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Just like with everything else nothing is universal. My team and I are again dipping our toes to office and our office day is by far most productive day of the

Just like with everything else nothing is universal. My team and I are again dipping our toes to office and our office day is by far most productive day of the week for us. Only problem is that we transitioned to "open smart office" over the pandemic, so we no longer have personal desks. However that too should be resolved by Q4 as renovations come to and end and hopefully we can carve out our own space again.

rob74 4y ago
That's all good, as long as you are free to choose the way of working that is best for you and your team. What I am talking about is companies mandating e.g. 3 office days per week for everyone, even if for some it makes no sense at all (neither business-wise nor personally).
- nextlevelwizard 4y ago
  I personally do not see an issue with 3 office day mandate. Your job probably isn't so solitary that you don't need other people at all and at the office you get a lot of micro interactions that you wouldn't get otherwise. Just think when was the last time you randomly ran into a guy from the next department while getting coffee and you were just chit-chatting and one of you brought up a topic that helped the other? Yes, that doesn't happen daily to every one, but it happens quite often when you have 100+ people under same roof. You still have 2 days a week you can spend at home. EDIT: As a bit tangential question: would you be willing to take a pay cut to keep 100% remote? If not would you be fine with people receiving a "office worker bonus" based on days worked at the office?
  - humanrebar 4y ago
    I want to be paid for the value I provide, not the GPS coordinates of my desk chair. I think it's far from clear that remote workers are always, or even generally, providing less value than in physically present ones. I know I had a lot more time to document and do other kinds of written collaboration, especially across the organization, when I was working more days per week remotely.
    - nextlevelwizard 4y ago
      > I want to be paid for the value I provide, not the GPS coordinates of my desk chair. As per my previous comment people at the office do provide more value.
  - dickersnoodle 4y ago
    [flagged]
horns4lyfe 4y ago
I think the point is that parents spending more time with their children might be more important than squeezing every last ounce of productivity out of people.
- nextlevelwizard 4y ago
  Depends who you ask and who is involved. I don't care one bit how much time you spend with your kids. However I do think it is a bit odd if you want to spend work time with your kids and expect your employer to be fine with that. Yes, yes, I know your point is that you can spend the commuting time with your kids, but realistically how strict are you about your WFH office? Do you even have a dedicated office where you can go and your kids and wife won't bother you? For most my coworkers that is not a thing. They are working on the kitchen table or in their bedroom while the family goes about their lives around them. Constantly distracting them, constantly bothering them, and more annoyingly distracting and bother other people who are on the zoom call. As I've said time and time again; life is about sacrifices. You can choose what sacrifices you are going to make, but you have to make some. To me it seems you can either sacrifice say ~1 hour per day of looking after you kids or you can sacrifice 10-20% of your pay check. Or you lower your commute time by moving closer to your office, which probably means moving into a smaller house/apartment, again a sacrifice.
  - horns4lyfe 4y ago
    So you admit that the commute is in fact an issue, and your solution is just move closer and get a smaller apartment? Surely you see that that’s not sustainable in the long run.
  - horns4lyfe 4y ago
    And do you really not see how the way other people parent their children affects you? What do you think well-raised children turn into? What about children who grow up without love and attention from their parents? How much social dysfunction are you willing to accept?

rob74 4y ago

That's all good, as long as you are free to choose the way of working that is best for you and your team. What I am talking about is companies mandating e.g. 3 office days per week for everyone, even if for some it makes no sense at all (neither business-wise nor personally).

nextlevelwizard 4y ago
I personally do not see an issue with 3 office day mandate. Your job probably isn't so solitary that you don't need other people at all and at the office you get a lot of micro interactions that you wouldn't get otherwise. Just think when was the last time you randomly ran into a guy from the next department while getting coffee and you were just chit-chatting and one of you brought up a topic that helped the other? Yes, that doesn't happen daily to every one, but it happens quite often when you have 100+ people under same roof. You still have 2 days a week you can spend at home. EDIT: As a bit tangential question: would you be willing to take a pay cut to keep 100% remote? If not would you be fine with people receiving a "office worker bonus" based on days worked at the office?
- humanrebar 4y ago
  I want to be paid for the value I provide, not the GPS coordinates of my desk chair. I think it's far from clear that remote workers are always, or even generally, providing less value than in physically present ones. I know I had a lot more time to document and do other kinds of written collaboration, especially across the organization, when I was working more days per week remotely.
  - nextlevelwizard 4y ago
    > I want to be paid for the value I provide, not the GPS coordinates of my desk chair. As per my previous comment people at the office do provide more value.
- dickersnoodle 4y ago
  [flagged]

horns4lyfe 4y ago

I think the point is that parents spending more time with their children might be more important than squeezing every last ounce of productivity out of people.

nextlevelwizard 4y ago
Depends who you ask and who is involved. I don't care one bit how much time you spend with your kids. However I do think it is a bit odd if you want to spend work time with your kids and expect your employer to be fine with that. Yes, yes, I know your point is that you can spend the commuting time with your kids, but realistically how strict are you about your WFH office? Do you even have a dedicated office where you can go and your kids and wife won't bother you? For most my coworkers that is not a thing. They are working on the kitchen table or in their bedroom while the family goes about their lives around them. Constantly distracting them, constantly bothering them, and more annoyingly distracting and bother other people who are on the zoom call. As I've said time and time again; life is about sacrifices. You can choose what sacrifices you are going to make, but you have to make some. To me it seems you can either sacrifice say ~1 hour per day of looking after you kids or you can sacrifice 10-20% of your pay check. Or you lower your commute time by moving closer to your office, which probably means moving into a smaller house/apartment, again a sacrifice.
- horns4lyfe 4y ago
  So you admit that the commute is in fact an issue, and your solution is just move closer and get a smaller apartment? Surely you see that that’s not sustainable in the long run.
- horns4lyfe 4y ago
  And do you really not see how the way other people parent their children affects you? What do you think well-raised children turn into? What about children who grow up without love and attention from their parents? How much social dysfunction are you willing to accept?