4 ms·

I do not know a single person including myself who has any interest in returning to the office. This is like propaganda. If you are lonely, go see your friends

by rabbits_2002 3y ago

I do not know a single person including myself who has any interest in returning to the office. This is like propaganda. If you are lonely, go see your friends or go out. You know, the things you can’t do when you commute 2 hours a day.

1over137 3y ago
2 hours a day!? I wonder how overlapping the "have no interest in return to the office" crowd is with the "2 hour commute" crowd. I don't think I know a single person that has any interest in continuing to work from home. But around here the commute is a 20 minute train ride, and homes are small. Any chance you're in the USA, in a big house, in the suburbs?
- Yizahi 3y ago
  I had a 2-3 hour daily commute (1-1.5 hour one way) in the big city in Europe. Regardless of taking a car through clogged center, or if I took publick transit, because it equated to about the same - 5 min walk to the station, 10 min wait, 10 min ride, 5 min change to other line, 5 min wait, 20 min ride, 15 min walk or shuttle to the office. That's not even a commute across whole city, only across about half of it. And majority of the people had the same times. Lucky ones maybe had 30-40 mins.
- Mountain_Skies 3y ago
  There are lots of living and working situations between your living on a subway platform for a company located on a subway platform and a big house in the suburbs. I'm assuming of course that your 20 minute train ride had zero minute connections on both ends since you excluded them.
- michaelrpeskin 3y ago
  I live 10 minutes from my office. I still only go in 1 day a week. I prefer working in the comfort of my home and being able to take a walk or mountain bike at lunch.
- graypegg 3y ago
  I won’t say my experience is either like you or the GP’s post. Average commute time here is maybe 10min - 1hr and yeah it probably involves a train. Not too many people living far away from their other colleagues, among the folks I know. Montreal is dense enough. But I’d say maybe only a quater or less of people I know would be positive about a return to office. (Me excluded, surprisingly) It’s a pretty low percentage of people because it’s low flexibility for pretty much no benefits unless you’re a special kind of weirdo (myself) I live a 6 min walk to my office, and like the amenities + chatting.
- surgical_fire 3y ago
  I live in Europe, and have friends in other countries that are not the US. I know a grand total of zero people, among friends and extended acquaintances, that showed any preference to work from the office when given a choice, irrespective of the commute time. Make of that what you will.
- KoolKat23 3y ago
  I live in Europe. Out of an office of 9, only 2 want to go back. One person is in sales and I assume is very extroverted, the 2nd is an old man, who likes the whole "dress up, get to the office early, I'm a serious businessman" cosplay. The 2 GenZers don't seem to mind working from home, and this is despite the fact they've only recently moved here.
- cracrecry 3y ago
  20 minutes going, 20 returning is 40 minutes a day. Unless you live by the train station, it is 10 minutes going there, and you have to wait for the train, 2-5 minutes. That is at least an hour/day, 2 hours/day are not that far away from you. It is important not to idealise the perfect timing, what it should be if there were no cars on the roads, no traffic jams or the train comes exactly on time. Take a chronometer and measure it every day and you will be surprised by reality. I did it lots of times. I have been living in big cities around the world and almost everybody spent an hour or so going to work. I had a small apartments but was living alone and did as much remote work as I could.
sumtechguy 3y ago
I like to go to the office once and awhile. I do not have very many friends. The only interaction I get these days is from the office. What few friends I do have all moved to different states ages ago. Also you do not want 'to be the old guy at the bars'. WFH made it much more lonely. Getting out and having some interaction is OK even with your icky coworkers.
- happytoexplain 3y ago
  I wholly approve of the office as a place where people can socialize. But it's patronizing to try to make that argument to people who don't get anything from it, since you are essentially telling an adult that they don't know what's good for them, that they aren't getting what they think they are from virtual socialization, and that their absence is somehow harming the socialization of others. And even people who don't get anything out of it are usually coming to a physical get-together occasionally anyway.
happytoexplain 3y ago
>You know, the things you can’t do when you commute 2 hours a day. This is an important part. The commute represents an obscenely large amount of our lives in time alone - forget sanity - that we give to employers for free. Is it because that's what we're willing to give for a job? Fucking no, of course not: It's because, historically, there was simply no other choice for most jobs, so it just became another part of the bargaining (I'm willing to sacrifice a bigger chunk than you, so I do better in the job market). Removing that has immeasurably improved the wellbeing and quality of life of everybody I know. Even a single hour round-trip (chair-to-chair) every day is a burden when you consider how our society has become so optimized in filling every available hour of the normal citizen's day.
- ryandrake 3y ago
  Prior to COVID and WFH I had a 2-2.5hour (each way) commute. This meant I would leave for work before my infant child woke up and would get back from work as she was going to bed. I pretty much didn't see my own kid on the weekdays. The wellbeing difference once WFH started was enormous, and for this reason I'd never go back to commuting. Without that 4-5 hour wasted block of time, I now see my kid/family more, have time for hobbies, socialize with friends and people I actually like (rather than the at-work "performative socialization" with co-workers). Night and day difference.

