I'm always told office spaces are *hell* on ND people like me, but I actually kindof wonder if I might click well in a job like that. A sterile environment where I get my own designated and organized space to do a monotonous task? I don't want to work but if I have to work that sounds like the way to do it for me.
I don't miss it, I hate it. Forced to socialize and cajole 80% of the people I had to work with. A holes I wouldn't have spent 30 seconds of my time on in my private life. But then I live in the ruby red repugniQan state of Indianastan so it's my fault. I miss the camerarderie of the UK workplace, but don't miss the taxes and weather.
I have recently started looking for work. I live across the river from NYC. The jobs that are in office are paying more. Much more. Full remote jobs that aren't senior positions are paying like shit for my line of work (non CPA accounting).
I drove past a large office building with a parking deck and lot full of cars, and my breathing and heart rate increased imagining going back to doing it again. I always felt like it was miserable going into an office, but changing to WFH changed my life. I hate my job at least 8% less because I get to work in my underwear and have my own bathroom and kitchen. The catty coworkers are still here, though, theyre now just actual cats.
As things were opening up my company asked if we wanted 5 days in the office, hybrid 2-3 days in the office, or 5 days at home. Everyone on the team chose at home. Now I have a new boss who is insisting on Thursdays IN the office as a "collaboration day" and even got so pissy as to not schedule a video component to his weekly update meeting. So I do my commute to and from the office during working hours, not during MY time. I hate working in the office it's so noisy and distracting.
The last image seems to be there with or without WFH. Somehow if more people are at home working how is it we're not seeing less cars on the road? The only way to avoid it is to stop driving...(partly /s)
Lucky me, they long ago replaced ours with LEDs that don't flicker AND are way too bright. Sometimes I wanna go sit in a closet just to give my eyes a rest.
I hope that, at some point in the future, the idea of driving an hour each way just to sit in a cubicle and do work that you could easily do from your living room, surrounded by annoying people, is considered as obsolete as dial-up Internet is today.
I've never worked in an office. I'm more a warehouse worker type. I like having the separation of work and home life. When I leave work I don't have to deal or think about anything work related until I go back.
I always make sure to do something outside of the house before and after my workday. For me, taking my dog for a decent walk, going to a bar, chilling at the park, etc. for is a good way to set up a buffer zone between home office time and home personal life time. If I just end the workday and go straight down to the kitchen to start prepping dinner, it's not good for my mood.
During the pandemic we were given a choice whether we wanted to be in the office. They said no more than X amount of people can be there, but it was good for those who needed to get away.
It was also very good for those who didn't want to be there. I miss it so
I miss my friends I had at the office, honestly. During COVID everyone started to go to other companies, one died unrelated to COVID, and well, I just miss them. I also missed the catered lunches we got every Wednesday. And it wasn't Pizza, but things like Gyros, Indian curries, Meat loaf, Chicken picatta, Roast Turkey, ect. with all the sides and fixings. Makes me sad those times are gone.
I can check the parking lots now and see when the vehicles of both my upstairs and downstairs neighbor are gone so that I can play for a bit longer out loud instead of headphones. It's the best times of the weekdays.
Nah, close your laptop and go about your life. There's no difference between leaving your work at an office and leaving it behind a closed laptop lid or turned off monitor. Find new pathways to transition from work to home, if you must. But shutting off work is a skill set. If your company requires you to be on 24/7, make them pay you, and start searching for new work. Don't take the rest of us down with you if you can't shut it off, Nicholarse.
I don't know why you got downvoted, if you miss it then you miss it. There's nothing wrong with that, different environments suit the workflow of people differently. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that .. Even if a little odd to the norm. But that just makes it more unique
Most importantly: I can work in peace. Not some stupid co-workers coming over once every 30 minutes pulling me from my work, wrecking my concentration a-gain! And not the steady background noise of multiple people in the same office with me (also just trying to do their jobs, but of course not dead-silent).
I got something very similar (unless some reason pushes in a lot of people, then it's the same crap all over). But that takes commuting for gaining the same thing I got at home.
I have a co-worker who constantly stops by to show me a meme he thinks is funny. He's always talking about how busy he is, yet is almost never seen doing actual work. And the worst part is the meme is invariably one I've seen before and not even that funny.
And while I can understand the incentive, it's still annoying. It's not like a message I can simply chose to ignore for the moment and continue whatever thought I'm currently trying to complete/finish. You have to deal with that person. I noticed that people are far more reluctant to do the same thing via digital communications. I'm not getting half the number of Teams calls usually, compared to what would happen in the office.
Most of the people at my office who came back said it as because their kids were driving them crazy. Me, my mom can't figure out that working at home = working.
My mom keeps asking when my husband is going to go back to the office (ever since COVID started)... He goes maybe once a week (if that). She cannot get it through her head that him and his team are all happily working from home.
My co started w 1 day in office a week, last year. Recently it became 2. Which still isn't bad, but it's exceedingly stupid, nonetheless. I'm more productive at home anyway. But, they have millions in office space they can't let sit empty. Fuck.
I think my mom's company gave up and compromised to two days in the office per week. They tried more, but people refused to come in. Guess there were enough that they didn't want to go through the hassle of replacing everyone
Ours boiled our frogs. They started at 1 "core" day. Then 2. Now...three....and it must be tue-thurs. No exceptions. I don't mind the few days. I want my flexibility back. Fuckers.
