WFH in MA (Boston: daycare, house, wage)

[msRB311]

I do complain about the free stuff mostly because it's forced and tax payers pay for it. Someone's WFH situation should not be anyone else's concern really since it has nothing to do with tax dollars but it seems to be argued about weekly on this forum and there is controversy about it.

At this point WFH isn't about covid for most. It's about convenience, having an easier life.

[redplum33]

As I've said, I have no skin in this game. I'm just offering my opinion.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by redplum33

As I've said, I have no skin in this game. I'm just offering my opinion.

Right, it sounds like you are in a situation where you don't have to work or you've worked for yourself or a family member your whole life? So you're right, you should not have an opinion on whether working families in the greater Boston area WFH or not. Neither should Martha Stuart or Elon Musk.

[id77]

Originally Posted by yesmaybe

Until you end up being at the top of the list of being off.

For some of the same reasons I'm WFH, I'm also very low on layoff list should we ever need to have layoffs.

During the 2020 episode I did go into the office as asked, without complaint and paying out of pocket to rent a car in order to do so. My management saw what I was doing and obtained approval to return me to WFH rather than risk my leaving for another company.

[AtkinsonDan]

Originally Posted by redplum33

The vast majority of WFH jobs were not WFH prior to covid. For people who have no concerns about covid, I think they probably should be back in the office. In nearly all instances, I would think they'd be far less productive with WFH. And those fighting the return to office come across to me as slackers trying to get away with continuing to be slackers.

I perform my best work when I don't have people (metaphorically) hanging over my shoulder. I am one of those people who never had the privilege of WFH prior to COVID and I disagree that those who say people with a preference to WFH should be seen as slackers. They should be seen as those who work best independently without the need for constant supervision.

[msRB311]

It's also interesting to me that someone who has never set foot in an office would be calling someone a slacker who would prefer to WFH than have to deal with commuting in.

I'm not sure how someone is a slacker because theyd prefer to save money on gas, not put the wear and tear on their car, spend hours in the car a week all to sit in an office for 40 hours a week. If they're doing the same work at home that they'd be doing in the office they are a slacker because they want to skip the commute? Are people better people for wanting to get in their car on the highway and drive lots of hours all to sit in an office? Or take public transportation? I personally did that 15 years of my career.

[id77]

Originally Posted by AtkinsonDan

I perform my best work when I don't have people (metaphorically) hanging over my shoulder. I am one of those people who never had the privilege of WFH prior to COVID and I disagree that those who say people with a preference to WFH should be seen as slackers. They should be seen as those who work best independently without the need for constant supervision.

The problem is that this just isn't true across the spectrum of WFH. There are invariably people who take WFH to slack more and inject more personal time into their work day at the expense of productivity, and there's more of these people than those who work optimally even from home.

If most of your WFH peers are in fact slackers, you should expect that the whole lot of WFH gets labeled as such. What the good WFH workers should do is strive to set themselves apart as exceptions to the rule rather than disagree with the rule.

[msRB311]

Why is it assumed that WFH people slack? What proof is there?

People have more personal time during the day that they are no longer spending commuting. They can also use a lunch break to get chores done.

If you think people were or are spending every single minute in the office doing actual work you're foolish.

[simplexsimon]

Originally Posted by msRB311

Why is it assumed that WFH people slack? What proof is there?

State Street seems to have evidence that more remote work and lower productivity are correlated. There might be confounding factors that weaken the argument for remote work causing lower productivity, but they're trying to control the "experiment" by making people come back.

[msRB311]

I again just find it funny that people get mad at others for not being ok with things like free lunch for all public school kids, free community college for anyone 25+, migrants by the thousands every month...but then these same people think those who WFH are slackers and should be in the office.