Get Your Butt Back To The Office (1 Viewer)

[ignatiusjreilly]

Ugh, our newish CEO (started the job in February) has announced that we're going to a 4-1 in-office policy, with everyone home on Friday. Up until now, we had kind of settled on an unofficial policy of "show up for internal meetings and then figure the rest out".

The good news is that my immediate boss has made it clear he's not interested in policing our attendance, and also that if we're out meeting people or attending industry events (which is a big part of our job) that should count as being in-office. My big thing is that I don't want to be on a strict 9-5 schedule, since that just means wasting a lot of time in traffic, which helps nobody. I don't see any reason I shouldn't be able to leave by, say, 3:00 and then finish up the rest of my work at home. But we'll see how that plays out.

Over the past three years, I've really come to value the flexibility of WFH, and also to realize how wasteful a long commute is, both environmentally and time-wise

 

[lsutigers]

I worked from home in healthcare for 8-ish years (5 years pre COVID and then from 2020 to 2023). Earlier this year, started a new role/new company in higher education with a 4-1 in office policy for my position (3-2 for junior roles, 5-0 onsite for my superiors and up). It's not a call I would want to make as a one size fits all policy.

 

[AAABatteries]

The boomers are hanging on to the in-office thing. When they die off/go away, so will the in office days. Waste of everybody’s time.

Anybody that works in corporate for a large company can verify - nobody wants to come back. People will play the good corporate citizen and talk about how great it will be and how we need to build culture. But just go to the office on a random day the last year and nobody is there. NOBODY. Our floors are ghost towns.

And finally happened - said they want folks 3 days. Seems quasi-mandatory and people so far aren’t listening - will be interesting to see how this plays out.

 

[Capella]

The boomers are hanging on to the in-office thing. When they die off/go away, so will the in office days. Waste of everybody’s time.

Anybody that works in corporate for a large company can verify - nobody wants to come back. People will play the good corporate citizen and talk about how great it will be and how we need to build culture. But just go to the office on a random day the last year and nobody is there. NOBODY. Our floors are ghost towns.

And finally happened - said they want folks 3 days. Seems quasi-mandatory and people so far aren’t listening - will be interesting to see how this plays out.

People will find other jobs is how it will play out.

 

[AAABatteries]

The boomers are hanging on to the in-office thing. When they die off/go away, so will the in office days. Waste of everybody’s time.

Anybody that works in corporate for a large company can verify - nobody wants to come back. People will play the good corporate citizen and talk about how great it will be and how we need to build culture. But just go to the office on a random day the last year and nobody is there. NOBODY. Our floors are ghost towns.

And finally happened - said they want folks 3 days. Seems quasi-mandatory and people so far aren’t listening - will be interesting to see how this plays out.

People will find other jobs is how it will play out.

Wasn’t going to say this but what the hell - I’m convinced it was designed to have a virtual layoff without taking the publicity hit and paying out severance.

 

[Harry Manback]

The boomers are hanging on to the in-office thing. When they die off/go away, so will the in office days. Waste of everybody’s time.

Anybody that works in corporate for a large company can verify - nobody wants to come back. People will play the good corporate citizen and talk about how great it will be and how we need to build culture. But just go to the office on a random day the last year and nobody is there. NOBODY. Our floors are ghost towns.

And finally happened - said they want folks 3 days. Seems quasi-mandatory and people so far aren’t listening - will be interesting to see how this plays out.

People will find other jobs is how it will play out.

Wasn’t going to say this but what the hell - I’m convinced it was designed to have a virtual layoff without taking the publicity hit and paying out severance.

That's certainly a part of it. What will be interesting is if they "fire" or let people go for not coming into the office, but they are otherwise doing their duties, will they qualify for unemployment?

 

[Scoresman]

Still home 100%. Wouldn't mind having to go in every now and then, but any sort of regular in office thing is now a dealbreaker for me. Anytime I am in the office these days are the most unproductive days ever.

 

[Osaurus]

I’m on site with my client 1 day every other week. Haven’t actually worked in my office in years now.

 

[massraider]

People will find other jobs is how it will play out.

In the long term, I agree. Right this second? I dunno.