I remember this guy I was talking with the other day that was so glad to be back in the office because he had a reason to wear his suit jackets and ties again and one of the things he listed as a big perk of his job was that he got pizza parties. I was just dumbstruck.
Hate to say it, but work from home might be good, however some people need a place away from work. Everyone is going in different directions and the best way to be a unit again is to see the face.
Yup, I work in IT and it wasn’t all that many years ago we had a small dial-in pool of numbers for modem connections. Covid came at the right time for changing the culture.
I remember in the mid 80s when personal computers were fairly common and every science magazine and futurist was say working from home was “just round the corner” (hell, technically that goes back to the 50s at least)… took like 35 years and a deadly pandemic to allow that to occur… and companies are still bitching about it…
Can we look at this graph a different way? Like that's pretty damn incredible. It took the better part of a century to get phone service out to everyone in the country, and even then still like 15% in rural areas that didn't for another 20-30.. Where is we got broadband service out to people in just 20 freaking years. Our pace of advancement is ever accelerating. I will say though, personally we had "broadband" 256k starting '96-'97 growing up, iirc. 2x bonded ISDN ftw-selling bootleg CDs in 99
This shows "I have broadband" amount, not the speeds actually delivered. In 2010, a lot of people had something like 3-12mbps down - and maybe .5mbps up. That's barely passable for doing remote work. Now people are more likely to have 2-10mbps up at least, so remote work is much more feasible. We live rurally, and my lady has been doing all her work remotely now, and we just barely have the 2mbps to have it be functional. We're supposed to get fiber via the RDOF, which would bring 10mbps up.
Does say nothing about speed, only "households that have broadband". If working from home was a more common option in 2000, likely more people would have subscribed.
A better graph for your point would have been households that have the *option* to get broadband.
Broadband is gaining momentum. I've been working remotely/ hybrid working here in the UK since 2012. First we had 20mbps broadband through til 2015, then it went to 80mbps. Last year we got gigabit fibre (1000mbps), then our ISP dropped the price on the 8Gbps (8000mbps) package, so we got that a month later.
I worked from home in 1998. Like... When my connection to the Internet started with screeches and pings. When I was willing to pay for a second phone line so a call didn't shut down my connection. Not every job, obviously - but definitely more than zero.
it's almost like giving a fuck about employees took a global pandemic the results of which they aren't willing to pay more to take back certain won freedoms
People had to die in large quantities to get businesses to let their employees work from home. People died getting us the right to unionize. Your employer is not your friend, they'll do anything to squeeze extra money out of their business.
Because people without Internet weren't suddenly getting Internet services. Now days you either don't need the internet or the providers have deemed your area 'not profitable' enough to run lines.
Because we are already at 80%. Large correlation between people who don’t have broadband internet at home and those who don’t have jobs that can be done remotely. And using your phone as a hotspot gets the job done well enough for work emails in a lot of areas as well.
Probably the type of person who doesn't get broadband at home, also doesn't have a job that could be done from home. I can't believe it's so low, though. In Canada it's like 93%.
The hype over AI taking over jobs is way overblown. It could maybe replace someone doing repetitive tasks, but a computer program can already do that. Any job that needs even an iota of actual thought, can't be done by AI. As for offshoring, that's been going on for decades, even for hands-on jobs. All the manufacturing that's been shipped overseas used to be hands-on jobs. Performing services or doing construction is really all that has to stay. And they're trying to automate services already.
Glad to see the tens of billions of dollars we gave the telecommunication companies for decades to push broadband to under serviced areas worked out so well. /s
Should have happened earlier. I did however get fiber in the middle of nowhere east texas in a town of less than 1000 though. Went from paying too much for 15mb dsl to too much for 250/250 fiber. Paying too much for internet though is the reality in the boonies.
I very much prefer working from home, but if I have to go in I'd be grateful for my own cubicle over the open plan hot-desking hell they make us endure.
Disagree ive worked in a cubicle first and open plan several times after that and i will never go back in a fucking cubicle ever again. But wfh is superior to all, if your job is possible to be done remotely
I'm in a minority here. Okay, the office itself was pretty average-at-best, but I miss having my team in conversation distance to ask an opinion on an issue or to pass over information. Instead we have to look up availability on Teams, set up a call and try and get all the docs on screenshare. I swear we're probably missing some important issues we'd catch if we were in proximity and gods know how the new guys are supposed to learn the systems in near isolation.
This is a problem with your tool usage, not with remote office work effectiveness. Your Teams shoul dhhave channels where you can talk, you should have DMs with all your relevant coworkers pinned. Presence is automatic, you shouldn't have to look anything up. Office docs can work collaboratively with no screensharing.
I've been full-time WFH for a very long time and I love it, but I think I would probably like going in to an office one day a week for just that reason. Teams works very well for us, but there genuinely is value in face-to-face interactions. Also my coworkers and I actually like each other quite a lot, so the rare instances where we're able to meet in person are always welcome.
The people that wanna work from home are people that are unable to work/exist in a social environment. They can only cope behind a video screen where they can talk tough without repercussions. Blame it on interactive video games, which is probably what they're doing when they're supposed to be working.
I get that I'm in the minority of office workers, but I fear afor what I'd turn into if I worked from home full time. I like having the chance to socialize during the day, and not slowly devolve into my natural cave goblin form. I also feel a lot more stressed about taking time to decompress in the office, where there are so many valid reasons as to why I'd be away from my desk that I can't imagine ever being questioned about it. Whereas I get nervous taking too long a bathroom break at home.
