Amen!! I don't know how new employees can really learn & get ahead via remote work; too much is lost in the absence of face-to-face interactions. Mentoring requires real personal relations. Great post.
Feb 15, 2023·edited Feb 16, 2023Liked by Jeffrey Carter
As much as I sympathize with new employees and their reduced apprenticeship opportunities, in my personal experience work from home is much, much preferable.
From employee's perspective:
a) no distractions by unnecessary meetings. Those on goog-meet, etc could be turned on simultaneously with workflow in no-video mode, and attend to (or not) as I see fit
b) ability to organize my day by priorities I set myself, not my [numerous] bosses.
c) no personal interaction with annoying SJW, career opportunists-backstabbers, generally all kinds of unpleasant arrogant human traits and asocial behavior.
d) expense-wise, on balance, I think it's a win (NYC): save ~$200/month on commute); ~$250/month on lunches; ~$50-$300 on new/repaired clothes and shoes. In debit column, Spend $extra: we are not given a stipend or reimbursement on workday portion cost of utilities, home office, internet, etc
e) safety. Again, NYC here: you all heard, I think, of our street & transport crime situation. Until I can be sure I'll not become a "random knife attack" statistic during commute, I'd rather work from home
f) no wasted time on commute (1hr each way, min) in crowded environment (leading to common infections, among other things)
From an employer POV: all of the above improves my productivity, as I'm able to sleep more, concentrate better and spend extra free time on professional training. Plus, less sick-day absences cost.
The only reason, I think, companies demand bodies return to fill office seats is they have existing long-term leases of huge offices they renovated at high expense, and now they don't want to break these contracts and lose the money. That's it. All and any noise about "productivity", "mentoring", "collaboration" etc are just that: tall tales.
Thank you, but no, thank you - as much as I can I'll resist.
I can't speak from experience, as I have none, but I recently watched Gensler's presentation "Can Offices Become Housing?" - and apparently, they have done quite a big chunk of projects in suburbia, designing just that
Another issue with remote work, which I've always loathed, even during my chemo: the refrigerator at home might be fully stocked. Also, too many distractions.
Gone are the days where people spend 3-4 hours on the road, stressed out before they even get to the office or home at the end of an already grueling work day. I've worked long enough in my current position that for what I do (data analytics), I don't need to be in the office to be productive. While I'm home, I can let my dogs out, dress comfortably, make my own meals and run my laundry. And since I'm not commuting anymore, I can do a little extra in the AM or the PM, after my shift officially ends. Something I WON'T be doing after spending 2 hours in traffic on the way home from work.
For the overwhelming amount of us in the service economy, Zoom or MS Teams works just fine for interaction. I have no issue with some in-office meetings here and there, or even working in the office 1-2 days a week. I have enough experience in what I do that it will count for something should my current employer demand I make the trek back into the soulless cube farm. For me, those days are over, and rightly so.
Fair point. How many people spent, or spend, that long on the road?-and I love your comment about the soulless cube farm What about the younger you when you were just starting out? Does that person need an office environment? I think for many professions, they do and it looks like its beneficial for the firm. How beneficial is it for the individual? Never have seen a study on that at all but have seen a lot of anecdotes like yours which show benefits for sure.
In some situations, I think the younger folks do need to be around some older, seasoned employees for some time before they earn the benefit of working at home. In other situations, there are ways to monitor employees' work in remote settings - software, performance monitoring, etc.
It's obviously not a one-size-fits-all thing - collaboration probably often works better when people are in the same room together, but I suspect that isn't always the case. And some jobs are production - data entry, etc. - those would work great at home as long as employees are monitored.
I guess just speaking for myself, and having done both the office thing and the home thing for a while now, life is certainly easier with the latter, and I'm just as productive, if not more so.
I read your stuff every week. It's great work - thanks for doing it.
I am probably 1.5x to 2.5x more productive at my office than at home, depending on the work tasks. I do know a small handful of people that claim to be just as productive, but they have actually spent quite a bit of money on a home office setup. At this point, I consider my home a sanctuary away from work, so I’ve refused to do that so far.
Off topic, but is the coverage I'm watching about the homeless setting up shop at o'hare in baggage claim and around the airport true? If so, how? Even SFO clean as a whistle last time I was there.
I agree, back to the office. But if you have a nasty commute and are older, so be it from home a few days per week.
