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Almost no one? Based on what? Most people where I work are not going in to the office every day, but it cannot be inferred that it is because they don’t want t

Almost no one? Based on what? Most people where I work are not going in to the office every day, but it cannot be inferred that it is because they don’t want to. The thought of permanent WFH, with your job occupying a corner of your 600 sq ft apartment in perpetuity, is demoralising. Just having the option of a change of scenery, even if one doesn’t make use of it every day or even once in a given week, makes a huge difference. In my opinion the pushing of permanent WFH by a certain privileged set is an obnoxious display of housing privilege. Of course that group has a big house in the countryside among the birds and the trees, where they don’t have to deal with neighbours, traffic noise, or other distractions. But that doesn’t entitle them to make those decisions or project their opinions onto the rest of us.

sosborn 5y ago
> Just having the option of a change of scenery, even if one doesn’t make use of it every day or even once in a given week, makes a huge difference. This, to me, is the crux of the matter. I can accept that there are days when I'm needed in the office, but for the vast majority of days when I'm not, having the ability to decide has incredible benefits for me, and the company doesn't miss out on anything.
VLM 5y ago
My house is vastly nicer than any workplace I've ever visited. Admittedly I was never a servant at a castle or museum or something cool like that. There is some confusion between covid lockdown vs WFH. I live in a recreational state with great phone coverage and wifi everywhere, I must spend at least half my time at some comfy park or a table outdoors at a coffee shop or something similar. Certainly I spend a lot of working hours in my nice back yard. The impression I've gotten is people are not getting locked down and chained to a desk for WFH, just get the work done, doesn't matter if I'm reading engineering datasheets at the local bar (before drinking...) or the tables at the local park, etc.
- throwaheyy 5y ago
  Thank you for proving my point.
pkorzeniewski 5y ago
Based on common sense - how many people want to waste 1 or 2 hours each day on commute when they could spend it better in so many ways? Or maybe I'm out of touch and people don't value their free time as much as I thought..
- zwkrt 5y ago
  Again, this is the thought of people with nice detached houses in the suburbs. Commuting doesn't have to be the horrible pain some people make it out to be. When working for Amazon, I always lived within a 30 minute walk of the office. The walk through Seattle was always beautiful and I looked forward to it each day. I would get a coffee at the same cafe and had relationships with people there. Some days I would leave early and sit in the park for a while. On the way back home I would stop and get dinner or grocieries, often with friends. WFH reality means that the most pleasant part of my day is destroyed. It takes all the joy of living in the city away.
  - eganist 5y ago
    > WFH reality means that the most pleasant part of my day is destroyed. It takes all the joy of living in the city away. Then don't wfh if your company gives you the option to do one or the other. Companies that today mandate one mode or the other (or some odd combination) are losing the potential value the ill-affected team can bring to the table. WFH for those who'd like to, WFO for those who don't. People working from the office saying "well I can't be as effective if so few people are coming into the office" are basically saying that their productivity needs outweigh the productivity needs of others.
  - ajkdhcb2 5y ago
    I don't understand why you can't go for a walk while WFH. You're still the same distance from the cafe. If anything, with less constraint on your route, it leaves you more time to walk to more varied and nicer places
  - caskstrength 5y ago
    You are saying that you always live near your office, so who is stopping you from going to the same park or cafe while WFH?
rndgermandude 5y ago
>Of course that group has a big house in the countryside among the birds and the trees, where they don’t have to deal with neighbours, traffic noise, or other distractions. But that doesn’t entitle them to make those decisions or project their opinions onto the rest of us. To flip your argument, why does your decision to live in a crowded, noisy, high rent (= small living space) city entitle you to make those decisions or project your opinions onto the rest of us?

sosborn 5y ago

> Just having the option of a change of scenery, even if one doesn’t make use of it every day or even once in a given week, makes a huge difference. This, to me, is the crux of the matter. I can accept that there are days when I'm needed in the office, but for the vast majority of days when I'm not, having the ability to decide has incredible benefits for me, and the company doesn't miss out on anything.

VLM 5y ago

My house is vastly nicer than any workplace I've ever visited. Admittedly I was never a servant at a castle or museum or something cool like that. There is some confusion between covid lockdown vs WFH. I live in a recreational state with great phone coverage and wifi everywhere, I must spend at least half my time at some comfy park or a table outdoors at a coffee shop or something similar. Certainly I spend a lot of working hours in my nice back yard. The impression I've gotten is people are not getting locked down and chained to a desk for WFH, just get the work done, doesn't matter if I'm reading engineering datasheets at the local bar (before drinking...) or the tables at the local park, etc.

throwaheyy 5y ago
Thank you for proving my point.

pkorzeniewski 5y ago

Based on common sense - how many people want to waste 1 or 2 hours each day on commute when they could spend it better in so many ways? Or maybe I'm out of touch and people don't value their free time as much as I thought..

zwkrt 5y ago
Again, this is the thought of people with nice detached houses in the suburbs. Commuting doesn't have to be the horrible pain some people make it out to be. When working for Amazon, I always lived within a 30 minute walk of the office. The walk through Seattle was always beautiful and I looked forward to it each day. I would get a coffee at the same cafe and had relationships with people there. Some days I would leave early and sit in the park for a while. On the way back home I would stop and get dinner or grocieries, often with friends. WFH reality means that the most pleasant part of my day is destroyed. It takes all the joy of living in the city away.
- eganist 5y ago
  > WFH reality means that the most pleasant part of my day is destroyed. It takes all the joy of living in the city away. Then don't wfh if your company gives you the option to do one or the other. Companies that today mandate one mode or the other (or some odd combination) are losing the potential value the ill-affected team can bring to the table. WFH for those who'd like to, WFO for those who don't. People working from the office saying "well I can't be as effective if so few people are coming into the office" are basically saying that their productivity needs outweigh the productivity needs of others.
- ajkdhcb2 5y ago
  I don't understand why you can't go for a walk while WFH. You're still the same distance from the cafe. If anything, with less constraint on your route, it leaves you more time to walk to more varied and nicer places
- caskstrength 5y ago
  You are saying that you always live near your office, so who is stopping you from going to the same park or cafe while WFH?

rndgermandude 5y ago

>Of course that group has a big house in the countryside among the birds and the trees, where they don’t have to deal with neighbours, traffic noise, or other distractions. But that doesn’t entitle them to make those decisions or project their opinions onto the rest of us. To flip your argument, why does your decision to live in a crowded, noisy, high rent (= small living space) city entitle you to make those decisions or project your opinions onto the rest of us?