I respect people wanting to work from home, everyone should have an option. I could not work from home, I'll take the cubicle over working from home any day. There's too many distractions in my house, but that's just me and everyone should have the ability to work from home if they can do it.
It's a big adjustment! I've worked from home (while not traveling for work) for almost 15 years now, and it was REALLY hard to focus at first. It probably took me a good year before I nailed down ways to be as productive as I needed to be.
I agree. I feel like now that WFH is more commonplace, people seem to shit on people who have to or choose to work in the office. You do you, let me do me, I like the separation, I hated working remote, and no, I don't want to figure out how to make WFH work for me. Let me be an office goblin, damn.
Surprisingly the TP at my previous job was like the Costco stuff (same thing we have at home), wasn't that bad. The old satellite office I was in only had two stalls in the men's room, so that sucked. They moved into a brand new building just before the pandemic, and it was really awesome, had a full Gym down stairs with locker rooms and showers, then the Pandemic hit...
I never stole an entire case, but I have been so broke in the past that I couldn't afford toilet paper, so I took a few roles from the office bathroom.
Is this /s? Because if not... Speak for yourself, buck.
Traffic and time-wasting commutes, pretending to be busy, being trapped in an office without freedom to go the bathroom in privacy, socializing, distracting coworkers and management, a second wardrobe just for work.... none of these things inspire greatness. I, and many of my peers, are MUCH better, more productive employees when working from home.
Especially when the managers aren't trained to remote manage and have too many tools to micromanage and monitor employees activity from home. Many companies are returning to the office so the managers can look out over all their teams which gives them purpose in the company.
Innovative, dynamic managerial styles are the solution here. Growth, professional development. Not dragging people back into a hellscape. I promise you, working from home makes some of us MUCH better employees. Don't think for a second that our "looking busy" isn't manufactured when we feel someone looking over our shoulder. Trust your staff and you won't have to micromanage them. Understand their roles' metrics for a job completed, and trust it. It's not hard to manage folks remotely. At. All.
I love how the person above you is like "so the managers can have purpose again" when these companies ran just fuckin fine without excessive micromanagement during the pandemic while things were being sorted out and companies were pivoting to remote work. Middle managements is so often just useless bloat that exists to allow for more shifting of blame and less responsibility on the higher ups when shit goes wrong because their company is managed like dogshit.
Right! Seems like those people are not really required if the work is still getting done, but the management team is struggling. Sounds like thats some easy money the company could save there and rather than making the entire team suffer by having to return to the office, they could simply just get rid of some dead weight in management.
I suppose I'm technically middle management as an Assistant Director, but I view my primary role as a supervisor to be the support and building of the careers of my direct reports. I know what a completed job looks for them, so I can easily identify any areas that might need attention if they fall behind. But even then, my first questions would be, "Is everything ok?What do you need from me to help?" Not "why aren't you meeting metric?!" My role has other aspects, but as a "boss," I aim to build
Most of the middle/lower management I've experienced spends at least 1 day a week in meetings. The rest of the week is running production reports since that's all the managers above then are interested in. If they have anytime left, it is spent in trying to come up with some new process without ever removing the old ones creating a longer processes for those under the numbers gun. After all, they have to try to justify their position by being innovative.
See, that's good management! You're there to do checks at the end of the tasks to make sure ts are crossed and I's are dotted, and to offer support if they're not, but you give them agency and space to do what they're being paid to do. You should go into management certification and teaching, cause we need so many more managers like you.
I miss socialising with colleagues. If my office was a 30 minute stroll instead of a 30 minute hellish drive, and it was a cosy/relaxed set of office with common areas, instead of an open plan battery farm for office workers; then I'd totally go in once or twice a month. But instead I put up with sat in my quiet study at home, where the heating is at a temperature I like.
I have never lived only 30 minutes drive from work, that sounds like a dream! More like an hour, and where I live now my office is about 90-120 mins drive.
The problem is that companies don't *want* everyone to go in a few times a month (or week), since they'd need everyone to do it at the same time for prime networking/socialization thus they'd need enough seats for everyone. Instead they came up with the much worse "hybrid" office where different teams go in at different times so everyone shares the same set of desks, and you can never find the guy you want to talk to on your office day, and you mostly end up in zoom meetings all day.
if we lived in an actual market driven economy, this is where someone would create a new smaller form of rentable office where companies can rent/store equipment and provide amenities for the workers. like think library meets a starbucks/food court.
Had a conversation with a coworker after work the other day. Even tho we go in 3 days a week, including Friday, we don't do anything as coworkers after work. But one coworker who's a bit older than we are was trying to organize some stuff, to bring back the old days or whatever. But our company culture is mostly "get your shit done and go home" now. It was trending this way pre-covid too. I don't mind going out with coworkers, but I don't plan for it.
Also the fact that the in office days are Monday. Wednesday, Friday; completely sucks. I think I'm gonna just start wfh on Friday and see what they do.
Oh HR, of course. My boss hates it too, dev was already doing thur-fri wfh. And they specifically said it was because they were afraid people would work less hard on Fridays at home. Which is just god damn insulting.