Amen!! I don't know how new employees can really learn & get ahead via remote work; too much is lost in the absence of face-to-face interactions. Mentoring requires real personal relations. Great post.
As much as I sympathize with new employees and their reduced apprenticeship opportunities, in my personal experience work from home is much, much preferable.
From employee's perspective:
a) no distractions by unnecessary meetings. Those on goog-meet, etc could be turned on simultaneously with workflow in no-video mode, and attend to (or not) as I see fit
b) ability to organize my day by priorities I set myself, not my [numerous] bosses.
c) no personal interaction with annoying SJW, career opportunists-backstabbers, generally all kinds of unpleasant arrogant human traits and asocial behavior.
d) expense-wise, on balance, I think it's a win (NYC): save ~$200/month on commute); ~$250/month on lunches; ~$50-$300 on new/repaired clothes and shoes. In debit column, Spend $extra: we are not given a stipend or reimbursement on workday portion cost of utilities, home office, internet, etc
e) safety. Again, NYC here: you all heard, I think, of our street & transport crime situation. Until I can be sure I'll not become a "random knife attack" statistic during commute, I'd rather work from home
f) no wasted time on commute (1hr each way, min) in crowded environment (leading to common infections, among other things)
From an employer POV: all of the above improves my productivity, as I'm able to sleep more, concentrate better and spend extra free time on professional training. Plus, less sick-day absences cost.
The only reason, I think, companies demand bodies return to fill office seats is they have existing long-term leases of huge offices they renovated at high expense, and now they don't want to break these contracts and lose the money. That's it. All and any noise about "productivity", "mentoring", "collaboration" etc are just that: tall tales.
Thank you, but no, thank you - as much as I can I'll resist.
Do you think suburban office parks make a comeback? Other big cities like Chicago and SF aren't exactly garden spots.
I can't speak from experience, as I have none, but I recently watched Gensler's presentation "Can Offices Become Housing?" - and apparently, they have done quite a big chunk of projects in suburbia, designing just that
Another issue with remote work, which I've always loathed, even during my chemo: the refrigerator at home might be fully stocked. Also, too many distractions.
This is where we part company.
Gone are the days where people spend 3-4 hours on the road, stressed out before they even get to the office or home at the end of an already grueling work day. I've worked long enough in my current position that for what I do (data analytics), I don't need to be in the office to be productive. While I'm home, I can let my dogs out, dress comfortably, make my own meals and run my laundry. And since I'm not commuting anymore, I can do a little extra in the AM or the PM, after my shift officially ends. Something I WON'T be doing after spending 2 hours in traffic on the way home from work.
For the overwhelming amount of us in the service economy, Zoom or MS Teams works just fine for interaction. I have no issue with some in-office meetings here and there, or even working in the office 1-2 days a week. I have enough experience in what I do that it will count for something should my current employer demand I make the trek back into the soulless cube farm. For me, those days are over, and rightly so.
Fair point. How many people spent, or spend, that long on the road?-and I love your comment about the soulless cube farm What about the younger you when you were just starting out? Does that person need an office environment? I think for many professions, they do and it looks like its beneficial for the firm. How beneficial is it for the individual? Never have seen a study on that at all but have seen a lot of anecdotes like yours which show benefits for sure.
Thanks for taking the time to respond!
In some situations, I think the younger folks do need to be around some older, seasoned employees for some time before they earn the benefit of working at home. In other situations, there are ways to monitor employees' work in remote settings - software, performance monitoring, etc.
It's obviously not a one-size-fits-all thing - collaboration probably often works better when people are in the same room together, but I suspect that isn't always the case. And some jobs are production - data entry, etc. - those would work great at home as long as employees are monitored.
I guess just speaking for myself, and having done both the office thing and the home thing for a while now, life is certainly easier with the latter, and I'm just as productive, if not more so.
I read your stuff every week. It's great work - thanks for doing it.
Thank you. I enjoy doing it. Keeps me engaged.
I am probably 1.5x to 2.5x more productive at my office than at home, depending on the work tasks. I do know a small handful of people that claim to be just as productive, but they have actually spent quite a bit of money on a home office setup. At this point, I consider my home a sanctuary away from work, so I’ve refused to do that so far.
Off topic, but is the coverage I'm watching about the homeless setting up shop at o'hare in baggage claim and around the airport true? If so, how? Even SFO clean as a whistle last time I was there.
I agree, back to the office. But if you have a nasty commute and are older, so be it from home a few days per week.