4 ms·

The commute is what killed me. Doing what is essentially unpaid work to get to/from work seems pretty unfair when you’re losing potentially an hour each day doi

The commute is what killed me. Doing what is essentially unpaid work to get to/from work seems pretty unfair when you’re losing potentially an hour each day doing it. I have to imagine companies would quit this RTO nonsense if they were forced to pay hourly rates for commutes.

SubiculumCode 3y ago
1.5 hours driving a day * 5 days a week = not going to the gym ever.
- Jcampuzano2 3y ago
  I'm a pretty big gym rat, so I went even when i did go to the office. All that to say that having the freedom to go in the middle of the day/lunchtime and also having more energy for it was one of the single biggest benefits I enjoy from remote work as someone who lives alone. I can also go for short walks around my neighborhood for small breaks without feeling like I'll be judged for not being at my desk/making smalltalk with people who don't wanna be active. Normally those breaks would just be sitting around the coffee maker, or people standing at desks. Remote work opens up so much for human health in my opinion. I do understand some jobs can't be done from home, but in my opinion that should be reason to compensate them even more.
lotsofpulp 3y ago
>Doing what is essentially unpaid work to get to/from work seems pretty unfair when you’re losing potentially an hour each day doing it. I do not agree with this framing. People have agency to choose where they live and what tradeoffs they want to make in their life. No reason someone willing to live in a certain location should subsidize someone wanting to live further away.
- tjpnz 3y ago
  Tell that to the person cleaning your offices.
  - lotsofpulp 3y ago
    The person cleaning the office being too poor to live near the office is a separate issue, solved with wealth redistribution and more high density housing.
    - jimbob45 3y ago
      just fundamentally restructure your government and undertake decades-long construction projects! That doesn't help the people in the 20-year interim before those changes are made. God forbid wealth redistribution doesn't actually solve the problem.
      - lotsofpulp 3y ago
        Yes, I know it is politically intractable, hence all of these problems are unsolvable. But technically, it is feasible, just requires a lot of reduced expectations from people who are anticipating living a certain lifestyle.
- ericjmorey 3y ago
  Suburban sprawl is highly subsidized in the USA. Having agency doesn't negate the environment your surrounded by.
  - lotsofpulp 3y ago
    Yes, and forcing business to pay people the further away they live further subsidizes the sprawl.
    - SubiculumCode 3y ago
      It also happens that living in an apartment in the middle of a city is depressing to many people, who wish for green spaces, gardening, and a bit of s p a c e. So I just disagree that suburbia is hell, and high-rise living is next to godliness. I would live in a world where I was near wilderness, working remotely, but occasionally commuting to work through ultra high speed transport.
- brazzledazzle 3y ago
  So you have agency in theory but not in practice? I don't know many coworkers who can afford to live anywhere near our office aside from management and people far along on the technical promotion path. Every state, city and area is different but I can't imagine these circumstances are rare. Homes without commutes tend to have a much higher price or rental cost than those further away. If 80% of your workers have to commute to get to your office what agency do they really have? The agency to live in a van parked a few blocks away?

SubiculumCode 3y ago

1.5 hours driving a day * 5 days a week = not going to the gym ever.

Jcampuzano2 3y ago
I'm a pretty big gym rat, so I went even when i did go to the office. All that to say that having the freedom to go in the middle of the day/lunchtime and also having more energy for it was one of the single biggest benefits I enjoy from remote work as someone who lives alone. I can also go for short walks around my neighborhood for small breaks without feeling like I'll be judged for not being at my desk/making smalltalk with people who don't wanna be active. Normally those breaks would just be sitting around the coffee maker, or people standing at desks. Remote work opens up so much for human health in my opinion. I do understand some jobs can't be done from home, but in my opinion that should be reason to compensate them even more.

lotsofpulp 3y ago

>Doing what is essentially unpaid work to get to/from work seems pretty unfair when you’re losing potentially an hour each day doing it. I do not agree with this framing. People have agency to choose where they live and what tradeoffs they want to make in their life. No reason someone willing to live in a certain location should subsidize someone wanting to live further away.

tjpnz 3y ago
Tell that to the person cleaning your offices.
- lotsofpulp 3y ago
  The person cleaning the office being too poor to live near the office is a separate issue, solved with wealth redistribution and more high density housing.
  - jimbob45 3y ago
    just fundamentally restructure your government and undertake decades-long construction projects! That doesn't help the people in the 20-year interim before those changes are made. God forbid wealth redistribution doesn't actually solve the problem.
    - lotsofpulp 3y ago
      Yes, I know it is politically intractable, hence all of these problems are unsolvable. But technically, it is feasible, just requires a lot of reduced expectations from people who are anticipating living a certain lifestyle.
ericjmorey 3y ago
Suburban sprawl is highly subsidized in the USA. Having agency doesn't negate the environment your surrounded by.
- lotsofpulp 3y ago
  Yes, and forcing business to pay people the further away they live further subsidizes the sprawl.
  - SubiculumCode 3y ago
    It also happens that living in an apartment in the middle of a city is depressing to many people, who wish for green spaces, gardening, and a bit of s p a c e. So I just disagree that suburbia is hell, and high-rise living is next to godliness. I would live in a world where I was near wilderness, working remotely, but occasionally commuting to work through ultra high speed transport.
brazzledazzle 3y ago
So you have agency in theory but not in practice? I don't know many coworkers who can afford to live anywhere near our office aside from management and people far along on the technical promotion path. Every state, city and area is different but I can't imagine these circumstances are rare. Homes without commutes tend to have a much higher price or rental cost than those further away. If 80% of your workers have to commute to get to your office what agency do they really have? The agency to live in a van parked a few blocks away?