I hate the forced socialization. A lot of these guys don't have families. They'll stay out drinking until last call, schedule permitting. And people don't start arriving at whatever boring bar they pick until like 6pm at the earliest. ---- So if you split by 7, it's all, "Com'on, you just got here a few mins ago! Joey just walked in the door!" ----- 8:30pm is the earliest you can realistically leave and shake the boss' boss' hand. ----- Then 1 hr drive home. Dad missed bedtime again.
Ok, Cletus. Let me help you out for next time. First, eat a big bowl of grits and chitlins or whatever makes "y'all" fat & happy. Second, imagine you're at a warm, summer, Trump rally – smell of Winstons, Ford exhaust, & Busch Ice farts wafting in the air. Now that you're in your happy place, imagine, just for a moment, that you're half as clever as you think you are & twice as slow to boot. Then imagine all the things a Yankee might understand with their fast talkin' and book learnin'.
They were FORCED to be there because it was expected everyone would show up and then stay for at least a couple of hours to show they're part of the team. It's nonsense. We have jobs because it's required in order to survive, not to make friends. After work socializing just eats into your free time and you're not even getting paid for it.
My case wasn't forced, but it was a cross between people too young to have kids, or old enoguh thsy kids were out of HS. But I know of the old-boy network style companies. Gotta go out and socialize with the bosses if you ever want a promotion. Worked at a couple of those in my 20s, couldn't gtfo fast enough. Can't maintain that in my 40s lol.
MyDailyFiber
Remote has been wonderful, as I have a disability. A save a lot of money, time, and I get sick a lot less. Hated cubicle life.
SpaceCadetDubzy
I'm always told office spaces are *hell* on ND people like me, but I actually kindof wonder if I might click well in a job like that. A sterile environment where I get my own designated and organized space to do a monotonous task? I don't want to work but if I have to work that sounds like the way to do it for me.
Username58165916599
Uandi82muchBeer
I don't miss it, I hate it. Forced to socialize and cajole 80% of the people I had to work with. A holes I wouldn't have spent 30 seconds of my time on in my private life. But then I live in the ruby red repugniQan state of Indianastan so it's my fault. I miss the camerarderie of the UK workplace, but don't miss the taxes and weather.
MudcrabMan
I have recently started looking for work. I live across the river from NYC. The jobs that are in office are paying more. Much more. Full remote jobs that aren't senior positions are paying like shit for my line of work (non CPA accounting).
OnlyByMoonlight
I played the corporate role for well over 18 years and now that I work remotely, I pray to God that I never have to set foot in an office again.
lowbudgetjeremyrenner
I drove past a large office building with a parking deck and lot full of cars, and my breathing and heart rate increased imagining going back to doing it again. I always felt like it was miserable going into an office, but changing to WFH changed my life. I hate my job at least 8% less because I get to work in my underwear and have my own bathroom and kitchen. The catty coworkers are still here, though, theyre now just actual cats.
IPrefertheNight
I like going to the office but I don’t have to drive there, only go in 2-3 days a week, and I’ve got my own space so I can play music.
undrh2o
As things were opening up my company asked if we wanted 5 days in the office, hybrid 2-3 days in the office, or 5 days at home. Everyone on the team chose at home. Now I have a new boss who is insisting on Thursdays IN the office as a "collaboration day" and even got so pissy as to not schedule a video component to his weekly update meeting. So I do my commute to and from the office during working hours, not during MY time. I hate working in the office it's so noisy and distracting.
MeMonty
Honestly this seems nice compared to my work environment...
spazztastic
The last image seems to be there with or without WFH. Somehow if more people are at home working how is it we're not seeing less cars on the road? The only way to avoid it is to stop driving...(partly /s)
Pizza0Style0Burrito
Erumun
i think the toilet paper is the most egregious.
FlatPlutoSociety
The best part about working from home: bidet.
dudethisbetternotbetaken
It's half-ply.
SuicidalBallsack
This had different music last time with sfx
ByThePowerOfSCIENCE
The flickering fluorescent light may be more depressing than the cubicle farm.
ForceAwakenWasLame
Looks like somebody’s got a case of Mondays /s. The flourescent lights were the worst
shyriath
Lucky me, they long ago replaced ours with LEDs that don't flicker AND are way too bright. Sometimes I wanna go sit in a closet just to give my eyes a rest.
ByThePowerOfSCIENCE
Isn't there a regulation for illumination levels? While you find out, maybe try tinted glasses or clip-ons
PineappleLoopsBroether
Weirdly dark hallways are another odd thing about crappy office park buildings.
ByThePowerOfSCIENCE
Ah, but to me a flickering lamp is a constant nuisance that says "we don't really care about your comfort".
Shaodyn
I hope that, at some point in the future, the idea of driving an hour each way just to sit in a cubicle and do work that you could easily do from your living room, surrounded by annoying people, is considered as obsolete as dial-up Internet is today.
Shaodyn
I want the very idea of going to an office to work to be thought of as something weird that nobody really wants to do anymore.
ChePollino
I enjoy working in the office with my coworkers. Company better pay for my coffee, drinks and electricity.
That said, I respect people's wishes to work from home.
For me, the commute is the deal breaker. I currently need 20 min with a tram that stops in front of my house.
jerbern1
I've never worked in an office. I'm more a warehouse worker type. I like having the separation of work and home life. When I leave work I don't have to deal or think about anything work related until I go back.
