4 ms·

You are being luddites. COVID having forced you to be remote is not enough to validate this constant preaching from SV leadership (and only leadership - no one

by gxs 3y ago

You are being luddites. COVID having forced you to be remote is not enough to validate this constant preaching from SV leadership (and only leadership - no one without millions in equity ever lobbies for this) that nothing can replace in person. The fact that Paul Graham compares it to communism is fitting for so many reasons.

pgwhalen 3y ago
Without commenting on all the complex dynamics of WFH vs the office, I can say that I, personally, enjoy working in the office more. I am an individual contributor software engineer, without millions in equity in anything.
Terr_ 3y ago
I often highlight that every claim of +X% "productivity" with RTO is based on an implicit assumption that the commute is uncompensated, and that employees will eat all the costs (man-hours, fuel) of coming into the office.... At least for a few quarters, until angry people leave for closer or better-paying jobs. So we've got (A) a misleading "productivity" metric sometimes being used to rationalize (B) one-sided policies which are (C) not sustainable in the long term anyway.
- Plasmoid 3y ago
  I've always wondered how modern cities would look if employers had to bear partial responsibility for the commute. Would we see a lot more mixed housing around the place? Would transit be much better?
  - subarctic 3y ago
    My guess is you'd see more company housing and stupid restrictions on where you have to live if you work somewhere
  - Terr_ 3y ago
    IMO that's not really about commute-costs as much as about bargaining-power, labor relations, and competitive markets. Commute costs are kind of like inflation: In the very long term it's balanced by wages... but there's a lot of living that happens at shorter timescales. The longer before the situation is renegotiated, the more time one side has to exploit the imbalance.
- MisterBastahrd 3y ago
  My company has instituted a 3 day RTO policy. First week? Had a fever, didn't go in. Second week? Went in 2 days. Had too much shit to do to worry about office crap. Third week? Also 2 days. There were less than 10% of the desks filled on both days I went. Going real smooth. And I guarantee you that every single person who is actually going into the office is counting commute time against their working hours.

by gxs 3y ago

pgwhalen 3y ago

Without commenting on all the complex dynamics of WFH vs the office, I can say that I, personally, enjoy working in the office more. I am an individual contributor software engineer, without millions in equity in anything.

Terr_ 3y ago

I often highlight that every claim of +X% "productivity" with RTO is based on an implicit assumption that the commute is uncompensated, and that employees will eat all the costs (man-hours, fuel) of coming into the office.... At least for a few quarters, until angry people leave for closer or better-paying jobs. So we've got (A) a misleading "productivity" metric sometimes being used to rationalize (B) one-sided policies which are (C) not sustainable in the long term anyway.

Plasmoid 3y ago
I've always wondered how modern cities would look if employers had to bear partial responsibility for the commute. Would we see a lot more mixed housing around the place? Would transit be much better?
- subarctic 3y ago
  My guess is you'd see more company housing and stupid restrictions on where you have to live if you work somewhere
- Terr_ 3y ago
  IMO that's not really about commute-costs as much as about bargaining-power, labor relations, and competitive markets. Commute costs are kind of like inflation: In the very long term it's balanced by wages... but there's a lot of living that happens at shorter timescales. The longer before the situation is renegotiated, the more time one side has to exploit the imbalance.
MisterBastahrd 3y ago
My company has instituted a 3 day RTO policy. First week? Had a fever, didn't go in. Second week? Went in 2 days. Had too much shit to do to worry about office crap. Third week? Also 2 days. There were less than 10% of the desks filled on both days I went. Going real smooth. And I guarantee you that every single person who is actually going into the office is counting commute time against their working hours.