All the tech companies had big layoffs, even LinkedIn. I have a friend at Google, who does 5 days in the office because he likes it, and he's worried about his job. in 2021, applicants had the upper hand. not so much right now. Pendulum swung back.

I know a person who was laid off from a WFH exec asst position, and she was saying every WFH listing gets a TON of applicants.

Down the road, companies will have to adjust, or lose their best and brightest. And that's really the thing that will drive the change. Companies will be able to get people into the office, but the talent? The ones who can actually demand things? That will be a given, work from home.

 

[Tin Cup]

The boomers are hanging on to the in-office thing. When they die off/go away, so will the in office days. Waste of everybody’s time.

Anybody that works in corporate for a large company can verify - nobody wants to come back. People will play the good corporate citizen and talk about how great it will be and how we need to build culture. But just go to the office on a random day the last year and nobody is there. NOBODY. Our floors are ghost towns.

And finally happened - said they want folks 3 days. Seems quasi-mandatory and people so far aren’t listening - will be interesting to see how this plays out.

My company went to 3/2 last year, then did a RIF to get rid of the people who weren’t coming in, then went to 4/1 and eventually 5/0 a few months ago.

 

[The Z Machine]

Over the past three years, I've really come to value the flexibility of WFH, and also to realize how wasteful a long commute is, both environmentally and time-wise

I have to think there are a LOT of people that agree here. We were asked to be in the office 3x per week starting Dec 4. They said, T, W, Th would be the days.

I told my direct reports that a) I'm not planning on being in those days exactly. It'll likely be 3 days, but not always T, W, Th. I don't expect them to adhere to something I am not doing either. I also told them that they can set their own hours and even if you come in, you're not obligated to come in 8-5. We often have calls that start at 7AM and I'm on a call with Asia at least one evening per week starting at 8 or 9 PM. That shouldn't be "extra" IMO.

I will admit that when the youngins roll in at 10 AM, I get a little judgey, but that's on me. I need to make sure they get the work done and attend the meetings that they are supposed to attend. Mostly I'm just jealous because I have to drop off kids at school in the AM, leaving the house at 7.

 

[The Z Machine]

The boomers are hanging on to the in-office thing. When they die off/go away, so will the in office days. Waste of everybody’s time.

Anybody that works in corporate for a large company can verify - nobody wants to come back. People will play the good corporate citizen and talk about how great it will be and how we need to build culture. But just go to the office on a random day the last year and nobody is there. NOBODY. Our floors are ghost towns.

And finally happened - said they want folks 3 days. Seems quasi-mandatory and people so far aren’t listening - will be interesting to see how this plays out.

My company went to 3/2 last year, then did a RIF to get rid of the people who weren’t coming in, then went to 4/1 and eventually 5/0 a few months ago.

that's terrible.

I'm thinking of trying to reclassify at least one of my best talents as "remote" even though he comes in ~2x / week. I don't want to lose him.

 

[TLEF316]

Lots of rumors that the company is gonna go to 4x at some point, but I think they have to know they wont get away with it. Our talent is CONSTANTLY being poached by competitors (As we're a leader in the market and everyone knows it) and any sort of additional push for in-office will push the best kids out the door. the 24-27 years old have basically no Pre-Covid history and they're simply not gonna stand for it. They'll just take a 20% raise and a full-time remote position somewhere else. And if they're competent, someone will take them.

 

[Alex P Keaton]

The boomers are hanging on to the in-office thing. When they die off/go away, so will the in office days. Waste of everybody’s time.

Anybody that works in corporate for a large company can verify - nobody wants to come back. People will play the good corporate citizen and talk about how great it will be and how we need to build culture. But just go to the office on a random day the last year and nobody is there. NOBODY. Our floors are ghost towns.

And finally happened - said they want folks 3 days. Seems quasi-mandatory and people so far aren’t listening - will be interesting to see how this plays out.

My company went to 3/2 last year, then did a RIF to get rid of the people who weren’t coming in, then went to 4/1 and eventually 5/0 a few months ago.

that's terrible.

I'm thinking of trying to reclassify at least one of my best talents as "remote" even though he comes in ~2x / week. I don't want to lose him.

I recruited a largely remote team for that exact reason. And true to form, my company is moving quickly toward in person now — except they love that we have a bunch of highly productive remote teams for operational diversity too. (You can’t make this stuff up)

 

[culdeus]

I'm basically going in 2x a week. Was announced to be 3x suggested, but not enforced.