FlatPlutoSociety
I always make sure to do something outside of the house before and after my workday. For me, taking my dog for a decent walk, going to a bar, chilling at the park, etc. for is a good way to set up a buffer zone between home office time and home personal life time. If I just end the workday and go straight down to the kitchen to start prepping dinner, it's not good for my mood.
extraordinaryagility
I honestly don't miss it. My small apartment gives me a little bit of stir crazy sometimes but I can cook whatever I want, and play guitar.
LoftheDesert
During the pandemic we were given a choice whether we wanted to be in the office. They said no more than X amount of people can be there, but it was good for those who needed to get away.
It was also very good for those who didn't want to be there. I miss it so
Gryphonosiris
I miss my friends I had at the office, honestly. During COVID everyone started to go to other companies, one died unrelated to COVID, and well, I just miss them. I also missed the catered lunches we got every Wednesday. And it wasn't Pizza, but things like Gyros, Indian curries, Meat loaf, Chicken picatta, Roast Turkey, ect. with all the sides and fixings. Makes me sad those times are gone.
Mathstronaut
AND PLAY GUITAR!!!
extraordinaryagility
I can check the parking lots now and see when the vehicles of both my upstairs and downstairs neighbor are gone so that I can play for a bit longer out loud instead of headphones. It's the best times of the weekdays.
3rdoption
But whenever you're done with work, you're still at work.
yzark01
Eh I never got that feeling to be honest. Once I shut the laptop off thats work done.
elevengoldfish
Nah, close your laptop and go about your life. There's no difference between leaving your work at an office and leaving it behind a closed laptop lid or turned off monitor. Find new pathways to transition from work to home, if you must. But shutting off work is a skill set. If your company requires you to be on 24/7, make them pay you, and start searching for new work. Don't take the rest of us down with you if you can't shut it off, Nicholarse.
Gcleff
Wasn't that the point of the post? No one misses it
extraordinaryagility
Yeah, and if I need to cook a fishy scented sorta thing then I can do that without causing any disturbance finally.
CrimeSceneShoe
I miss it.
BoobJiggle
I don't know why you got downvoted, if you miss it then you miss it. There's nothing wrong with that, different environments suit the workflow of people differently. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that .. Even if a little odd to the norm. But that just makes it more unique
CrimeSceneShoe
People get awfully defensive on the subject.
BoobJiggle
Yeah, society also tends to shun anything that's different by default, which is something that desperately needs to change.
alt86er
Most importantly: I can work in peace. Not some stupid co-workers coming over once every 30 minutes pulling me from my work, wrecking my concentration a-gain! And not the steady background noise of multiple people in the same office with me (also just trying to do their jobs, but of course not dead-silent).
[deleted]
[deleted]
alt86er
I got something very similar (unless some reason pushes in a lot of people, then it's the same crap all over). But that takes commuting for gaining the same thing I got at home.
extraordinaryagility
Agreed, so much!!! Hell is other people.
89tulkas
I have a co-worker who constantly stops by to show me a meme he thinks is funny. He's always talking about how busy he is, yet is almost never seen doing actual work. And the worst part is the meme is invariably one I've seen before and not even that funny.
alt86er
And while I can understand the incentive, it's still annoying. It's not like a message I can simply chose to ignore for the moment and continue whatever thought I'm currently trying to complete/finish. You have to deal with that person. I noticed that people are far more reluctant to do the same thing via digital communications. I'm not getting half the number of Teams calls usually, compared to what would happen in the office.
CrimeSceneShoe
Most of the people at my office who came back said it as because their kids were driving them crazy. Me, my mom can't figure out that working at home = working.
alt86er
That I can understand just fine. I've seen this with a colleague of mine, that was interrupted frequently by her kids. Not a fun time, I'm sure.
ThrowAwayAcct0000
My mom keeps asking when my husband is going to go back to the office (ever since COVID started)... He goes maybe once a week (if that). She cannot get it through her head that him and his team are all happily working from home.
velicitia
"... but you're at home!"
FeloniousMonk13
My co started w 1 day in office a week, last year. Recently it became 2. Which still isn't bad, but it's exceedingly stupid, nonetheless. I'm more productive at home anyway. But, they have millions in office space they can't let sit empty. Fuck.
NecroNikolai13
I think my mom's company gave up and compromised to two days in the office per week. They tried more, but people refused to come in. Guess there were enough that they didn't want to go through the hassle of replacing everyone
TheHolyFatman
Ours boiled our frogs. They started at 1 "core" day. Then 2. Now...three....and it must be tue-thurs. No exceptions. I don't mind the few days. I want my flexibility back. Fuckers.
mormonbatman
The pizza party cracked me up.
sylkysmooth
I remember this guy I was talking with the other day that was so glad to be back in the office because he had a reason to wear his suit jackets and ties again and one of the things he listed as a big perk of his job was that he got pizza parties. I was just dumbstruck.
agent00six
Who needs raises when there's free pizza!
blackholevoid10011
Hate to say it, but work from home might be good, however some people need a place away from work. Everyone is going in different directions and the best way to be a unit again is to see the face.
chunyukuo
This, this, this. I often have to slip out to the library to stay sane.
RowanUnderwood
We could have worked from home earlier . . . but not much earlier.
bingotown
Yup, I work in IT and it wasn’t all that many years ago we had a small dial-in pool of numbers for modem connections. Covid came at the right time for changing the culture.
CallMeMcGyver
I remember in the mid 80s when personal computers were fairly common and every science magazine and futurist was say working from home was “just round the corner” (hell, technically that goes back to the 50s at least)… took like 35 years and a deadly pandemic to allow that to occur… and companies are still bitching about it…
BoobJiggle
Can we look at this graph a different way?
