on taking or leaving a job is the work culture. (Just like when you pick a college and you look at what is a good fit culture wise for you.) Working from home doesn’t give you a true look at work culture.
What type of office fits your style - an office where people stay after work on Friday and drink beer together, or an office where people take yoga classes together during lunch, or an office where everybody eats at their desk, or an office where people do volunteer work together after work, etc. None of this culture is happening when everybody is working from home.
There is also something different about bonding with people face to face. Seeing them on Monday morning grabbing their coffee and chatting informally about what they did over the weekend. Companies spend millions of dollars on team building experiences for their employees because it works, it makes people work better together and feel a part of the company.
Because there’s a whole cottage industry that profits from this stuff. How many times does someone need to build a tower from spaghetti and marshmallows?
Right? It’s sort of cult-like. All fine if you decide to buy in, but incomprehensible if you step back and question it. And okay, cults, or let’s say clubs, work for some people. I just question whether this is really what people want, or what they’ve been taught they should want. Maybe just depends on the person.
Likely it depends upon the person’s age. For 21 year old new hires, the office can provide a lot of social opportunities to meet other people their age and attend events together-my primary friends came from work in my 20s. By one’s 30s one might already have a set of friends, even a family, and seek that less from work.
I made an incredible network in my 20’s and 30’s - and that is where all my job moves have come from. I feel for the younger people today who are not going to be able to develop those in person relationships. I also think - I learned a lot from the older people that I was not going to happy hour with! They mentored me. They took me to lunch and talked about my goals. They showed me best practices and gave me great advice. Hard to build that virtually.
Yes, S was lucky he had a decade of networking from when he 1st started worked until covid. I think he made many contacts that way and believe they serve as a dolid friendship and mentoring base. Folks starting with work from home wouldn’t have a similar base.
My son has surprised everyone including himself at how much he has thrived at working from home. He feels his career has skyrocketed as due to his connections to one of his bosses he has gotten some plum assignments. Those bonds and mutual respect would not have been possible without the relationship they had developed in the office.
My son pointed out an interesting benefit to hiring an employee as work from home is that your talent pool is the world. He is getting another employee who will report to him. His company is located in a high cost of living city and they realized that my opening up the job as a remote position they could get an applicant with talent who would otherwise not apply.
so my DH was telling me about his work today. (800 employees/quasi public).
30% of the covid cases lately have all been in vaccinated staff. (no hospitalizations).
That seems high; but they figured it out. It all has to do with benefits.
Employees get 2 pd. weeks of covid leave now; normally sick leave means you have to burn 5 days of vacation first. SO - if someone feels like they have a cold, rather than going into work like in the past so they dont have to take vacation leave, people are getting the cv test as they know they’ll get two full weeks off that doesnt dip into vacation pay.
Probably safe all they way around; but it’s not quite turning out how they thought it would be.
oh, no. just positives get off two weeks. But this is inadvertently becoming a good thing as people are getting tested frequently every time they have a cold. Not quite what his work planned, but turning into a reason to get tested .
I think its a mind switch, again, in that breakthroughs are not as rare as they thought even a few months ago. here - it’s 30%.
