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Have any of the pro-RTO folks on HN experienced this phenomenon? There's definitely a contingent here who do not prefer remote work, curious to read what they t

Have any of the pro-RTO folks on HN experienced this phenomenon? There's definitely a contingent here who do not prefer remote work, curious to read what they think of going back into the office only to have to continue to call in order to collaborate with coworkers.

gernb 5y ago
I'm not sure it will matter at FAANG. For > 15yrs meetings always had video conferencing for other offices or team members at home etc... So it's not that much different except at home I can turn off my camera if I'm disheveled. I suppose it's also easier to blow off the meeting at home.
jakeva 5y ago
I prefer working from the office, even if it’s empty. 99% of my interactions continue to be remote but I like to have somewhere that isn’t my home office to do work. I don’t like being _that_ much of a hermit.
bob_roberts 5y ago
I prefer going to the office at least a few days a week, because (a) I like to socialize with other humans, and (b) I want to get out of my "home office", aka corner of the living room. I work with a distributed team, so I definitely don't go in to collaborate. In fact, on days with a lot of meetings, I'm more likely to work from home.
- seibelj 5y ago
  The needless socialization at the office killed my productivity. I don’t need to be interrupted and I don’t need an hour lunch. I socialize off-hours with real friends and family. Work is for (more effective) working
bicx 5y ago
I’ve been going into the office 3 days per week, and often times, it’s just me and the office manager in the office out of our ~200-employee company. We’ve been hiring remote-first for a while, so that maybe the way it is until our lease ends. Like the other commenter, I just like having a place to get work done that isn’t my home. The plus side of an empty office is that I can take Zoom calls at my desk. It does get rather irritating to have to find an empty call room or conference room when others show up.
xivzgrev 5y ago
There’s something good about seeing people in person. Even if a 4 person mtg, 2 are on zoom but me and another are in the same room. It’s nice to be in the room with the other person, and talking. I would prefer NOT to go into office, but I don’t think it’s totally pointless. Beyond what I mentioned above, it’s great for 1:1’s. Go for a walk with someone, or have a coffee. My ideal would be to go in when I want, which would probably net out to 1-2x per month.
- eganist 5y ago
  What's the "something?"
nwallin 5y ago
Even before COVID all my collaboration with teammates was done online. (We use Teams now) I'm at the main site for my company; my boss and all my close collaborators are at a satellite location that's not within driving distance; my boss's boss is down the hall from me. For me, the act of leaving the office at the end of the day is an effective "off switch" that I don't have while my work station and my gaming station is the same chair in the same room. And the office is an effective procrastination temptation blocker that I don't have when I'm at home and surrounded by all my toys, dirty dishes in the sink, and dirty cloths in the hamper. WFH is the worst case scenario of "taking work home with you", which really isn't the way I want to live my life. It never had anything to do with collaboration.
- codebje 5y ago
  I have a laptop exclusively for work and one exclusively not for work, and at the end of the day the work one gets closed and put away until the next working day. Junk like HN serves well enough for endless procrastination in or out of the office. Having my toys near me has been no worse - if anything my personal projects have suffered because they largely got attention during the commute.
- spideymans 5y ago
  A WeWork-type setup, where coworkers could come in and collaborate on certain days, sounds perfect for your situation.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
renewiltord 5y ago
We’ve been in-office since early August 2021. It’s been great. Since we have two offices, we dial in every day for our daily meeting. The rest of the time we talk in person and sync up after. We’ve found it quite enjoyable so all of us come in every day. We’re in HFT so if an action would leave money on the table, we’d prefer the alternative that grabs the cash. In this case, we started this office because part of the team was remote in SF and expressed an interest in being in one. It costs a lot per year so we didn’t make the decision lightly.

gernb 5y ago

I'm not sure it will matter at FAANG. For > 15yrs meetings always had video conferencing for other offices or team members at home etc... So it's not that much different except at home I can turn off my camera if I'm disheveled. I suppose it's also easier to blow off the meeting at home.

jakeva 5y ago

I prefer working from the office, even if it’s empty. 99% of my interactions continue to be remote but I like to have somewhere that isn’t my home office to do work. I don’t like being _that_ much of a hermit.

bob_roberts 5y ago

I prefer going to the office at least a few days a week, because (a) I like to socialize with other humans, and (b) I want to get out of my "home office", aka corner of the living room. I work with a distributed team, so I definitely don't go in to collaborate. In fact, on days with a lot of meetings, I'm more likely to work from home.

seibelj 5y ago
The needless socialization at the office killed my productivity. I don’t need to be interrupted and I don’t need an hour lunch. I socialize off-hours with real friends and family. Work is for (more effective) working

bicx 5y ago

I’ve been going into the office 3 days per week, and often times, it’s just me and the office manager in the office out of our ~200-employee company. We’ve been hiring remote-first for a while, so that maybe the way it is until our lease ends. Like the other commenter, I just like having a place to get work done that isn’t my home. The plus side of an empty office is that I can take Zoom calls at my desk. It does get rather irritating to have to find an empty call room or conference room when others show up.

xivzgrev 5y ago

There’s something good about seeing people in person. Even if a 4 person mtg, 2 are on zoom but me and another are in the same room. It’s nice to be in the room with the other person, and talking. I would prefer NOT to go into office, but I don’t think it’s totally pointless. Beyond what I mentioned above, it’s great for 1:1’s. Go for a walk with someone, or have a coffee. My ideal would be to go in when I want, which would probably net out to 1-2x per month.

eganist 5y ago
What's the "something?"

nwallin 5y ago

Even before COVID all my collaboration with teammates was done online. (We use Teams now) I'm at the main site for my company; my boss and all my close collaborators are at a satellite location that's not within driving distance; my boss's boss is down the hall from me. For me, the act of leaving the office at the end of the day is an effective "off switch" that I don't have while my work station and my gaming station is the same chair in the same room. And the office is an effective procrastination temptation blocker that I don't have when I'm at home and surrounded by all my toys, dirty dishes in the sink, and dirty cloths in the hamper. WFH is the worst case scenario of "taking work home with you", which really isn't the way I want to live my life. It never had anything to do with collaboration.

codebje 5y ago
I have a laptop exclusively for work and one exclusively not for work, and at the end of the day the work one gets closed and put away until the next working day. Junk like HN serves well enough for endless procrastination in or out of the office. Having my toys near me has been no worse - if anything my personal projects have suffered because they largely got attention during the commute.
spideymans 5y ago
A WeWork-type setup, where coworkers could come in and collaborate on certain days, sounds perfect for your situation.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

renewiltord 5y ago

We’ve been in-office since early August 2021. It’s been great. Since we have two offices, we dial in every day for our daily meeting. The rest of the time we talk in person and sync up after. We’ve found it quite enjoyable so all of us come in every day. We’re in HFT so if an action would leave money on the table, we’d prefer the alternative that grabs the cash. In this case, we started this office because part of the team was remote in SF and expressed an interest in being in one. It costs a lot per year so we didn’t make the decision lightly.