Commuting in Dallas has gotten awful so I assume people are just back full time.

 

[Yankee23Fan]

Granted I work for myself...but at this point I don't know how much extra you would have to pay me to go into an office just to go into an office, but it's a steep price, that I know. I've done my job from about 9 states at this point. Didn't need my office for any of it.

 

[Phil Elliott]

Wework, once valued over $45b files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

WeWork, once valued at $47 billion, files for bankruptcy

Office-sharing company WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court Monday.

www.cnbc.com

 

[culdeus]

Wework, once valued over $45b files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

WeWork, once valued at $47 billion, files for bankruptcy

Office-sharing company WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court Monday.

www.cnbc.com

Not sure what that has to do with anything.

 

[jobarules]

Been going in 1x a week and it's an utter complete waste of time. Basically do it for the card swipe. The office is dead, zero collaboration gets done, and I leave early every time (so basically instead of working 8+ hours when I wfh I'm putting in 6 hour day). Well they just announced 2x in the office is required starting January. There is zero reason to be in the office. The culture or collaboration isn't real.

 

[NutterButter]

Been going in 1x a week and it's an utter complete waste of time. Basically do it for the card swipe. The office is dead, zero collaboration gets done, and I leave early every time (so basically instead of working 8+ hours when I wfh I'm putting in 6 hour day). Well they just announced 2x in the office is required starting January. There is zero reason to be in the office. The culture or collaboration isn't real.

Wait until they get back to 5x. That's when all the magic will happen again.

 

[culdeus]

The other major innovation that happened right before COVID were people using internal chat systems rather than email for a quick check. Those were done sort of ad hoc in person and very inefficient.

 

[MTskibum]

Our company lets each division decide whether they are going in 2 days a week or 3 days a week, however many people ignore the recommendations and just show up once every other week if that.

I go into the office 3 days a week now and may soon start going in 4, but I live close to the office with no commute time. I also enjoy the fact that the office is empty.

 

[NutterButter]

Our company lets each division decide whether they are going in 2 days a week or 3 days a week, however many people ignore the recommendations and just show up once every other week if that.

I go into the office 3 days a week now and may soon start going in 4, but I live close to the office with no commute time. I also enjoy the fact that the office is empty.

I know what you mean. I enjoy the fact that my house is empty.

 

[Scoresman]

The other major innovation that happened right before COVID were people using internal chat systems rather than email for a quick check. Those were done sort of ad hoc in person and very inefficient.

Can you expand this? I find the use of Teams chat over email to be a huge time saver. If somebody is doing the exact same thing with multiple people individually, that's their own waste of time, not a fault with the software.

 

[MTskibum]

Our company lets each division decide whether they are going in 2 days a week or 3 days a week, however many people ignore the recommendations and just show up once every other week if that.

I go into the office 3 days a week now and may soon start going in 4, but I live close to the office with no commute time. I also enjoy the fact that the office is empty.

I know what you mean. I enjoy the fact that my house is empty.

My wife is a stay at home mom, my house is not empty.

 

[NutterButter]

Our company lets each division decide whether they are going in 2 days a week or 3 days a week, however many people ignore the recommendations and just show up once every other week if that.

I go into the office 3 days a week now and may soon start going in 4, but I live close to the office with no commute time. I also enjoy the fact that the office is empty.

I know what you mean. I enjoy the fact that my house is empty.

My wife is a stay at home mom, my house is not empty.

I figured. A few folks I know like going to the office to essentially get a break from their home life.

 

[Poke_4_Life]

We're officially at 50% in office, but unofficially shouldn't fall below 40% for the month. We travel a lot to clients and those days count as office days.

When I go in, I rarely stay the whole day, partly because I know they are pulling badge swipes for attendance and there's no badge swipe for leaving. Feels like I'm sticking it to the man. Everyone seems to do this. After about 2pm the office is dead.

 

[Phil Elliott]

Wework, once valued over $45b files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

WeWork, once valued at $47 billion, files for bankruptcy

Office-sharing company WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court Monday.

www.cnbc.com

Not sure what that has to do with anything.

Directly related to people working from home more often?