1over137 3y ago

2 hours a day!? I wonder how overlapping the "have no interest in return to the office" crowd is with the "2 hour commute" crowd. I don't think I know a single person that has any interest in continuing to work from home. But around here the commute is a 20 minute train ride, and homes are small. Any chance you're in the USA, in a big house, in the suburbs?

Yizahi 3y ago
I had a 2-3 hour daily commute (1-1.5 hour one way) in the big city in Europe. Regardless of taking a car through clogged center, or if I took publick transit, because it equated to about the same - 5 min walk to the station, 10 min wait, 10 min ride, 5 min change to other line, 5 min wait, 20 min ride, 15 min walk or shuttle to the office. That's not even a commute across whole city, only across about half of it. And majority of the people had the same times. Lucky ones maybe had 30-40 mins.
Mountain_Skies 3y ago
There are lots of living and working situations between your living on a subway platform for a company located on a subway platform and a big house in the suburbs. I'm assuming of course that your 20 minute train ride had zero minute connections on both ends since you excluded them.
michaelrpeskin 3y ago
I live 10 minutes from my office. I still only go in 1 day a week. I prefer working in the comfort of my home and being able to take a walk or mountain bike at lunch.
graypegg 3y ago
I won’t say my experience is either like you or the GP’s post. Average commute time here is maybe 10min - 1hr and yeah it probably involves a train. Not too many people living far away from their other colleagues, among the folks I know. Montreal is dense enough. But I’d say maybe only a quater or less of people I know would be positive about a return to office. (Me excluded, surprisingly) It’s a pretty low percentage of people because it’s low flexibility for pretty much no benefits unless you’re a special kind of weirdo (myself) I live a 6 min walk to my office, and like the amenities + chatting.
surgical_fire 3y ago
I live in Europe, and have friends in other countries that are not the US. I know a grand total of zero people, among friends and extended acquaintances, that showed any preference to work from the office when given a choice, irrespective of the commute time. Make of that what you will.
KoolKat23 3y ago
I live in Europe. Out of an office of 9, only 2 want to go back. One person is in sales and I assume is very extroverted, the 2nd is an old man, who likes the whole "dress up, get to the office early, I'm a serious businessman" cosplay. The 2 GenZers don't seem to mind working from home, and this is despite the fact they've only recently moved here.
cracrecry 3y ago
20 minutes going, 20 returning is 40 minutes a day. Unless you live by the train station, it is 10 minutes going there, and you have to wait for the train, 2-5 minutes. That is at least an hour/day, 2 hours/day are not that far away from you. It is important not to idealise the perfect timing, what it should be if there were no cars on the roads, no traffic jams or the train comes exactly on time. Take a chronometer and measure it every day and you will be surprised by reality. I did it lots of times. I have been living in big cities around the world and almost everybody spent an hour or so going to work. I had a small apartments but was living alone and did as much remote work as I could.

sumtechguy 3y ago

I like to go to the office once and awhile. I do not have very many friends. The only interaction I get these days is from the office. What few friends I do have all moved to different states ages ago. Also you do not want 'to be the old guy at the bars'. WFH made it much more lonely. Getting out and having some interaction is OK even with your icky coworkers.

happytoexplain 3y ago
I wholly approve of the office as a place where people can socialize. But it's patronizing to try to make that argument to people who don't get anything from it, since you are essentially telling an adult that they don't know what's good for them, that they aren't getting what they think they are from virtual socialization, and that their absence is somehow harming the socialization of others. And even people who don't get anything out of it are usually coming to a physical get-together occasionally anyway.

happytoexplain 3y ago

>You know, the things you can’t do when you commute 2 hours a day. This is an important part. The commute represents an obscenely large amount of our lives in time alone - forget sanity - that we give to employers for free. Is it because that's what we're willing to give for a job? Fucking no, of course not: It's because, historically, there was simply no other choice for most jobs, so it just became another part of the bargaining (I'm willing to sacrifice a bigger chunk than you, so I do better in the job market). Removing that has immeasurably improved the wellbeing and quality of life of everybody I know. Even a single hour round-trip (chair-to-chair) every day is a burden when you consider how our society has become so optimized in filling every available hour of the normal citizen's day.

ryandrake 3y ago
Prior to COVID and WFH I had a 2-2.5hour (each way) commute. This meant I would leave for work before my infant child woke up and would get back from work as she was going to bed. I pretty much didn't see my own kid on the weekdays. The wellbeing difference once WFH started was enormous, and for this reason I'd never go back to commuting. Without that 4-5 hour wasted block of time, I now see my kid/family more, have time for hobbies, socialize with friends and people I actually like (rather than the at-work "performative socialization" with co-workers). Night and day difference.