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An interesting article over at PCMag that is worth the read as this brief summary cannot do the topics justice. It discusses the issues with getting employees back into the office after two years of working remotely.
[...] The 2022 Microsoft Work Trend Index reported that 50% of mid-level managers said their companies are making plans to return to in-person work five days a week in the year ahead, but 52% of employees are considering going hybrid or remote.
[...] While the pandemic has exposed the many challenges of working remotely, it has also made the benefits clear. People are unwilling to lose hours of their day to the things they find most frustrating about work, such as commuting and the drudgery of office life. [...]
[...] While offices are a collective place of work, they're experienced individually. And for some individuals, that experience is not as welcoming as it is for others. This is reflected in women, people of color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and those with disabilities being less inclined to want to return to the office than others.
[...] In-office employees have found themselves spending time commuting only to sit in an office and spend the day not interacting with anyone there and having a Zoom meeting or two. Meanwhile, those still working remote can feel ignored when they're logged on to a Zoom meeting and see their colleagues in a conference room having side conversations that they're not a part of.
[...] There have been some unpleasant new realities faced by those returning to the office. Lots of workplace perks have disappeared in the pandemic. Fully stocked kitchens are a lot barer since they have to feed a much smaller fraction of a workforce. Free gym memberships didn't make much sense when gyms were closed and the benefit at some companies didn't return when their doors reopened.
[...] But there are some perks that have evolved into ones more suited to remote work. Companies, particularly at the beginning of the pandemic, set up stipends to outfit home offices. Childcare, which has always been a concern for working parents, became more of one. And benefits have expanded to include longer paid leave for parents, more flexible schedules, backup childcare services, and even tutoring stipends. [...]
[...] Companies would do well to set up an outreach system for employees of all levels to really check in on their individual needs and concerns. Forego formal surveys for a more human touch of a one-on-one chat by phone or Slack. Because no matter how remote we might be from one another in our workplaces at present, we've all lived through a trying time and could benefit from some connection.
Have your working environments changed, and if so, has it been for the better or worse (or neither)?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Thexalon on Tuesday May 10 2022, @09:22PM (2 children)
Having seen some great middle managers in action: They don't do that by looming over my desk or something like that. They pull me in for conversations where we talk about priorities, productivity, what's stopping me from getting things done, that sort of thing, and then we both get back to work. Because the most important thing that great middle managers do is hire people who are capable and motivated to get the job done and done right. And then they mostly get out of the way.
And those managers can do so over Zoom or the phone or a chat channel just as easily as they could in person. Really.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Kell on Tuesday May 10 2022, @10:52PM (1 child)
This - a thousand times this. I have a small team and I manage them as best I can, not by standing over them (unless it's a thorny technical task that needs my engineering expertise) but by listening and asking "how can I help?" Most of our team came back to the lab as soon as it was possible to be on campus: we need to be hands-on with most of our work. As it is, I've got one employee who is still remote and whose productivity has dipped to problematic levels: our research contract is at risk. This was utterly surprising because the employee is one of my most professional and on-task. It turns out that his home life is absolute garbage: loud neighbors, loud kids, loud wife, no peace, and a million distractions. He's also turned into the kid-taxi for school runs. Unfortunately, his wife has immune issues so covid is a Big Deal for them and as such I've been as supportive as I can in facilitating his working remotely. But what do I do as a manager whose employee isn't getting his work done? I've asked him to come to the lab at least twice a week so that I can gate his work (with micro deadlines), but I'm seriously worried that our contract won't be extended because we won't have a deliverable. Sometimes home isn't the place to get shit down; if you don't get shit done there's a real risk people will stop paying you.
Scientists ask questions. Engineers solve problems.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Wednesday May 11 2022, @11:13AM
Is there somewhere else nearby he can go? Maybe Starbucks, or his local public library? And I'm assuming him getting his family together and giving them the "Look, daddy has to be able to concentrate on his job if he wants to keep that paycheck coming in" hasn't had any effect?
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.