 

[massraider]

Directly related to people working from home more often?

Directly related to them signing a bunch of bad commercial deals, and rapid expansion all to cash in on an IPO, which was a disaster.

For real, when people were ditching office space, these boneheads were running around signing expensive commercial leases.

They were operating at a loss because that dingbat thought he was Jeff Bezos

 

[Scoresman]

Wework, once valued over $45b files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

WeWork, once valued at $47 billion, files for bankruptcy

Office-sharing company WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court Monday.

www.cnbc.com

Not sure what that has to do with anything.

Directly related to people working from home more often?

I would think that with more people working from home and more companies carrying less office space cost on overhead, that places like WeWork would thrive with companies needing the occasional collaboration space.

 

[Nugget]

Wework, once valued over $45b files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

WeWork, once valued at $47 billion, files for bankruptcy

Office-sharing company WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court Monday.

www.cnbc.com

Not sure what that has to do with anything.

Directly related to people working from home more often?

I would think that with more people working from home and more companies carrying less office space cost on overhead, that places like WeWork would thrive with companies needing the occasional collaboration space.

This is what our regional office did. Cut lease cost in half, moved downtown, and had perks to attract and retain younger crowd.

 

[Scoresman]

Wework, once valued over $45b files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

WeWork, once valued at $47 billion, files for bankruptcy

Office-sharing company WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court Monday.

www.cnbc.com

Not sure what that has to do with anything.

Directly related to people working from home more often?

I would think that with more people working from home and more companies carrying less office space cost on overhead, that places like WeWork would thrive with companies needing the occasional collaboration space.

This is what our regional office did. Cut lease cost in half, moved downtown, and had perks to attract and retain younger crowd.

I guess it's all in the nature of the work being done, but I can't see how more companies dont realize things like this instead of pushing for some outdated mentality of being in an office. The people who still cling to this mentality need to retire already.

 

[NutterButter]

Wework, once valued over $45b files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

WeWork, once valued at $47 billion, files for bankruptcy

Office-sharing company WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court Monday.

www.cnbc.com

Not sure what that has to do with anything.

Directly related to people working from home more often?

I would think that with more people working from home and more companies carrying less office space cost on overhead, that places like WeWork would thrive with companies needing the occasional collaboration space.

This is what our regional office did. Cut lease cost in half, moved downtown, and had perks to attract and retain younger crowd.

I guess it's all in the nature of the work being done, but I can't see how more companies dont realize things like this instead of pushing for some outdated mentality of being in an office. The people who still cling to this mentality need to retire already.

It sounds like its more of a mentality strongly correlated to the period in your life. Its not just that older folks have this antiquated mentality, but they also enjoy the act of going to an office more. They don't have any of the responsibilities of middle aged folks that still have kids at home and they have more disposable income. So they can afford both the time and the money to go into the office and in return they get the in person human interaction that they're sorely missing. Most older folks don't have a lot of close contacts. They have their close family, some of which are now moving on with their lives, and their work colleagues.

 

[massraider]

It sounds like its more of a mentality strongly correlated to the period in your life. Its not just that older folks have this antiquated mentality, but they also enjoy the act of going to an office more. They don't have any of the responsibilities of middle aged folks that still have kids at home and they have more disposable income. So they can afford both the time and the money to go into the office and in return they get the in person human interaction that they're sorely missing. Most older folks don't have a lot of close contacts. They have their close family, some of which are now moving on with their lives, and their work colleagues

I'll wager this mentality changes a lot, and happens at roughly the same time that their lease expires.

 

[belljr]

Wework, once valued over $45b files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

WeWork, once valued at $47 billion, files for bankruptcy

Office-sharing company WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court Monday.

www.cnbc.com

Not sure what that has to do with anything.

Directly related to people working from home more often?

I would think that with more people working from home and more companies carrying less office space cost on overhead, that places like WeWork would thrive with companies needing the occasional collaboration space.

This is what our regional office did. Cut lease cost in half, moved downtown, and had perks to attract and retain younger crowd.

I guess it's all in the nature of the work being done, but I can't see how more companies dont realize things like this instead of pushing for some outdated mentality of being in an office. The people who still cling to this mentality need to retire already.

