7 ms·

Every day at the same time, with everyone else, jamming the roads and public transportation. It causes so many problems to clog the system that way, and also it

by proc0 5y ago

Every day at the same time, with everyone else, jamming the roads and public transportation. It causes so many problems to clog the system that way, and also it's boring to repeat the same day, every day, every week. I never understood the need for having everyone in at 9am, and leave at 5pm like a flock of birds migrating for food. Office hours could be staggered, since some roles don't need that strict timeframe, and it would alleviate the strain on the system.

zemvpferreira 5y ago
The coordination works wonders for the rest of your life though - when you work shifts/weird hours it makes it difficult to spend time with your loved ones who work regular hours. Jams are the price we pay for social convenience.
- vladvasiliu 5y ago
  I don't think the point is to go to any extremes. Here in Paris, practically every one seems to start at around 9:30, give or take, and leave by 6:30-7. If you move things around a bit, even by an hour, it could help a lot. Bonus points for this not being fixed, so if you need to synchronize with friends working elsewhere, you could come in later or earlier that day. I, for one, started doing this at work "on my own": I'd show up at the office at 8 AM, and leave by 5:30 at the latest. This way I could avoid rush hour, dividing my commute time by 3. This didn't prevent me from seeing friends, etc in the evening.
_fat_santa 5y ago
For me my breaking point was in mid 2019 before the pandemic even started. I was a contractor at an F500 and had to be in the office one morning at like 8:30AM so I could attend an "All Hands" meeting. Sat in traffic for close to an hour just so I could drink shitty coffee while watching the VP's of this company jerk off to each other's accomplishments for 2 hours. I don't know why it hit me that day but I just felt sick of my time not being respected. Like yeah I get it if I have to be in early for a meeting that I have to take part in, but don't ask me to come in early so I can listen to things other divisions in the company did that have no bearing on my job (this place was a conglomerate so the other divisions were in totally different industries than mine). After that day I started to ask my team to work from home more and more. When I got sacked in March 2020 I took a remote job and have no plans to return to an office ever.
- ryandrake 5y ago
  If it was an "all hands" meeting, then I assume we're talking dozens, maybe hundreds of employees attending, with the vast majority of them not contributing/speaking. How do they know you attended? Couldn't you just skip it and come in later? We're all grown-ups and should have a good handle on what is really necessary for getting our job done, and have the good judgment to skip the things that are not necessary. I pretty much skip meetings where I have nothing to contribute and the world has so far not come to an end.
- rpastuszak 5y ago
  > so I could drink shitty coffee while watching the VP's of this company jerk off to each other's accomplishments for 2 hours. I made an all-hands meeting simulator to cope when we moved to Zoom: https://rafsters.itch.io/all-hands https://rafsters.itch.io/all-hands
- HumblyTossed 5y ago
  > Sat in traffic for close to an hour just so I could drink shitty coffee while watching the VP's of this company jerk off to each other's accomplishments for 2 hours. Ah, yes, the pep rallys. Didn't attend them in HS. Didn't attend them in college. Still don't attend them.
sojournerc 5y ago
I'd say the same for weekends as well. On weekends where I live, hiking, skiing, etc. become unbearably busy. I'm lucky to have a flexible work situation so I do those things on weekdays and then work on a weekend day.
deergomoo 5y ago
Agree with this 100%. When I was still working in the office they introduced very basic flexible working. Only an extra hour each way, but I switched to 8-4 instead of 9-5 and it made all the difference. It reduced a ~50 minute commute to ~20, so even though I was starting an hour earlier I only needed to get up about 30 mins earlier. Plus, having that extra time in the evening felt really good. That said, we transitioned to full remote working and I can’t imagine myself going back to be honest.

by proc0 5y ago

zemvpferreira 5y ago

The coordination works wonders for the rest of your life though - when you work shifts/weird hours it makes it difficult to spend time with your loved ones who work regular hours. Jams are the price we pay for social convenience.

vladvasiliu 5y ago
I don't think the point is to go to any extremes. Here in Paris, practically every one seems to start at around 9:30, give or take, and leave by 6:30-7. If you move things around a bit, even by an hour, it could help a lot. Bonus points for this not being fixed, so if you need to synchronize with friends working elsewhere, you could come in later or earlier that day. I, for one, started doing this at work "on my own": I'd show up at the office at 8 AM, and leave by 5:30 at the latest. This way I could avoid rush hour, dividing my commute time by 3. This didn't prevent me from seeing friends, etc in the evening.

_fat_santa 5y ago

For me my breaking point was in mid 2019 before the pandemic even started. I was a contractor at an F500 and had to be in the office one morning at like 8:30AM so I could attend an "All Hands" meeting. Sat in traffic for close to an hour just so I could drink shitty coffee while watching the VP's of this company jerk off to each other's accomplishments for 2 hours. I don't know why it hit me that day but I just felt sick of my time not being respected. Like yeah I get it if I have to be in early for a meeting that I have to take part in, but don't ask me to come in early so I can listen to things other divisions in the company did that have no bearing on my job (this place was a conglomerate so the other divisions were in totally different industries than mine). After that day I started to ask my team to work from home more and more. When I got sacked in March 2020 I took a remote job and have no plans to return to an office ever.

ryandrake 5y ago
If it was an "all hands" meeting, then I assume we're talking dozens, maybe hundreds of employees attending, with the vast majority of them not contributing/speaking. How do they know you attended? Couldn't you just skip it and come in later? We're all grown-ups and should have a good handle on what is really necessary for getting our job done, and have the good judgment to skip the things that are not necessary. I pretty much skip meetings where I have nothing to contribute and the world has so far not come to an end.
rpastuszak 5y ago
> so I could drink shitty coffee while watching the VP's of this company jerk off to each other's accomplishments for 2 hours. I made an all-hands meeting simulator to cope when we moved to Zoom: https://rafsters.itch.io/all-hands https://rafsters.itch.io/all-hands
HumblyTossed 5y ago
> Sat in traffic for close to an hour just so I could drink shitty coffee while watching the VP's of this company jerk off to each other's accomplishments for 2 hours. Ah, yes, the pep rallys. Didn't attend them in HS. Didn't attend them in college. Still don't attend them.

sojournerc 5y ago

I'd say the same for weekends as well. On weekends where I live, hiking, skiing, etc. become unbearably busy. I'm lucky to have a flexible work situation so I do those things on weekdays and then work on a weekend day.

deergomoo 5y ago

Agree with this 100%. When I was still working in the office they introduced very basic flexible working. Only an extra hour each way, but I switched to 8-4 instead of 9-5 and it made all the difference. It reduced a ~50 minute commute to ~20, so even though I was starting an hour earlier I only needed to get up about 30 mins earlier. Plus, having that extra time in the evening felt really good. That said, we transitioned to full remote working and I can’t imagine myself going back to be honest.