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If there's an unsavory reason, I think it's one or both of: 1. Employees slack more on average working from home. Employers want people stuck in a work-only pl

If there's an unsavory reason, I think it's one or both of: 1. Employees slack more on average working from home. Employers want people stuck in a work-only place where they're monitored. Same as how open offices replaced cubicles "for cost reasons." I've seen evidence of this at my job. 2. They're heavily invested in physical offices in particular cities already, so much that they alone can sway the same real estate market they're invested in, and it's not a sunken cost yet.

Cyberdogs7 3y ago
Talking to many CEO's of mid size companies, it seems to be an extension of point 2. They have received many tax incentives from the cities in which they are located, based on the employees they have there. With WFH, the cities are threatening those tax incentives. Typically the tax incentives are deductible property tax, except sales tax, or some type of city provided R&D subsidy to help with state level taxes. We received these back in 2010 with a 175 person game studio and we had 3 different cities pitching for us to move there. I have received outreach on even just a 5 person company. I can only imagine what cities will do with large employers.
- hot_gril 3y ago
  That's an interesting anecdote. I had no idea mid-sized companies were working with cities like that.
- woooooo 3y ago
  Aldo, the CEO reports to the board, and those board members generally are going to own diversified index funds. They have extra-company reasons for RTO.
autoexec 3y ago
If 1 were true and remote employees were slacking there would be data to show that. If important work isn't being done there's going to be clear evidence of that happening. I suspect it's the second reason, plus power tripping.
- hot_gril 3y ago
  There's hardly such thing as data on productivity. Even if they're using some metric like time spent AFK, the execs wouldn't want to give away their methods.

Cyberdogs7 3y ago

Talking to many CEO's of mid size companies, it seems to be an extension of point 2. They have received many tax incentives from the cities in which they are located, based on the employees they have there. With WFH, the cities are threatening those tax incentives. Typically the tax incentives are deductible property tax, except sales tax, or some type of city provided R&D subsidy to help with state level taxes. We received these back in 2010 with a 175 person game studio and we had 3 different cities pitching for us to move there. I have received outreach on even just a 5 person company. I can only imagine what cities will do with large employers.

hot_gril 3y ago
That's an interesting anecdote. I had no idea mid-sized companies were working with cities like that.
woooooo 3y ago
Aldo, the CEO reports to the board, and those board members generally are going to own diversified index funds. They have extra-company reasons for RTO.

autoexec 3y ago

If 1 were true and remote employees were slacking there would be data to show that. If important work isn't being done there's going to be clear evidence of that happening. I suspect it's the second reason, plus power tripping.

hot_gril 3y ago
There's hardly such thing as data on productivity. Even if they're using some metric like time spent AFK, the execs wouldn't want to give away their methods.