Like that's pretty damn incredible. It took the better part of a century to get phone service out to everyone in the country, and even then still like 15% in rural areas that didn't for another 20-30..
Where is we got broadband service out to people in just 20 freaking years. Our pace of advancement is ever accelerating. I will say though, personally we had "broadband" 256k starting '96-'97 growing up, iirc. 2x bonded ISDN ftw-selling bootleg CDs in 99
Euchre
This shows "I have broadband" amount, not the speeds actually delivered. In 2010, a lot of people had something like 3-12mbps down - and maybe .5mbps up. That's barely passable for doing remote work. Now people are more likely to have 2-10mbps up at least, so remote work is much more feasible. We live rurally, and my lady has been doing all her work remotely now, and we just barely have the 2mbps to have it be functional. We're supposed to get fiber via the RDOF, which would bring 10mbps up.
demosteness
That graph would be pretty different if companies would have learned before how to exploit us from home
coloredgreyscale
Does say nothing about speed, only "households that have broadband". If working from home was a more common option in 2000, likely more people would have subscribed.
A better graph for your point would have been households that have the *option* to get broadband.
TheN8
Broadband is gaining momentum. I've been working remotely/ hybrid working here in the UK since 2012. First we had 20mbps broadband through til 2015, then it went to 80mbps. Last year we got gigabit fibre (1000mbps), then our ISP dropped the price on the 8Gbps (8000mbps) package, so we got that a month later.
BillHubbard
Dunno, have been working from home mostly since 1994, that's before ADSL even was a thing.
bumpylumps
OOC, what do you do for a living? And what programming language is that in? lol
BillHubbard
ADSL was an early form of continuous internet connection over copper. It was a huge upgrade over dial up.
Back then I worked as a software developer.
YellowSparrow
I worked from home in 1998. Like... When my connection to the Internet started with screeches and pings. When I was willing to pay for a second phone line so a call didn't shut down my connection. Not every job, obviously - but definitely more than zero.
HEARTS0FSPACE
The trend probably also has to do with generally larger file sizes and streaming.
SarcasticComment
it's almost like giving a fuck about employees took a global pandemic the results of which they aren't willing to pay more to take back certain won freedoms
ChicagRealt0r
People had to die in large quantities to get businesses to let their employees work from home. People died getting us the right to unionize. Your employer is not your friend, they'll do anything to squeeze extra money out of their business.
CallMeMcGyver
There were no fucks given or even loaned… it was out of necessity… and still too many resisted or cried it was tyranny.
cousteau
Why isn't there a gigantic spike in 2020?
KrowWithAK
Because people without Internet weren't suddenly getting Internet services. Now days you either don't need the internet or the providers have deemed your area 'not profitable' enough to run lines.
SwiftyGuy
That’s always been the case, stop pretending it wasn’t
KrowWithAK
I never said it wasn't?
SwiftyGuy
You said “Now days” as if previously it wasn’t. ISPs have gauged people all the time when they needed it, especially in rural areas.
TheOldSchoolisBack
Because we are already at 80%. Large correlation between people who don’t have broadband internet at home and those who don’t have jobs that can be done remotely. And using your phone as a hotspot gets the job done well enough for work emails in a lot of areas as well.
InkyBlinkyPinkyAndClyde
Probably the type of person who doesn't get broadband at home, also doesn't have a job that could be done from home. I can't believe it's so low, though. In Canada it's like 93%.
upsidedownyhead
I kind of feel like a lot of jobs that can be done from home could be done by AI. Or be off-shored. Not for me.
InkyBlinkyPinkyAndClyde
The hype over AI taking over jobs is way overblown. It could maybe replace someone doing repetitive tasks, but a computer program can already do that. Any job that needs even an iota of actual thought, can't be done by AI. As for offshoring, that's been going on for decades, even for hands-on jobs. All the manufacturing that's been shipped overseas used to be hands-on jobs. Performing services or doing construction is really all that has to stay. And they're trying to automate services already.
upsidedownyhead
Heavy rail train driving is safe for long enough for me to finish my career mercifully.
TacoPoweredHelicopter
Because 9/10 jobs probably don't need fast internet...
cousteau
But wasting time on the internet while pretending to work by moving the mouse every five minutes does...
zagibu
Because this graph is actually irrelevant to the topic.
Thewayofthebear
so1oeclipse
What happened in 2020?
cousteau
Some guy ate a bat
rainehdaze
... pandemic?
caserocko
I think they're referring to the dip, which is actually more 2018-2019. I don't think it's pandemic related.
caserocko
If you're referring to that dip, it looks pre-2020 to me (2019 or 2018 maybe?). And I'm super curious about it too!
DukePhelan
Glad to see the tens of billions of dollars we gave the telecommunication companies for decades to push broadband to under serviced areas worked out so well. /s
TheNLK
Should have happened earlier. I did however get fiber in the middle of nowhere east texas in a town of less than 1000 though. Went from paying too much for 15mb dsl to too much for 250/250 fiber. Paying too much for internet though is the reality in the boonies.
bla703
I very much prefer working from home, but if I have to go in I'd be grateful for my own cubicle over the open plan hot-desking hell they make us endure.