It sounds like its more of a mentality strongly correlated to the period in your life. Its not just that older folks have this antiquated mentality, but they also enjoy the act of going to an office more. They don't have any of the responsibilities of middle aged folks that still have kids at home and they have more disposable income. So they can afford both the time and the money to go into the office and in return they get the in person human interaction that they're sorely missing. Most older folks don't have a lot of close contacts. They have their close family, some of which are now moving on with their lives, and their work colleagues.

What age bracket we talking here? Other than the couple weeks I would have to go in for test support. I never want to go into the office ever again. I'm in my early 50s

 

[Phil Elliott]

Wework, once valued over $45b files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

WeWork, once valued at $47 billion, files for bankruptcy

Office-sharing company WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court Monday.

www.cnbc.com

Not sure what that has to do with anything.

Directly related to people working from home more often?

I would think that with more people working from home and more companies carrying less office space cost on overhead, that places like WeWork would thrive with companies needing the occasional collaboration space.

This is what our regional office did. Cut lease cost in half, moved downtown, and had perks to attract and retain younger crowd.

Our company went from regional leased space in traditional towers in downtowns to Wework offices in the suburbs pre-Covid. Obviously went to work from home during Covid. After Covid, went 95% work from home except for offices in 3 large cities. Talking a couple hundred offices.

 

[Scoresman]

Wework, once valued over $45b files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

WeWork, once valued at $47 billion, files for bankruptcy

Office-sharing company WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court Monday.

www.cnbc.com

Not sure what that has to do with anything.

Directly related to people working from home more often?

I would think that with more people working from home and more companies carrying less office space cost on overhead, that places like WeWork would thrive with companies needing the occasional collaboration space.

This is what our regional office did. Cut lease cost in half, moved downtown, and had perks to attract and retain younger crowd.

I guess it's all in the nature of the work being done, but I can't see how more companies dont realize things like this instead of pushing for some outdated mentality of being in an office. The people who still cling to this mentality need to retire already.

It sounds like its more of a mentality strongly correlated to the period in your life. Its not just that older folks have this antiquated mentality, but they also enjoy the act of going to an office more. They don't have any of the responsibilities of middle aged folks that still have kids at home and they have more disposable income. So they can afford both the time and the money to go into the office and in return they get the in person human interaction that they're sorely missing. Most older folks don't have a lot of close contacts. They have their close family, some of which are now moving on with their lives, and their work colleagues.

What age bracket we talking here? Other than the couple weeks I wouldn't have to go in for test support. I never want to go into the office ever again. I'm in my early 50s

In my career I've worked with a lot of people in the boomer generation who fit this mold. They are still working well into their 70s and higher simply because they are bored at home, never planned a fun retirement or whatever. Some of them just didn't like their wives so they spent all their time at work. COVID must have hit them hard in this regard.

 

[NutterButter]

Wework, once valued over $45b files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

WeWork, once valued at $47 billion, files for bankruptcy

Office-sharing company WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court Monday.

www.cnbc.com

Not sure what that has to do with anything.

Directly related to people working from home more often?

I would think that with more people working from home and more companies carrying less office space cost on overhead, that places like WeWork would thrive with companies needing the occasional collaboration space.

This is what our regional office did. Cut lease cost in half, moved downtown, and had perks to attract and retain younger crowd.

I guess it's all in the nature of the work being done, but I can't see how more companies dont realize things like this instead of pushing for some outdated mentality of being in an office. The people who still cling to this mentality need to retire already.

It sounds like its more of a mentality strongly correlated to the period in your life. Its not just that older folks have this antiquated mentality, but they also enjoy the act of going to an office more. They don't have any of the responsibilities of middle aged folks that still have kids at home and they have more disposable income. So they can afford both the time and the money to go into the office and in return they get the in person human interaction that they're sorely missing. Most older folks don't have a lot of close contacts. They have their close family, some of which are now moving on with their lives, and their work colleagues.

What age bracket we talking here? Other than the couple weeks I would have to go in for test support. I never want to go into the office ever again. I'm in my early 50s

Me neither, but I'm more of an introvert. I like people. I just don't seek out their company b/c I'm so comfortable being alone. More people are extroverts. I think once your kids leave the nest, things get a lot lonelier. I know I experienced it first hand when I got divorced. It helps though that I'm very active and have a lot of hobbies. For a lot of people, all they know is their job.

