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One of the things that's been missed is that remote working has been a big part of counteracting the massive inflation that's been caused by covid. Making peopl

One of the things that's been missed is that remote working has been a big part of counteracting the massive inflation that's been caused by covid. Making people go into the office is a effectively a pay cut with all the price increases. Start forcing people in and salary expectations will rise accordingly.. .

01100011 5y ago
Somewhat related: I wonder how many companies are seeing profit increase because of reduced costs associated with on-site workers? I wonder if the increase in costs as folks return to the office is being factored in their stock prices?
- cle 5y ago
  Conversely in Amazon's case, they finished building multiple huge buildings in downtown Seattle right before COVID-19, which have been mostly empty since March 2020.
  - kimbernator 5y ago
    As much as it may frustrate them not to use the buildings, it is still strictly costing them less given the lower maintenance and utility costs.
    - superflit2 5y ago
      They can rent it free to BLM and other social causes? It is better than giving money to "something" they would be providing real stuff and places.
    - jdavis703 5y ago
      Those maintenance and utility costs are then passed on to the employee and reduce the take home pay, which is frustrating to workers. There’s also more uncompensated time spent on duties a janitor, office manager or IT person would perform, like unloading the dishwasher, preparing coffee or being on the phone with an ISP during an internet outage.
      - lotsofpulp 5y ago
        Might want to consider moving if your internet connection is bad enough to result in material time being spent getting it fixed. And maybe drink less coffee if there is material time being spent on making it and rinsing the cup and putting it in the dishwasher.
  - seanmcdirmid 5y ago
    Some of those buildings were built for them and they would just be leasing them. They already backed out of their Ranier Square lease (the new skyscraper in Seattle that looks like a bunch of steps).
josiahsiegel 5y ago
Productivity has also appeared to increase with remote work (at least at my job), yet I keep seeing articles from high-profile CEOs on how remote work is bad for business. I'm not quite sure where all the resistance to remote work is coming from.
- ripper1138 5y ago
  Curious, what makes you think productivity has increased at your job? Like how are you measuring that?
  - kimbernator 5y ago
    I've worked at two fairly large companies during the pandemic, and both have publicly stated that their productivity has increased as a result of WFH. I've heard a variety of measures being mentioned such as profitability, hours worked per week, and responsiveness of employees when they are needed outside of normal working hours for production issues - they found people to be much easier to reach when their home office is their office. It is clear, however that this data was gathered and released by a different part of the company than the ones that make the call on whether or not people will be required to come back in. Ultimately it's as we would expect: executive leadership deciding to pull people back in has little to do with data and more to do with feelings. Despite publishing that data and overwhelming support for full-time WFH, both have begun the process of pulling people back in.
    - ClumsyPilot 5y ago
      "Ultimately it's as we would expect: executive leadership deciding to pull people back in has little to do with data and more to do with feelings." One of the few things the far left has been right about all along: it is not a meritocracy, it is all about perception and feelings.
      - rlewkov 5y ago
        From what I see and hear the work-in-the-office rule is, for the most part, cause I (mgt) say so
ghaff 5y ago
The cost situation varies a lot. For some who already have an office in a house some commute from a company office, WFH financially saves a lot of commute costs which can be substantial. For someone who lives in a city, want to live there, and no longer have the option to work in a company office (which is admittedly mostly not a common situation if they haven't changed jobs), their costs have probably just risen substantially.

01100011 5y ago

Somewhat related: I wonder how many companies are seeing profit increase because of reduced costs associated with on-site workers? I wonder if the increase in costs as folks return to the office is being factored in their stock prices?

cle 5y ago
Conversely in Amazon's case, they finished building multiple huge buildings in downtown Seattle right before COVID-19, which have been mostly empty since March 2020.
- kimbernator 5y ago
  As much as it may frustrate them not to use the buildings, it is still strictly costing them less given the lower maintenance and utility costs.
  - superflit2 5y ago
    They can rent it free to BLM and other social causes? It is better than giving money to "something" they would be providing real stuff and places.
  - jdavis703 5y ago
    Those maintenance and utility costs are then passed on to the employee and reduce the take home pay, which is frustrating to workers. There’s also more uncompensated time spent on duties a janitor, office manager or IT person would perform, like unloading the dishwasher, preparing coffee or being on the phone with an ISP during an internet outage.
    - lotsofpulp 5y ago
      Might want to consider moving if your internet connection is bad enough to result in material time being spent getting it fixed. And maybe drink less coffee if there is material time being spent on making it and rinsing the cup and putting it in the dishwasher.
- seanmcdirmid 5y ago
  Some of those buildings were built for them and they would just be leasing them. They already backed out of their Ranier Square lease (the new skyscraper in Seattle that looks like a bunch of steps).

josiahsiegel 5y ago

Productivity has also appeared to increase with remote work (at least at my job), yet I keep seeing articles from high-profile CEOs on how remote work is bad for business. I'm not quite sure where all the resistance to remote work is coming from.

ripper1138 5y ago
Curious, what makes you think productivity has increased at your job? Like how are you measuring that?
- kimbernator 5y ago
  I've worked at two fairly large companies during the pandemic, and both have publicly stated that their productivity has increased as a result of WFH. I've heard a variety of measures being mentioned such as profitability, hours worked per week, and responsiveness of employees when they are needed outside of normal working hours for production issues - they found people to be much easier to reach when their home office is their office. It is clear, however that this data was gathered and released by a different part of the company than the ones that make the call on whether or not people will be required to come back in. Ultimately it's as we would expect: executive leadership deciding to pull people back in has little to do with data and more to do with feelings. Despite publishing that data and overwhelming support for full-time WFH, both have begun the process of pulling people back in.
  - ClumsyPilot 5y ago
    "Ultimately it's as we would expect: executive leadership deciding to pull people back in has little to do with data and more to do with feelings." One of the few things the far left has been right about all along: it is not a meritocracy, it is all about perception and feelings.
    - rlewkov 5y ago
      From what I see and hear the work-in-the-office rule is, for the most part, cause I (mgt) say so

ghaff 5y ago

The cost situation varies a lot. For some who already have an office in a house some commute from a company office, WFH financially saves a lot of commute costs which can be substantial. For someone who lives in a city, want to live there, and no longer have the option to work in a company office (which is admittedly mostly not a common situation if they haven't changed jobs), their costs have probably just risen substantially.