PastureofMuppets
Disagree ive worked in a cubicle first and open plan several times after that and i will never go back in a fucking cubicle ever again. But wfh is superior to all, if your job is possible to be done remotely
TheAnswerWasAlwaysMoreLube
This was what they considered dystopian office in 1985. They failed to grasp the deviousness of future workplace consultantcy specialists.
Danivuk
I'm in a minority here. Okay, the office itself was pretty average-at-best, but I miss having my team in conversation distance to ask an opinion on an issue or to pass over information. Instead we have to look up availability on Teams, set up a call and try and get all the docs on screenshare. I swear we're probably missing some important issues we'd catch if we were in proximity and gods know how the new guys are supposed to learn the systems in near isolation.
WhatALovelyDay456654
All of those points sound like skill issues as they're all fixable with standard MS office features.
spool32
This is a problem with your tool usage, not with remote office work effectiveness. Your Teams shoul dhhave channels where you can talk, you should have DMs with all your relevant coworkers pinned. Presence is automatic, you shouldn't have to look anything up. Office docs can work collaboratively with no screensharing.
Your office iT sucks ass, is the problem.
FlatPlutoSociety
I've been full-time WFH for a very long time and I love it, but I think I would probably like going in to an office one day a week for just that reason. Teams works very well for us, but there genuinely is value in face-to-face interactions. Also my coworkers and I actually like each other quite a lot, so the rare instances where we're able to meet in person are always welcome.
URNSHOW
The people that wanna work from home are people that are unable to work/exist in a social environment. They can only cope behind a video screen where they can talk tough without repercussions. Blame it on interactive video games, which is probably what they're doing when they're supposed to be working.
TiredBanana
Ok, boomer.
URNSHOW
Lol. I knew I'd get someone upset...
TiredBanana
Ok, boomer
URNSHOW
😝
BigIdeas
I get that I'm in the minority of office workers, but I fear afor what I'd turn into if I worked from home full time. I like having the chance to socialize during the day, and not slowly devolve into my natural cave goblin form. I also feel a lot more stressed about taking time to decompress in the office, where there are so many valid reasons as to why I'd be away from my desk that I can't imagine ever being questioned about it. Whereas I get nervous taking too long a bathroom break at home.
PineappleLoopsBroether
So ya get a little chonky and awkward. Biiig deal.
Vamp13
I respect people wanting to work from home, everyone should have an option. I could not work from home, I'll take the cubicle over working from home any day. There's too many distractions in my house, but that's just me and everyone should have the ability to work from home if they can do it.
FlatPlutoSociety
It's a big adjustment! I've worked from home (while not traveling for work) for almost 15 years now, and it was REALLY hard to focus at first. It probably took me a good year before I nailed down ways to be as productive as I needed to be.
MsAmyMack
I agree. I feel like now that WFH is more commonplace, people seem to shit on people who have to or choose to work in the office. You do you, let me do me, I like the separation, I hated working remote, and no, I don't want to figure out how to make WFH work for me. Let me be an office goblin, damn.
TheEvenPrez
What, you don't like wiping your ass with basically sandpaper?
DrankTooMuchMead
No, that paper just kind of smears it and then falls apart. I would prefer sandpaper.
eromitlab
John Wayne toilet paper: rough, tough, don't take shit off nobody
alt86er
Problem is: It usually is not tough. The translucent looks of it comes with a price...
CallMeMcGyver
Transparent sandpaper to be exact.
ghostbustahrhymes
That's an insult to sandpaper
Church14
Sandpaper would actually get rid of the poop.
SayRamrod
i recommend 80-100 grit for those high protein days
Gryphonosiris
Surprisingly the TP at my previous job was like the Costco stuff (same thing we have at home), wasn't that bad. The old satellite office I was in only had two stalls in the men's room, so that sucked. They moved into a brand new building just before the pandemic, and it was really awesome, had a full Gym down stairs with locker rooms and showers, then the Pandemic hit...
apostlepk
I always call that bullshit Prison Paper
quaggie
And yet, there was someone at my workplace who stole a case.
Gaelwyn
I never stole an entire case, but I have been so broke in the past that I couldn't afford toilet paper, so I took a few roles from the office bathroom.
Gaelwyn
Rolls*
FartsSmellBad
Being here makes you a much better employee than being comfortable at home
MuthahMayhem
I guess we just had a business owner chime in.
xaddak
elevengoldfish
Is this /s? Because if not... Speak for yourself, buck.
Traffic and time-wasting commutes, pretending to be busy, being trapped in an office without freedom to go the bathroom in privacy, socializing, distracting coworkers and management, a second wardrobe just for work.... none of these things inspire greatness. I, and many of my peers, are MUCH better, more productive employees when working from home.
xj4low
Especially when the managers aren't trained to remote manage and have too many tools to micromanage and monitor employees activity from home. Many companies are returning to the office so the managers can look out over all their teams which gives them purpose in the company.
elevengoldfish
Innovative, dynamic managerial styles are the solution here. Growth, professional development. Not dragging people back into a hellscape. I promise you, working from home makes some of us MUCH better employees. Don't think for a second that our "looking busy" isn't manufactured when we feel someone looking over our shoulder. Trust your staff and you won't have to micromanage them. Understand their roles' metrics for a job completed, and trust it. It's not hard to manage folks remotely. At. All.
wabitgirl
I love how the person above you is like "so the managers can have purpose again" when these companies ran just fuckin fine without excessive micromanagement during the pandemic while things were being sorted out and companies were pivoting to remote work. Middle managements is so often just useless bloat that exists to allow for more shifting of blame and less responsibility on the higher ups when shit goes wrong because their company is managed like dogshit.
