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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: 4, Interesting) by weeds on Wednesday May 11 2022, @01:11PM (1 child)
As far as the article goes... A representative proponent of working from home is quoted as saying;
A coupla' years ago, those two hours were just fine. You took the job with us that far away, but now it's my problem? We can bicker about that all day, but childcare? Hold the phone, am I paying you to write code or to watch your kids? "Oh, but I can work anytime." No, you can't. In my experience, software development is best practiced as a team sport. So we need times when pairing can work or just good old "two heads are better than one" problem solving. In addition, things go wrong and sometimes I need to interrupt you and need your undivided attention. This is the real world.
Apparently,
"Drudgery of office life"? What does that even mean? You have to sit at a desk and work? I think that's what you want, isn't it? Participate in pointless meetings? See the discussion above w/r/t managers and the other functions of a good manager.
Now
Actually, these groups can face these problems everywhere in society and this is a much wider cultural problem. Hiding from it is not likely to have any real impact on changing it.
And there's childcare again...
So
This doesn't even say "some". It implies that this is true across the board. It's not. And by the way, applies equally to those working from home. Who are they interacting with? Oh, yea, I forgot, the kids.
Companies are now charged with creating a working environment that provides
which means reducing to the lowest common denominator. "Since 20, 40 or 60% of the participants are remote, everyone will join on zoom even if you are here in the office." So everyone can share that lousy experience.
As far as the lost perks mentioned in the article, I can only say that has not happened here. We still have beer taps, wine, fruit, snacks, a gym, our patio, etc. Nothing has changed there.
Sound advice (aren't you doing a weekly one on one?) albeit ironic to refer to Slack as "human touch".
If you just want to work "cards" or "pitches" and grind out lines of code without really contributing to solutions, you have really diminished your value. In fact, if your job can be done from anywhere at any time of day, what is your value proposition? When I need another developer, why wouldn't I hire three from across the world somewhere and still save money? Tell me they aren't as good as you, well, that's a claim I can already refute having done this successfully. You used to compete for a job against only "local" developers. Now you are competing against "all" developers. It's very likely that I will find someone with exactly the stack I want somewhere. This is working now, but in the long run, it will only depress developer salaries. WIPRO's new slogan, "Your own developers have told you software development can be done from anywhere and from here it costs a fraction!"
Get money out of politics! [mayday.us]
(Score: 2) by Mykl on Wednesday May 11 2022, @10:53PM
This times one thousand.
I am a strong believer that face-to-face teams deliver greater value than fully remote teams. The incidental conversations, ability to quickly check things by swiveling the chair (rather than setting up a call) etc are all really beneficial.
However, if you believe that you are just as effective being 100% isolated and working entirely from home, then I can give your job to someone much cheaper living elsewhere in the world. Who knows? Unlike you, that person may actually like interacting with people! if your job is 100% home-based, your days of a decent salary are numbered - enjoy it while it lasts.