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I have been pretty convinced it is tied to commercial real estate. I'm sure shareholders are not happy knowing that some companies are sitting on tons of unused

I have been pretty convinced it is tied to commercial real estate. I'm sure shareholders are not happy knowing that some companies are sitting on tons of unused office space. But recently, I've thought it also has much to do with middle management. I joined their ranks as an engineering lead this past year, and if there is one thing I have noticed, older managers are way too set in their ways. Not to play the generation card, but as someone born into Gen X at the last minute, I see a vast difference in attitude between Boomer bosses and younger generations. Boomers are obsessed with "ass-in-seat" time. Even more of them have created their whole social life around work and work relationships, so no office time means no social life. These same Boomer bosses think it is ok to make younger, new employees suffer for their bad project planning. I've sat in way too many meetings where I have heard "Well, back in my day, developers would stay awake for days and work non-stop during crunch time... because that is just what you did..." Good luck getting anyone younger than Gen X to agree to that, especially in a situation they didn't create (and I'm completely on their side).

VincentEvans 4y ago
Capitalism has an answer for that: Getting people to put in the extra effort is a matter of incentives. It’s possible to get people to channel incredible efforts towards your goals, and it isn’t done by bitching how “nobody wants to work”. Name the right price and you’ll have no shortage of willing participants. I haven’t read the book, so I assume this nugget of info is hidden somewhere in the least-read section, considering how little this seemingly obvious solution gets talked about.
- cwdegidio 4y ago
  I absolutely agree. Sadly, though, I see way too many companies making it harder and harder to negotiate. When I was brought in full time, I tried to counter and was told "This is the offer, take it or leave it." They even went as far as trying to convince me, someone with over a decade at that point, as an engineer that their offer was competitive with the location (I only accepted because I had been out of work for a while and had returned to school). I've been appalled at some of the offers my company has made new hires, then higher ups get frustrated with us because the candidates take other offers. I learned later we had a "pay committee" that establishes all pay rates for the company based on black-box metrics. We can't offer incentives or anything, no way to reward folks. But yeah, instead of adjusting the pay scale, or giving us the ability to do spot bonuses for the team pushing hard, I just get to hear how "young people just don't understand what hard work is and just want to coast on easy mode their whole life." Beyond frustrating.

VincentEvans 4y ago

Capitalism has an answer for that: Getting people to put in the extra effort is a matter of incentives. It’s possible to get people to channel incredible efforts towards your goals, and it isn’t done by bitching how “nobody wants to work”. Name the right price and you’ll have no shortage of willing participants. I haven’t read the book, so I assume this nugget of info is hidden somewhere in the least-read section, considering how little this seemingly obvious solution gets talked about.

cwdegidio 4y ago
I absolutely agree. Sadly, though, I see way too many companies making it harder and harder to negotiate. When I was brought in full time, I tried to counter and was told "This is the offer, take it or leave it." They even went as far as trying to convince me, someone with over a decade at that point, as an engineer that their offer was competitive with the location (I only accepted because I had been out of work for a while and had returned to school). I've been appalled at some of the offers my company has made new hires, then higher ups get frustrated with us because the candidates take other offers. I learned later we had a "pay committee" that establishes all pay rates for the company based on black-box metrics. We can't offer incentives or anything, no way to reward folks. But yeah, instead of adjusting the pay scale, or giving us the ability to do spot bonuses for the team pushing hard, I just get to hear how "young people just don't understand what hard work is and just want to coast on easy mode their whole life." Beyond frustrating.