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I think this is an interesting phenomenon that I have also noticed. The article guesses at a few reasons like our houses are big and our commutes are long. I ha

I think this is an interesting phenomenon that I have also noticed. The article guesses at a few reasons like our houses are big and our commutes are long. I have a few of my own ideas: Toxic American office culture. The US workplace is a pretty intense place to be. It's full of hustle culture, toxic positivity, and turns your day into a kind of performance art. Even things like diversity initiatives have gotten quite intense and while I'm a huge diversity advocate, I absolutely feel like I am walking on eggshells in our current cancel culture. We should remember than about 50% of the country does not seem to value such things when they go to the ballot box which means the modern office is an ideological battleground. It's a pretty stark difference to how the office is presented from a few decades ago full of things like goofing off, office romances, lifelong friendships and so on. A highly atomised, individualistic society. People in the US seem a lot more comfortable getting their social needs from their phone. Life is centered on the individual, not on the community. It seems people don't find as much reason to connect with a bunch of worksonas all day every day. Remote keeps these low-value relationships to a minimum.

JohnFen 4y ago
> The US workplace is a pretty intense place to be. I think this is a lot of it. The office has always been a rather unpleasant place to work for a whole lot of people, and things like the open office fad make it borderline intolerable. The only reason people have put up with it over the years is because there was no choice. Now, these people have gotten a taste of what it's like to work in a not-awful environment and they don't want to go back. I had to return to an office setting for a new job, and have been reminded about how awful it is. I'm already planning my exit strategy.
- CM30 4y ago
  > I think this is a lot of it. The office has always been a rather unpleasant place to work for a whole lot of people, and things like the open office fad make it borderline intolerable. Are these aspects less common outside of America there? Over here in the UK, just about every tech related role I've had in the last decade has involved an open office environment, and none of these have been particularly pleasant to work in. Yet somehow the numbers of folks returning are supposedly higher here than in the US? Doesn't seem to make much sense, unless somehow other parts of Europe haven't gone that direction with their office designs or something.
aasarava 4y ago
I agree that many officeplaces are "intense" or downright toxic. But keep in mind that the diversity initiatives you are concerned about are actual attempts to make the workplace less intense and toxic -- for women, people of color, anyone in the LGBTQ+ community, people from minority religions, people with disabilities and anyone else who hasn't typically been welcome in offices. The depictions of goofing off and office romances make for nice sitcoms, but a full picture would also show you the people who were sexually harassed, verbally abused, denied promotions, denied time off to care for loved ones, and more. Are the diversity initiatives sometimes awkward, sometimes uncomfortable, and sometimes possible even ineffective? Sure, it's a difficult process and there's no guidebook. But it's certainly far better than continuing to ignore the real problems because some voters aren't aware of them (and some are downright hostile to change because it affects their economic interests or perceived status.)
- dougmwne 4y ago
  And I am LGBTQ+ so I get it, I really do. It’s still a little intimidating keeping up with an ever changing landscape of shibboleths. And you can never assume people’s pure intentions either. Being part of a minority group does not mean you can’t play politics. I have absolutely watched these things weaponized in HR complaints and people being branded as biased. We don’t have a culture of teaching and forgiveness but of shaming and reprimand.
  - Tagbert 4y ago
    the best way to to navigate that landscape is to be professional, keep sexual innuendo to a minimum, and treat people with respect. that reduces your risk profile to a manageable level. If someone is truly weaponizing HR with false complaints and getting away with it, you should look for a different office. That is not acceptable and not typical and you should be able to find better.

JohnFen 4y ago

> The US workplace is a pretty intense place to be. I think this is a lot of it. The office has always been a rather unpleasant place to work for a whole lot of people, and things like the open office fad make it borderline intolerable. The only reason people have put up with it over the years is because there was no choice. Now, these people have gotten a taste of what it's like to work in a not-awful environment and they don't want to go back. I had to return to an office setting for a new job, and have been reminded about how awful it is. I'm already planning my exit strategy.

CM30 4y ago
> I think this is a lot of it. The office has always been a rather unpleasant place to work for a whole lot of people, and things like the open office fad make it borderline intolerable. Are these aspects less common outside of America there? Over here in the UK, just about every tech related role I've had in the last decade has involved an open office environment, and none of these have been particularly pleasant to work in. Yet somehow the numbers of folks returning are supposedly higher here than in the US? Doesn't seem to make much sense, unless somehow other parts of Europe haven't gone that direction with their office designs or something.

aasarava 4y ago

I agree that many officeplaces are "intense" or downright toxic. But keep in mind that the diversity initiatives you are concerned about are actual attempts to make the workplace less intense and toxic -- for women, people of color, anyone in the LGBTQ+ community, people from minority religions, people with disabilities and anyone else who hasn't typically been welcome in offices. The depictions of goofing off and office romances make for nice sitcoms, but a full picture would also show you the people who were sexually harassed, verbally abused, denied promotions, denied time off to care for loved ones, and more. Are the diversity initiatives sometimes awkward, sometimes uncomfortable, and sometimes possible even ineffective? Sure, it's a difficult process and there's no guidebook. But it's certainly far better than continuing to ignore the real problems because some voters aren't aware of them (and some are downright hostile to change because it affects their economic interests or perceived status.)

dougmwne 4y ago
And I am LGBTQ+ so I get it, I really do. It’s still a little intimidating keeping up with an ever changing landscape of shibboleths. And you can never assume people’s pure intentions either. Being part of a minority group does not mean you can’t play politics. I have absolutely watched these things weaponized in HR complaints and people being branded as biased. We don’t have a culture of teaching and forgiveness but of shaming and reprimand.
- Tagbert 4y ago
  the best way to to navigate that landscape is to be professional, keep sexual innuendo to a minimum, and treat people with respect. that reduces your risk profile to a manageable level. If someone is truly weaponizing HR with false complaints and getting away with it, you should look for a different office. That is not acceptable and not typical and you should be able to find better.