 

[NutterButter]

Wework, once valued over $45b files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

WeWork, once valued at $47 billion, files for bankruptcy

Office-sharing company WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court Monday.

www.cnbc.com

Not sure what that has to do with anything.

Directly related to people working from home more often?

I would think that with more people working from home and more companies carrying less office space cost on overhead, that places like WeWork would thrive with companies needing the occasional collaboration space.

This is what our regional office did. Cut lease cost in half, moved downtown, and had perks to attract and retain younger crowd.

I guess it's all in the nature of the work being done, but I can't see how more companies dont realize things like this instead of pushing for some outdated mentality of being in an office. The people who still cling to this mentality need to retire already.

It sounds like its more of a mentality strongly correlated to the period in your life. Its not just that older folks have this antiquated mentality, but they also enjoy the act of going to an office more. They don't have any of the responsibilities of middle aged folks that still have kids at home and they have more disposable income. So they can afford both the time and the money to go into the office and in return they get the in person human interaction that they're sorely missing. Most older folks don't have a lot of close contacts. They have their close family, some of which are now moving on with their lives, and their work colleagues.

What age bracket we talking here? Other than the couple weeks I wouldn't have to go in for test support. I never want to go into the office ever again. I'm in my early 50s

In my career I've worked with a lot of people in the boomer generation who fit this mold. They are still working well into their 70s and higher simply because they are bored at home, never planned a fun retirement or whatever. Some of them just didn't like their wives so they spent all their time at work. COVID must have hit them hard in this regard.

I wouldn't be surprised one bit if that repeats itself for generation X.

 

[Runkle]

Rumors are my company is going to start "counting swipes", so, guess it's time to dust off the resume and update my linkedin in hopes of transitioning to something fully remote or at least casually flexible. If this place is going to micromanage my location hours in a job that is nearly entirely zoom calls and emailing an excel spreadsheet around, they can F right off.

 

[NutterButter]

It sounds like its more of a mentality strongly correlated to the period in your life. Its not just that older folks have this antiquated mentality, but they also enjoy the act of going to an office more. They don't have any of the responsibilities of middle aged folks that still have kids at home and they have more disposable income. So they can afford both the time and the money to go into the office and in return they get the in person human interaction that they're sorely missing. Most older folks don't have a lot of close contacts. They have their close family, some of which are now moving on with their lives, and their work colleagues

I'll wager this mentality changes a lot, and happens at roughly the same time that their lease expires.

So you think wfh will start to pick up once leases begin to expire? I'd certainly love it but it also seems odd to me that they're fighting this battle just to reverse course in a couple of years.

 

[massraider]

So you think wfh will start to pick up once leases begin to expire? I'd certainly love it but it also seems odd to me that they're fighting this battle just to reverse course in a couple of years.

Imagine if you were doing a startup right now, and you were competing with a company that had a 6 figure monthly rent expense.

How massive an advantage do you have?

Wanna poach all their talent? Tell them you'll pay them 5 grand less a year, but it's fully remote. You'll get their best people.

And pay them less.
And have a fraction of the operating expenses.

 

[UncleZen]

My company is a mixture of WFH, hybrid, and fully on site, depending on the job. For a lot of us, it's up to your manager. I started going in 1 or 2 days a week because my wife was tired of me always being home. The days vary based on her days off. I get more done at home but it's nice to chase certain people down who don't answer you when I do go into the plant.

 

[ignatiusjreilly]

Directly related to people working from home more often?

Directly related to them signing a bunch of bad commercial deals, and rapid expansion all to cash in on an IPO, which was a disaster.

For real, when people were ditching office space, these boneheads were running around signing expensive commercial leases.

They were operating at a loss because that dingbat thought he was Jeff Bezos

Yeah, I'm bullish on the broader trend of coworking/modular offices. Companies need to be able to quickly add/subtract square footage rather than being tied down with long, expensive leases.

But WeWork was hugely overvalued because they pretended they were a tech play rather than a real-estate play, and they never really found their footing once everything crashed and Nuemann was forced out. (Not to imply that he was some irreplaceable genius, just that losing your founder/CEO is really disruptive)

 

[NutterButter]

So you think wfh will start to pick up once leases begin to expire? I'd certainly love it but it also seems odd to me that they're fighting this battle just to reverse course in a couple of years.

