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This is mostly how I feel as well. However, I wonder how well the hybrid office thing will work out in practice. Specifically, if you’re in the 63% of people w

This is mostly how I feel as well. However, I wonder how well the hybrid office thing will work out in practice. Specifically, if you’re in the 63% of people who want to “pop into the office sometimes,” and you come in on some random Tuesday.... is anyone else even there? It seems like the probability of seeing the people you want to see by chance (when 83% are either always or usually remote) is very low. So my guess is that for the hybrid thing to still have the social aspect of office work it probably needs to be paired with a policy like “we all come to work on Tuesdays.” But if you do that then the all-remote crowd isn’t getting what they want (they still need to live in travel range if they have to be in the office once a week). So the alternative is to do something more like “we all come to the office for one week every quarter,” and in that case it’s more of a company retreat than normal work. So as I said, I’m curious how things will unfold as life opens back up. My best guess is we’ll end up converging on 2-4 different archetypical models which will become part of a company’s identity and recruiting pitch, and people will self select into the work style they prefer.

drstewart 6y ago
I think many (most) places will return to in-office by default with a permissive WFH system, so you can choose to WFH on any given day with no/minimal notice. Places that are remote first by default - a category which will continue growing - will have minimal to no in-office component.
ipaddr 6y ago
I went through the process before covid. Your personal desks go away replaced with work stations / long tables where anyone can dock. It become more like a school libruary where everyone is working on different things . Then you have these community meetings every few months where everyone comes in for a meeting but there are not enough work stations so everyone just hangs around until people trickle home.
- asdff 6y ago
  Honestly that sounds amazing. Just to be able to run around and get appointments or errands done during the day avoiding traffic and work a little longer at home has been a godsend.
chris11 6y ago
My employer is talking about having a core set of days where everyone is onsite and then a few days where you can wfh. I like that, it avoids losing my desk and wondering if someone is in on a certain day.
- midasuni 6y ago
  You have a desk. That’s rare. Pre covid it was first come first served hotdesking. If you were lucky you got a desk. My work are now looking at getting rid of a load of desks because they are expensive and unproductive. Far better to spend the money on free beer for collaboration days.
boring_twenties 6y ago
> (they still need to live in travel range if they have to be in the office once a week). True, but I think that range expands significantly if one comes in only once a week. Living 2 or more hours away might become reasonable, and even getting a hotel room once a week can easily pay for itself when taking into account housing costs.
mLuby 6y ago
Exactly right. I wish more companies were talking about the "we all work from the same place for a week or two" per quarter. It gives almost all of the flexibility of working remote along with much of the benefit of being in person. Plus as they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder. A few days per week in the office is the worst of both systems. Some remote workers and some office workers isn't a ton better.

drstewart 6y ago

I think many (most) places will return to in-office by default with a permissive WFH system, so you can choose to WFH on any given day with no/minimal notice. Places that are remote first by default - a category which will continue growing - will have minimal to no in-office component.

ipaddr 6y ago

I went through the process before covid. Your personal desks go away replaced with work stations / long tables where anyone can dock. It become more like a school libruary where everyone is working on different things . Then you have these community meetings every few months where everyone comes in for a meeting but there are not enough work stations so everyone just hangs around until people trickle home.

asdff 6y ago
Honestly that sounds amazing. Just to be able to run around and get appointments or errands done during the day avoiding traffic and work a little longer at home has been a godsend.

chris11 6y ago

My employer is talking about having a core set of days where everyone is onsite and then a few days where you can wfh. I like that, it avoids losing my desk and wondering if someone is in on a certain day.

midasuni 6y ago
You have a desk. That’s rare. Pre covid it was first come first served hotdesking. If you were lucky you got a desk. My work are now looking at getting rid of a load of desks because they are expensive and unproductive. Far better to spend the money on free beer for collaboration days.

boring_twenties 6y ago

> (they still need to live in travel range if they have to be in the office once a week). True, but I think that range expands significantly if one comes in only once a week. Living 2 or more hours away might become reasonable, and even getting a hotel room once a week can easily pay for itself when taking into account housing costs.

mLuby 6y ago

Exactly right. I wish more companies were talking about the "we all work from the same place for a week or two" per quarter. It gives almost all of the flexibility of working remote along with much of the benefit of being in person. Plus as they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder. A few days per week in the office is the worst of both systems. Some remote workers and some office workers isn't a ton better.