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Curiously this ¹ is not the case in Norway. Pretty much everyone returned ot work as they did before Covid. A majority enjoyed getting back to work and back to

Curiously this ¹ is not the case in Norway. Pretty much everyone returned ot work as they did before Covid. A majority enjoyed getting back to work and back to the office. Many do have more of an opportunity to work from if they need to. In our bigger cities we have public transit that is popular. A large percentage of people have to switch between different routes to get all the way home. And my commute is quickly more than an hour, between ride time, waiting for the next ride. Some are fortunate to live in immediate proximity to lets say a subway station that has a line that takes them directly to the office, that can be super efficient. ¹ """This is playing out now in companies around the globe. And with neither side willing to give in, the fight will continue to bubble up this year and perhaps even next, leaving employees frustrated and on the hunt for new jobs — and companies in danger of undermining their best assets: their workers."""

tallanvor 2y ago
Public transit in Oslo has only recently reached per-pandemic levels. I don't know what the overall numbers are, but I know that some employers have mandated return to office (at least 3 days a week). My employer has not mandated that people be in a specific number of days a week and has instead chosen to reduce the office space they're renting. Unfortunately this means the days that many people need to be in the office can be pretty horrible due to there not being enough desks for everyone.
matsemann 2y ago
I (in Oslo, Norway), like going to the office most days. Maybe 1-2 days at home during the week now. It's a nice bike ride, which is the main reason for going, heh. And it's nice to just be a part of things. But since I go often, I don't feel I miss out on the days I don't. Also, I do it in a sense so that I can then go live/work in a cabin for long stretches during the winter, without people really "noticing" my absence as they think of me as someone mostly in the office. I did about 10 weeks of this this winter, skiing during the middle of the day when the sun was up etc., was great. So I like the flexibility, and WFH is important for me in the job I choose, but I don't mind going to the office when I don't need to be home. I feel I get the best of both worlds this way, the connections of being in the office, but also the freedom of being remote. It's easier to work remote when you know the people well, which again is easier to do in the office.
casper14 2y ago
The Oslo transit system is so good
Aurornis 2y ago
> Curiously this ¹ is not the case in Norway. Pretty much everyone returned ot work as they did before Covid. A majority enjoyed getting back to work and back to the office. The headlines that imply that companies in the US are decimated by employees leaving after RTO are clickbait. The job market here (and everywhere) is very tight. Even the people upset about RTO are forced to do it. The RTO topic is a hot button issue. Journalists know they can get a lot of clicks by writing articles about companies suffering high attrition after RTO mandates, but if you look closely they use a lot of “weasel words” to disguise the actual numbers and let readers assume the worst. Read this article, but closely and click the links. The article plays tricks like saying 36% of seniors are leaving their jobs due to RTO, but then you click the link and realize it’s from a survey where people claimed they planned on leaving their job, not that they had or were actively doing it. It’s also just a self-reported survey, and large numbers of people always say they’re going to leave their job when you survey them.
- tootie 2y ago
  Citation? All the data would indicate that the job market is still very, very strong.
  - d__________a___ 2y ago
    [dead]
  - Aurornis 2y ago
    Employment is strong. Job openings are low. Offer values are down because it’s an employer’s market. Every job opening attracts an incredible number of applicants. Big Tech is going in and out of hiring freezes and even laying more people off still.
    - bbatha 2y ago
      Job openings are still above their pre-pandemic peek and still at record highs. They're just lower than they were 6 months ago https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/JTSJOL https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/JTSJOL
xenospn 2y ago
One big difference between Americans and Norwegians - Norwegians are very good at doing as they’re told. Americans, not so much.
jack_riminton 2y ago
Yes Norway is fortunate to have great transportation, a work culture that respects people's quality of life, clean and safe cities In the UK and the US workers are treated more like serfs who are told to assemble in offices regardless of how long/arduous the commute, how shitty the city is, how little the boss cares for your quality of life etc. etc.
- mardifoufs 2y ago
  I think that's a pretty inaccurate view of the situation. Having to go back to the office is still having to go back to the office. In your analogy, you'd still be a serf to your corporation regardless of public transportation. At the end of the day, their bosses still forced them to go back to the office.

tallanvor 2y ago

Public transit in Oslo has only recently reached per-pandemic levels. I don't know what the overall numbers are, but I know that some employers have mandated return to office (at least 3 days a week). My employer has not mandated that people be in a specific number of days a week and has instead chosen to reduce the office space they're renting. Unfortunately this means the days that many people need to be in the office can be pretty horrible due to there not being enough desks for everyone.

matsemann 2y ago

I (in Oslo, Norway), like going to the office most days. Maybe 1-2 days at home during the week now. It's a nice bike ride, which is the main reason for going, heh. And it's nice to just be a part of things. But since I go often, I don't feel I miss out on the days I don't. Also, I do it in a sense so that I can then go live/work in a cabin for long stretches during the winter, without people really "noticing" my absence as they think of me as someone mostly in the office. I did about 10 weeks of this this winter, skiing during the middle of the day when the sun was up etc., was great. So I like the flexibility, and WFH is important for me in the job I choose, but I don't mind going to the office when I don't need to be home. I feel I get the best of both worlds this way, the connections of being in the office, but also the freedom of being remote. It's easier to work remote when you know the people well, which again is easier to do in the office.

casper14 2y ago

The Oslo transit system is so good

Aurornis 2y ago

> Curiously this ¹ is not the case in Norway. Pretty much everyone returned ot work as they did before Covid. A majority enjoyed getting back to work and back to the office. The headlines that imply that companies in the US are decimated by employees leaving after RTO are clickbait. The job market here (and everywhere) is very tight. Even the people upset about RTO are forced to do it. The RTO topic is a hot button issue. Journalists know they can get a lot of clicks by writing articles about companies suffering high attrition after RTO mandates, but if you look closely they use a lot of “weasel words” to disguise the actual numbers and let readers assume the worst. Read this article, but closely and click the links. The article plays tricks like saying 36% of seniors are leaving their jobs due to RTO, but then you click the link and realize it’s from a survey where people claimed they planned on leaving their job, not that they had or were actively doing it. It’s also just a self-reported survey, and large numbers of people always say they’re going to leave their job when you survey them.

tootie 2y ago
Citation? All the data would indicate that the job market is still very, very strong.
- d__________a___ 2y ago
  [dead]
- Aurornis 2y ago
  Employment is strong. Job openings are low. Offer values are down because it’s an employer’s market. Every job opening attracts an incredible number of applicants. Big Tech is going in and out of hiring freezes and even laying more people off still.
  - bbatha 2y ago
    Job openings are still above their pre-pandemic peek and still at record highs. They're just lower than they were 6 months ago https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/JTSJOL https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/JTSJOL

xenospn 2y ago

One big difference between Americans and Norwegians - Norwegians are very good at doing as they’re told. Americans, not so much.

jack_riminton 2y ago

Yes Norway is fortunate to have great transportation, a work culture that respects people's quality of life, clean and safe cities In the UK and the US workers are treated more like serfs who are told to assemble in offices regardless of how long/arduous the commute, how shitty the city is, how little the boss cares for your quality of life etc. etc.

mardifoufs 2y ago
I think that's a pretty inaccurate view of the situation. Having to go back to the office is still having to go back to the office. In your analogy, you'd still be a serf to your corporation regardless of public transportation. At the end of the day, their bosses still forced them to go back to the office.