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> "After the epidemic is over, many people will still be working from home." Rather improbable. The consensus at my employer is that working from home has bee

> "After the epidemic is over, many people will still be working from home." Rather improbable. The consensus at my employer is that working from home has been, at best, a mixed blessing. Personally, I can't wait to go back to the office despite the fact that I detest open-plan offices.

wpietri 7y ago
Could be. Although I think it'll depend a lot on how long this lasts. I could see some places not reopening their offices until a vaccine, at which point people may have gotten pretty comfortable with not commuting. It also depends on how hiring happens. Right now I'm involved with a startup that intended to be fully collocated. But since right now the people we hire are regardless working remote, it's very tempting to hire people wherever they are. Even if most companies end up nominally back in offices, I think this is going to break the inertia that supports a lot of the "you must always work in the office" rules. So I think we'll see a lot more flexibility in scheduling.
karatestomp 7y ago
It would be a hell of a lot better if coffee shops and co-working spaces were open, and schools weren’t closed.
- eropple 7y ago
  (edit: misunderstanding, see below)
  - tqi 7y ago
    I think the person you're replying to meant that under normal circumstances (where you can go to these places), WFH would not be as bad.
    - karatestomp 7y ago
      That was my intention, yeah. I don’t want people to die for my convenience, I just mean these circumstances are significantly worse for most people than WFH would ordinarily be.
      - eropple 7y ago
        I'm glad that's what you meant, and I apologize for reading it otherwise. There's an ugly strain of "it's just a flu" around here and "better" is ambiguous. :)
        karatestomp 7y ago
        No offense taken! Misunderstanding or failing to communicate clearly in places like this happens all the time normally, let alone when everyone’s a bit on edge. Good luck and stay healthy.
- tqi 7y ago
  It would be better, but it would be that much better for me at least. I miss sitting next to my team and interacting spontaneously. Zoom and Slack are fine, but it just isn't the same. YMMV, but my sense from talking to people is most people prefer being colocated in an office.
  - devdas 7y ago
    And for introverts, the reverse. Your sampling migt be biased (anecdotally, in my team of 8 people, 2 want to be in the office, and 6 would rather keep working from home).

wpietri 7y ago

Could be. Although I think it'll depend a lot on how long this lasts. I could see some places not reopening their offices until a vaccine, at which point people may have gotten pretty comfortable with not commuting. It also depends on how hiring happens. Right now I'm involved with a startup that intended to be fully collocated. But since right now the people we hire are regardless working remote, it's very tempting to hire people wherever they are. Even if most companies end up nominally back in offices, I think this is going to break the inertia that supports a lot of the "you must always work in the office" rules. So I think we'll see a lot more flexibility in scheduling.

karatestomp 7y ago

It would be a hell of a lot better if coffee shops and co-working spaces were open, and schools weren’t closed.

eropple 7y ago
(edit: misunderstanding, see below)
- tqi 7y ago
  I think the person you're replying to meant that under normal circumstances (where you can go to these places), WFH would not be as bad.
  - karatestomp 7y ago
    That was my intention, yeah. I don’t want people to die for my convenience, I just mean these circumstances are significantly worse for most people than WFH would ordinarily be.
    - eropple 7y ago
      I'm glad that's what you meant, and I apologize for reading it otherwise. There's an ugly strain of "it's just a flu" around here and "better" is ambiguous. :)
      - karatestomp 7y ago
        No offense taken! Misunderstanding or failing to communicate clearly in places like this happens all the time normally, let alone when everyone’s a bit on edge. Good luck and stay healthy.
tqi 7y ago
It would be better, but it would be that much better for me at least. I miss sitting next to my team and interacting spontaneously. Zoom and Slack are fine, but it just isn't the same. YMMV, but my sense from talking to people is most people prefer being colocated in an office.
- devdas 7y ago
  And for introverts, the reverse. Your sampling migt be biased (anecdotally, in my team of 8 people, 2 want to be in the office, and 6 would rather keep working from home).