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It seems like WFH is a "perk" when company is in cut down expenses mode, and RTO is mandated when it's thriving.

by a012 3y ago

lotsofpulp 3y ago
I would have thought it is RTO mandated when you need to reduce payroll and want to incentivize workers to resign, and then back to WFH once that target is met and expenses need to be cut further.
- ClumsyPilot 3y ago
  > incentivize workers to resign, and then back to WFH once that target is met and expenses need to be cut further Sounds like fraud, and managing in bad faith.
  - simoncion 3y ago
    It's not at all fraud. It's definitely shitball, dishonest, bad faith management... but it's not fraud.
29athrowaway 3y ago
When you layoff large numbers of people, WFH makes it easier. When you need to start a company or do a hiring push, being in an office can help. In a company that only hires high seniority employees, WFH vs office doesn't matter much.
- eloisant 3y ago
  I think it's the other way around. When you want to layoff a large number of people: RTO will increase the number of employees quitting so you don't have to layoff as many When starting a company: WFH means you don't need offices, or at least smaller offices which makes a big difference When you do a hiring push: being open to WFH gives you a bigger pool to draw from
  - FirmwareBurner 3y ago
    > RTO will increase the number of employees quitting Depends on the job market in that area. People only quit if they know they'll easily find equal or better paid gigs than what they already have, but in 2023 most people working in tech tended to stay where they are due to the market stagnation/slump, especially if they got above market rates during the 2021-2022 boom and know they won't get anything better in the current market.
    - lotsofpulp 3y ago
      They quit because they don’t want to move or can’t afford to move to be close enough to the office.
    - JohnFen 3y ago
      > People only quit if they know they'll easily find equal or better paid gigs than what they already have I don't think this is true (or at least, it has tons of exceptions). People quit if they think that they have an alternative that is better. This doesn't have to mean equal or better pay. I know a number of people who have quit and taken lower-paying work because those jobs improved their quality of life in other ways.
  - qwytw 3y ago
    > When you do a hiring push: being open to WFH gives you a bigger pool to draw from Onboarding a large number of new WFH employees at the same might easily turn into a disaster though (for example if you "need" to grow your headcount at 50-100% per year like Unity did... of course they didn't need to do that but that's different problem).

It seems like WFH is a "perk" when company is in cut down expenses mode, and RTO is mandated when it's thriving.

by a012 3y ago

It seems like WFH is a "perk" when company is in cut down expenses mode, and RTO is mandated when it's thriving.

I would have thought it is RTO mandated when you need to reduce payroll and want to incentivize workers to resign, and then back to WFH once that target is met and expenses need to be cut further.

ClumsyPilot 3y ago
> incentivize workers to resign, and then back to WFH once that target is met and expenses need to be cut further Sounds like fraud, and managing in bad faith.
- simoncion 3y ago
  It's not at all fraud. It's definitely shitball, dishonest, bad faith management... but it's not fraud.

29athrowaway 3y ago

When you layoff large numbers of people, WFH makes it easier. When you need to start a company or do a hiring push, being in an office can help. In a company that only hires high seniority employees, WFH vs office doesn't matter much.

eloisant 3y ago
I think it's the other way around. When you want to layoff a large number of people: RTO will increase the number of employees quitting so you don't have to layoff as many When starting a company: WFH means you don't need offices, or at least smaller offices which makes a big difference When you do a hiring push: being open to WFH gives you a bigger pool to draw from
- FirmwareBurner 3y ago
  > RTO will increase the number of employees quitting Depends on the job market in that area. People only quit if they know they'll easily find equal or better paid gigs than what they already have, but in 2023 most people working in tech tended to stay where they are due to the market stagnation/slump, especially if they got above market rates during the 2021-2022 boom and know they won't get anything better in the current market.
  - lotsofpulp 3y ago
    They quit because they don’t want to move or can’t afford to move to be close enough to the office.
  - JohnFen 3y ago
    > People only quit if they know they'll easily find equal or better paid gigs than what they already have I don't think this is true (or at least, it has tons of exceptions). People quit if they think that they have an alternative that is better. This doesn't have to mean equal or better pay. I know a number of people who have quit and taken lower-paying work because those jobs improved their quality of life in other ways.
- qwytw 3y ago
  > When you do a hiring push: being open to WFH gives you a bigger pool to draw from Onboarding a large number of new WFH employees at the same might easily turn into a disaster though (for example if you "need" to grow your headcount at 50-100% per year like Unity did... of course they didn't need to do that but that's different problem).