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CEOs will admit that return-to-office didn't move the productivity needle
- e2e4 3y agohttps://archive.is/t4NEv https://archive.is/t4NEv
- rawling 3y agoSomeone tell my CEO this before April please, thanks -_-
- Terr_ 3y agoThey'll need to talk louder (and in the same social circles) versus the people heavily invested in office real-estate or who negotiated tax breaks for the company based on "creating local jobs."
- richbell 3y agoIt isn't about productivity, that's just the excuse they use to sell it to the masses. Things it's actually about include, but are not limited to: - money locked up in real estate - pressure from local governments to get employee $ back into transit and local shops (with threats of revoking tax breaks) - soft lay-offs after years of overhiring due to cheap money (you don't need to pay severance if employees aren't happy and voluntarily leave)
- nine_zeros 3y agoTo add another reason, when the stock was down, they needed to show to the board that they are taking action - look Amazon is RTO, so are we.
- VirusNewbie 3y agoI don't understand this conspiracy theory about multi billion dollar companies willing to sacrifice their productivity for tens of millions of dollars in real estate. That makes no sense. There is no way Apple or Amazon or any FAANG-esque company gives two shits about real estate valuations when a 1% productivity boost is equal to 10x their entire RE portfolio. Maybe soft layoffs make sense, but none of these companies have a problem laying off people or firing low performers. Why wouldn't they just lay off more.
- bediger4000 3y agoIt's hard to measure productivity for many (a plurality, maybe) of workers. It's easy to measure tax breaks or real estate valuations. Therefore, the latter wins. Yes, this is exactly like the drunk looking for his lost wallet under the streetlight, instead of the alley where he thinks he lost it.
- tester756 3y agoIt is extremely easy to measure how many people are pissed off due to this It is extremely easy to measure how many people complain about it constantly every quarter It is extremely easy to measure how many people apply for remote positions and how many for onsite
- Racing0461 3y agoit will move the real estate and tax incentives needle.
- jgalt212 3y agoOffice or no office, productivity is largely a function of the state of the labor market. When mgmt has the upper hand, productivity soars. And vice versa.
- dalyons 3y agoPeople don’t work unless whipped? Or are you saying something else
- jgalt212 3y agoPeople work much harder when they have job security fears.
- dalyons 3y agoThat’s a very cynical take on an industry (tech) that is mostly in my experience filled with folk who are intrinsically motivated. The whip makes productivity worse for folk like that, beyond the very short term. They quit.
- chis 3y agoTitle continues “…future of work experts predict” I wonder if HN will ever consider the possibility that return to office DOES increase productivity. These companies probably understand the massive trade off they’re making when they force RTO - lose a decent percentage of workforce due to attrition, but get the remaining workforce in person. Maybe they are just betting on the right side of that equation to have more value.
- aaomidi 3y agoTbh it’s mainly the large companies that can’t figure out what they need to do to diversify.
- toasted-subs 3y agoYou mean gain market share. At some point the problem is how do these entities play nicely with other entities.
- LargeTomato 3y agoWhat is a "future of work expert"? How can anyone be an expert on the future?
- seadan83 3y agoExperts who are predicting on the future of work.
- seadan83 3y agoGist of the article seemed to be: - top concern for CEOs when remote = productivity - top concern for CEOs the coming year following RTO = productivity So, not HN news, but the sample set polled by Atlassian to gauge that CEO sentiment. The implication of wanting people to RTO for efficiency, and to then still be concerned about efficiency is interesting
- zamadatix 3y ago
- more_corn 3y agoWas never about productivity.
- deterministic 3y agoCompanies that doesn’t offer a flexible WFH policy will simply be less competitive in the jobs market. It’s a big red flag for me. It is a sign that the company has a bloated middle-management layer and does not prioritise the people who actually do the work.