Imagine if you were doing a startup right now, and you were competing with a company that had a 6 figure monthly rent expense.

How massive an advantage do you have?

Wanna poach all their talent? Tell them you'll pay them 5 grand less a year, but it's fully remote. You'll get their best people.

And pay them less.
And have a fraction of the operating expenses.

I still go back to why fight this fight knowing that this threat is coming unless they don't see it as much of a threat as you do. That's what I keep reading too in comments for articles talking about forcing people back into the office, but maybe these companies are just accepting that they'll lose some of their talent. Or maybe more of the young talent wants to work in the office than you think and its just the middle aged folks with kids that truly desire work from home and those are already the people that aren't putting in the extra hours so companies aren't as concerned about losing them. I guess we'll see. Its certainly not trending in the wfh direction.

 

[massraider]

I still go back to why fight this fight knowing that this threat is coming unless they don't see it as much of a threat as you do.

Look at it this way, how often does a new tech that makes people's lives easier NOT get used?

 

[NutterButter]

I still go back to why fight this fight knowing that this threat is coming unless they don't see it as much of a threat as you do.

Look at it this way, how often does a new tech that makes people's lives easier NOT get used?

I don't know. Depends. How much does it cost?

 

[Sand]

Wework, once valued over $45b files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

WeWork, once valued at $47 billion, files for bankruptcy

Office-sharing company WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court Monday.

www.cnbc.com

Not sure what that has to do with anything.

Directly related to people working from home more often?

I would think that with more people working from home and more companies carrying less office space cost on overhead, that places like WeWork would thrive with companies needing the occasional collaboration space.

This is what our regional office did. Cut lease cost in half, moved downtown, and had perks to attract and retain younger crowd.

I guess it's all in the nature of the work being done, but I can't see how more companies dont realize things like this instead of pushing for some outdated mentality of being in an office. The people who still cling to this mentality need to retire already.

It sounds like its more of a mentality strongly correlated to the period in your life. Its not just that older folks have this antiquated mentality, but they also enjoy the act of going to an office more. They don't have any of the responsibilities of middle aged folks that still have kids at home and they have more disposable income. So they can afford both the time and the money to go into the office and in return they get the in person human interaction that they're sorely missing. Most older folks don't have a lot of close contacts. They have their close family, some of which are now moving on with their lives, and their work colleagues.

What age bracket we talking here? Other than the couple weeks I wouldn't have to go in for test support. I never want to go into the office ever again. I'm in my early 50s

In my career I've worked with a lot of people in the boomer generation who fit this mold. They are still working well into their 70s and higher simply because they are bored at home, never planned a fun retirement or whatever. Some of them just didn't like their wives so they spent all their time at work. COVID must have hit them hard in this regard.

I did fully remote during COVID. Felt totally isolated. Super stressful trying to get work on the floor done in realtime remotely. Hated it. I can work remote pretty much anytime, but don't. All the good stuff happens in our lab.

 

[SpurrierisisGod]

My company has been pretty forgiving... need to work from home? Do it. If not, not come in. In my situation it's been quite refreshing. Having a 7 year old with health issues I have the freedom to do either. But I admit it is nice to be in the office having face to face interactions.

Flexibility is the key I think. Knowing your talent and letting adults be adults is the issue. There isn't a single thing my job requires that I need to be in the office. But it's nice to not be micro managed to death.

 

[The Z Machine]

Wework, once valued over $45b files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

WeWork, once valued at $47 billion, files for bankruptcy

Office-sharing company WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court Monday.

www.cnbc.com

Not sure what that has to do with anything.

Directly related to people working from home more often?

I would think that with more people working from home and more companies carrying less office space cost on overhead, that places like WeWork would thrive with companies needing the occasional collaboration space.

This is what our regional office did. Cut lease cost in half, moved downtown, and had perks to attract and retain younger crowd.

Our company went from regional leased space in traditional towers in downtowns to Wework offices in the suburbs pre-Covid. Obviously went to work from home during Covid. After Covid, went 95% work from home except for offices in 3 large cities. Talking a couple hundred offices.

Probably saved a boatload of cash in doing so.