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Except every study done since the pandemic has shown no effect on productivity from remote work, yet somehow every thread on this is filled with totally real st

Except every study done since the pandemic has shown no effect on productivity from remote work, yet somehow every thread on this is filled with totally real stories about someone they know who doesn't work.

MattGaiser 3y ago
They are real. What they are missing is that said person wasn't working much before. They only noticed their lack of output when working remotely, as busyness was no longer visible.
- LiquidSky 3y ago
  Except no one can actually measure or confirm these apparent hordes of lazy slackers that are totally out there. Just legions of secret non-working people.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - ahtihn 3y ago
    How do you know that no one can measure ? Maybe all the big companies have measured and all concluded that on average WFH is less productive. Individual productivity of office workers is nearly impossible to properly measure but aggregate productivity is easier though certainly far from perfect.
    - MattGaiser 3y ago
      > Maybe all the big companies have measured and all concluded that on average WFH is less productive. They say they don't have it, but tell people to do it anyway. https://fortune.com/2023/08/03/amazon-svp-mike-hopkins-office-return/ https://fortune.com/2023/08/03/amazon-svp-mike-hopkins-offic...
    - LiquidSky 3y ago
      >How do you know that no one can measure ? Because they haven't. Again, every study on this issue hasn't shown a drop in productivity. >Maybe all the big companies have measured and all concluded that on average WFH is less productive. And yet curiously neither the companies themselves nor any outside actor has been able to produce any of those measurements supporting such conclusion after years of trying. I guess every company, government agency, and private entity in the world are all colluding to hide the evidence of lower WFH productivity despite desperately, desperately wanting to show that that's the case to support their RTO demands. Who can stop this nefarious conspiracy?
- Kiro 3y ago
  I was very productive in the office and now I'm slacking off every day WFH, so no.
  - baq 3y ago
    It was 4 years ago. Time to change jobs perhaps
- DiggyJohnson 3y ago
  That's not at all my experience. I was and am much more productive in the office, and it has a lot to do with changing my environment to a place of work. In order of my productive environments: the office (decent private cubicles, not open concept) > coffeeshop > table at the park > home office. Why is it so hard to believe that people like me exist? And no, it's not because I like to bug my coworkers or that I haven't considered improving my tooling or home office. At this point in my career, with my personality and demeanor, I get a lot of work done at the office, without the misery of trying to force myself to focus and be productive like I do when I'm at home.
  - _teyd 3y ago
    You could always go to the office by yourself (or a coworking spot, or really anywhere) if the point is just changing your environment and you don’t need to bug others. Everyone gets to be happy and productive, no mandatory RTO needed.
    - DiggyJohnson 3y ago
      That is what I do. But we'll lose the office or downsize if enough people commit to hybrid or WFH, and I'd probably have look for another job with a firm that has committed to RTO. I'm hoping these things self-select to a happy equilibrium. I'll fill in the folks that left due to RTO, and they can fill in for my company that has a hard time finding talent in a 2nd or 3rd tier city?
      - j4yav 3y ago
        If it’s not about your coworkers though you should be able to find a nice coworking spot or cafe even if they close the office. Your company may even be up to pay for it given all the millions they are saving on office space. Hope it works out, though, everyone needs a good place to work.
itbeho 3y ago
Can you link to some of those studies? Could use some backup for a meeting I'm having next week at my work.

MattGaiser 3y ago

They are real. What they are missing is that said person wasn't working much before. They only noticed their lack of output when working remotely, as busyness was no longer visible.

LiquidSky 3y ago
Except no one can actually measure or confirm these apparent hordes of lazy slackers that are totally out there. Just legions of secret non-working people.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- ahtihn 3y ago
  How do you know that no one can measure ? Maybe all the big companies have measured and all concluded that on average WFH is less productive. Individual productivity of office workers is nearly impossible to properly measure but aggregate productivity is easier though certainly far from perfect.
  - MattGaiser 3y ago
    > Maybe all the big companies have measured and all concluded that on average WFH is less productive. They say they don't have it, but tell people to do it anyway. https://fortune.com/2023/08/03/amazon-svp-mike-hopkins-office-return/ https://fortune.com/2023/08/03/amazon-svp-mike-hopkins-offic...
  - LiquidSky 3y ago
    >How do you know that no one can measure ? Because they haven't. Again, every study on this issue hasn't shown a drop in productivity. >Maybe all the big companies have measured and all concluded that on average WFH is less productive. And yet curiously neither the companies themselves nor any outside actor has been able to produce any of those measurements supporting such conclusion after years of trying. I guess every company, government agency, and private entity in the world are all colluding to hide the evidence of lower WFH productivity despite desperately, desperately wanting to show that that's the case to support their RTO demands. Who can stop this nefarious conspiracy?
Kiro 3y ago
I was very productive in the office and now I'm slacking off every day WFH, so no.
- baq 3y ago
  It was 4 years ago. Time to change jobs perhaps
DiggyJohnson 3y ago
That's not at all my experience. I was and am much more productive in the office, and it has a lot to do with changing my environment to a place of work. In order of my productive environments: the office (decent private cubicles, not open concept) > coffeeshop > table at the park > home office. Why is it so hard to believe that people like me exist? And no, it's not because I like to bug my coworkers or that I haven't considered improving my tooling or home office. At this point in my career, with my personality and demeanor, I get a lot of work done at the office, without the misery of trying to force myself to focus and be productive like I do when I'm at home.
- _teyd 3y ago
  You could always go to the office by yourself (or a coworking spot, or really anywhere) if the point is just changing your environment and you don’t need to bug others. Everyone gets to be happy and productive, no mandatory RTO needed.
  - DiggyJohnson 3y ago
    That is what I do. But we'll lose the office or downsize if enough people commit to hybrid or WFH, and I'd probably have look for another job with a firm that has committed to RTO. I'm hoping these things self-select to a happy equilibrium. I'll fill in the folks that left due to RTO, and they can fill in for my company that has a hard time finding talent in a 2nd or 3rd tier city?
    - j4yav 3y ago
      If it’s not about your coworkers though you should be able to find a nice coworking spot or cafe even if they close the office. Your company may even be up to pay for it given all the millions they are saving on office space. Hope it works out, though, everyone needs a good place to work.

itbeho 3y ago

Can you link to some of those studies? Could use some backup for a meeting I'm having next week at my work.