WhyCantIStopArguingWithInternetTrolls
Right! Seems like those people are not really required if the work is still getting done, but the management team is struggling. Sounds like thats some easy money the company could save there and rather than making the entire team suffer by having to return to the office, they could simply just get rid of some dead weight in management.
elevengoldfish
I suppose I'm technically middle management as an Assistant Director, but I view my primary role as a supervisor to be the support and building of the careers of my direct reports. I know what a completed job looks for them, so I can easily identify any areas that might need attention if they fall behind. But even then, my first questions would be, "Is everything ok?What do you need from me to help?" Not "why aren't you meeting metric?!" My role has other aspects, but as a "boss," I aim to build
xj4low
Most of the middle/lower management I've experienced spends at least 1 day a week in meetings. The rest of the week is running production reports since that's all the managers above then are interested in. If they have anytime left, it is spent in trying to come up with some new process without ever removing the old ones creating a longer processes for those under the numbers gun. After all, they have to try to justify their position by being innovative.
wabitgirl
See, that's good management! You're there to do checks at the end of the tasks to make sure ts are crossed and I's are dotted, and to offer support if they're not, but you give them agency and space to do what they're being paid to do. You should go into management certification and teaching, cause we need so many more managers like you.
dashers
I miss socialising with colleagues. If my office was a 30 minute stroll instead of a 30 minute hellish drive, and it was a cosy/relaxed set of office with common areas, instead of an open plan battery farm for office workers; then I'd totally go in once or twice a month. But instead I put up with sat in my quiet study at home, where the heating is at a temperature I like.
Levistras
I have never lived only 30 minutes drive from work, that sounds like a dream! More like an hour, and where I live now my office is about 90-120 mins drive.
ShortKiltLongWaistcoat
Heating at a temperature that you like violates at least four company policies. We will be discussing this at your next performance review.
sfbiker
The problem is that companies don't *want* everyone to go in a few times a month (or week), since they'd need everyone to do it at the same time for prime networking/socialization thus they'd need enough seats for everyone. Instead they came up with the much worse "hybrid" office where different teams go in at different times so everyone shares the same set of desks, and you can never find the guy you want to talk to on your office day, and you mostly end up in zoom meetings all day.
ourari
Once a week, invite a co-worker over for a half day to work together or side-by-side. Invite a different one each week.
thomn8r
Calm down, Satan
CrazyCatLad
Agree. I'd be okay with optional in-person and can come and go as you want. That said, I live in CT and my company is CA based so that's not possible.
minipancho94
if we lived in an actual market driven economy, this is where someone would create a new smaller form of rentable office where companies can rent/store equipment and provide amenities for the workers. like think library meets a starbucks/food court.
Levistras
These exist all over the place
mikeatike
Had a conversation with a coworker after work the other day. Even tho we go in 3 days a week, including Friday, we don't do anything as coworkers after work. But one coworker who's a bit older than we are was trying to organize some stuff, to bring back the old days or whatever. But our company culture is mostly "get your shit done and go home" now. It was trending this way pre-covid too. I don't mind going out with coworkers, but I don't plan for it.
mikeatike
Also the fact that the in office days are Monday. Wednesday, Friday; completely sucks. I think I'm gonna just start wfh on Friday and see what they do.
vindik8or
Could you punch whoever set that scheddy for me? That's so fucken inhumane.
mikeatike
Oh HR, of course. My boss hates it too, dev was already doing thur-fri wfh. And they specifically said it was because they were afraid people would work less hard on Fridays at home. Which is just god damn insulting.
hufflesnuff
I hate the forced socialization. A lot of these guys don't have families. They'll stay out drinking until last call, schedule permitting. And people don't start arriving at whatever boring bar they pick until like 6pm at the earliest. ---- So if you split by 7, it's all, "Com'on, you just got here a few mins ago! Joey just walked in the door!" ----- 8:30pm is the earliest you can realistically leave and shake the boss' boss' hand. ----- Then 1 hr drive home. Dad missed bedtime again.
kaarbaakimgr
Doesn’t sound forced. Sounds like you’ve watched too many movies and are losing touch with reality. Maybe therapy will help.
hufflesnuff
Ok, Cletus. Let me help you out for next time. First, eat a big bowl of grits and chitlins or whatever makes "y'all" fat & happy. Second, imagine you're at a warm, summer, Trump rally – smell of Winstons, Ford exhaust, & Busch Ice farts wafting in the air. Now that you're in your happy place, imagine, just for a moment, that you're half as clever as you think you are & twice as slow to boot. Then imagine all the things a Yankee might understand with their fast talkin' and book learnin'.
Gaelwyn
They were FORCED to be there because it was expected everyone would show up and then stay for at least a couple of hours to show they're part of the team. It's nonsense. We have jobs because it's required in order to survive, not to make friends. After work socializing just eats into your free time and you're not even getting paid for it.
mikeatike
My case wasn't forced, but it was a cross between people too young to have kids, or old enoguh thsy kids were out of HS.
But I know of the old-boy network style companies. Gotta go out and socialize with the bosses if you ever want a promotion. Worked at a couple of those in my 20s, couldn't gtfo fast enough. Can't maintain that in my 40s lol.