I think this is a big part of the argument that is not discussed, the office environment is so awful you can take my wfh from my cold dead hands, make the office environment better then we can talk.
I think this is a big part of the argument that is not discussed, the office environment is so awful you can take my wfh from my cold dead hands, make the office environment better then we can talk.
I get _so_ much more work done working from home, the extra wins I get each week actually makes me more enthusiastic about my job, I have more time so I have less imposter syndrome and because I'm getting more sleep - I remember more.
Obviously, home office space quality varies wildly, but a whole lot of people who spent their careers until 2020 in open floor plans suddenly got private offices with a door.
I'm not saying I'd never go back to any office, but I'm not interested in a bench desk in big open space again.
I live in 50 m² flat, my homeoffice is my bedroom. Tiny desk, one monitor. Here in the office I have a huge table with 2 monitors, the electronics lab and the workshop is right behind me and my team sits here.
Not all jobs are the same and not all people are the same. There is good reason to like working from the office. The fact that you prefer working from home doesn't mean that only people with private office at work want to work from the office.
Also, what's the point your are trying to make?
coffeefirst implied that only people with private offices at work want to work from the office. I gave some counterpoints explaining that there are other good reasons to work from the office. I like working from the office, and I don't have a private room there.
I'm all for remote and hybrid work, but some comments here a bit over the top. Live and let live, why is it a problem for you that I prefer to work from the office? I bend over backwards to make sure the remote people on my team can work from home, even tough this can get pretty annoying if you do hardware.
One side of the argument allows for the possibility of people working in an office if that works better for them, the other side of the argument insists that everyone does the same thing regardless of suitability.
The "one side of the argument" that I replied to, was the accusation that only people with private offices want to work from there rather then from home.
(At least the office doesn't have screaming kids in it.)
This is where the conversation needs to go. The office could be great, if businesses invested in the best space and furniture in the most vibrant locations, with a variety of working options. Solitude at home doesn’t breed a good culture, but nor does being forced to go to a shitty building in a soulless location to be uncomfortable for 8 hours a day just because an employee needs a paycheck.
“The company just isn’t in a position to do more than 1 day a week of work from home right now.”
Literally every other team does 4 days a week of work from home…
==
"Some higher up doesn't want it to"
My perceptions - wfh is more productive and comfortable for me, the alternative narrative is offices are better (because reasons), and we need to have face to face etc etc. The arguments are presented without facts and contrary to the evidence, there is an alternative reason - control, lack of trust etc, that is being hidden.
as GP said they could make things nice but, nah
"Do you believe your own lying eyes, over me?"
Gaslighting is a specific form of it.
Presumably you mean interesting urban centers? That's fine for people who live in the city. It's mostly awful for anyone who needs to regularly commute in. I worked in the relatively nearby major city for about 18 months a few days a week. I even had a pretty convenient commuter rail line. But it still involved getting up before 6am and spending about 4 hours a day to commute.
I don't care how nice the office equipment is or how great the food options are but I couldn't have susstained that long-term.
Companies may hybrid for a while while WFH jobs are plentiful. Sooner of later, the WFH opportunities will dry or fill up and back to office will be the new normal. Then hybrid will slowly diminish to nothing and in office will be the new normal.
> Also the lost time in travel - say 2 hours a day I can spend walking
My commute to the office was a 35 minute walk each way through a park and a historic city centre. Of course YMMV, but it rubs me the wrong way when people who decided to take on long commutes for better pay talk about how it's being taken away from them and everyone should feel the same way, when lots of people make the compromise of living in a city to not have those problems.
Yeah that sounds nice, but it is more comfortable than your own home?
Not everyone lives in a luxury house.
(Some of my colleagues returned to the office as soon as it was allowed, just to spend some time away from their families.)
Otherwise it's just a living space with a bed.
In that case I would urge one to get themselves a home rather than an office job with great perks. That's a better investment in my book. No, I don't mean buying, even a shared rented flat could be your home.
And for that in a hybrid setup you still have the option to walk to work. You can't expect every soul in an office to be able to afford a central place where you can walk to the office, it's simply not feasible. YMMV a lot, not sure why your anecdote should be taken as an argument, very few people have the privilege to afford a central location to live in, many more have to commute.
Sure, everyone happens to live right next to several good potential employers in their field, but instead choses to take a job further away because money.
I have never seen an office like this, except on TV.
At the home office, I make coffee exactly the way I prefer. If I want variety, I can take a 10 minute break and pop down to the Bucks or McD’s.
Office kitchenettes… feh.
https://tadleckman.wordpress.com/2010/11/10/creamer-hoarder/
how am I supposed to engage in a pointless yet personally significant act of rebellion and defiance without access to the supply closet!?
(/s not /s)
I get less sick, can live near nice walking tracks, and don't need to commute.
I genuinely think most very big cities will slowly die, just like they slowly grew.