4 ms·

> fixed cost of downtown office space There you said it. With the office being a fixed expense, budget is formed around it, since you “just need it”. While the

by ilammy 4y ago

> fixed cost of downtown office space There you said it. With the office being a fixed expense, budget is formed around it, since you “just need it”. While the trips and conferences are always discretionary expenses, and as such will not be made if they could be not made.

thinkharderdev 4y ago
But I think the whole point is that we don't just need it. The trend towards remote (or at least remote-friendly) work which was dramatically accelerated by the pandemic means that office space should be viewed as a discretionary expense. If you already are locked into a long-term lease and that money is already a sunk cost, then that's one thing. But if you are starting a new company or at a point where you need to renew an office lease, you have to ask yourself whether there really is an ROI on office rent. It's a lot of money after all and you can still get a lot of the benefits of in person team bonding at a fraction of the cost through regular offsites and team building events. I'll just throw in that "fully remote but with regular company off sites" is actually a really attractive proposition to an employee. Instead of commuting every day to some dreary office I get to work from my very comfortable home and still meet my coworkers at some nice destination a few times a year. I actually feel like I have a better bond with remote coworkers in that situation because when we meet in person it is in a "vacation" atmosphere and being time limited means we really focus on hanging out together and doing group activities.
kortilla 4y ago
It’s not fixed. I’ve been through several office moves to save costs on leases even at successful companies.
- Brian_K_White 4y ago
  The fixed budget item is "office", not any particular office.
  - thinkharderdev 4y ago
    I meant "fixed" just in the sense that there is a set amount you are contractually obligated to pay regularly, as opposed to discretionary costs of something like team offsite. If everyone is on vacation for the month of July then you can't just decide to not pay office rent for the month, whereas you could decide not to have your July team offsite. But calling it "fixed" in the sense that you just have to pay it is begging the question. The whole point is that you don't need an office in all situations. Or at least you don't need a dedicated desk for every employee. So you shouldn't look at office rent as a cost of doing business thing. You have to really look at whether the ROI is there. Maybe it is, maybe it's not based on your particular circumstances but it IS a choice.

by ilammy 4y ago

thinkharderdev 4y ago

But I think the whole point is that we don't just need it. The trend towards remote (or at least remote-friendly) work which was dramatically accelerated by the pandemic means that office space should be viewed as a discretionary expense. If you already are locked into a long-term lease and that money is already a sunk cost, then that's one thing. But if you are starting a new company or at a point where you need to renew an office lease, you have to ask yourself whether there really is an ROI on office rent. It's a lot of money after all and you can still get a lot of the benefits of in person team bonding at a fraction of the cost through regular offsites and team building events. I'll just throw in that "fully remote but with regular company off sites" is actually a really attractive proposition to an employee. Instead of commuting every day to some dreary office I get to work from my very comfortable home and still meet my coworkers at some nice destination a few times a year. I actually feel like I have a better bond with remote coworkers in that situation because when we meet in person it is in a "vacation" atmosphere and being time limited means we really focus on hanging out together and doing group activities.

kortilla 4y ago

It’s not fixed. I’ve been through several office moves to save costs on leases even at successful companies.

Brian_K_White 4y ago
The fixed budget item is "office", not any particular office.
- thinkharderdev 4y ago
  I meant "fixed" just in the sense that there is a set amount you are contractually obligated to pay regularly, as opposed to discretionary costs of something like team offsite. If everyone is on vacation for the month of July then you can't just decide to not pay office rent for the month, whereas you could decide not to have your July team offsite. But calling it "fixed" in the sense that you just have to pay it is begging the question. The whole point is that you don't need an office in all situations. Or at least you don't need a dedicated desk for every employee. So you shouldn't look at office rent as a cost of doing business thing. You have to really look at whether the ROI is there. Maybe it is, maybe it's not based on your particular circumstances but it IS a choice.