Coronavirus in Massachusetts (Boston: for sale, to rent, insurance)

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by lrfox

We're still sticking to "June," it's the longest we've committed to a single month since the start of all of this. I suspect that it'll get pushed back again (likely to September), but we're pretty optimistic still.

Assuming we have four vaccines online in Q2, June sounds right though perhaps more like 4th of July before the 2 dose vaccine people are a few weeks beyond their 2nd jab. I'm not going to have much tolerance for protecting the Gwyneth Paltrows of the country.

[yesmaybe]

Originally Posted by msRB311

I also think it's naive to to assume that everyone will be racing back to the office after working from home for over a year.

They will if they like receiving a paycheck. The question is going to be how much flexibility people will get. You don't want too much flexibility because if they are cool with remote, they will force people back into the office hoping local will quit so they can be replaced with cheaper remote.

[msRB311]

I've already seen people say they will look for another job that is a wfh job if they are forced to return to the office.

My dept is in the process of deciding whether to not return and many others are deciding as well. I mean that has been discussed by many companies since the summer. Surprised you assume that things will go back to normal.

[yesmaybe]

Originally Posted by msRB311

I've already seen people say they will look for another job that is a wfh job if they are forced to return to the office.

Good luck to them if they think they can get anything close to what they are making now unless they are very severely underpaid.

[msRB311]

Well this is clearly a trigger for you. Many people will not be returning to their office and that's already been oked by their employer. I know people who have moved out of state but kept their job.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

Assuming we have four vaccines online in Q2, June sounds right though perhaps more like 4th of July before the 2 dose vaccine people are a few weeks beyond their 2nd jab. I'm not going to have much tolerance for protecting the Gwyneth Paltrows of the country.

You're not alone. I suspect that that there's an expiration date for people's patience regardless of vaccine acceptance. If we get through the spring and the vaccine is available/accessible to everyone but we still haven't reached the targeted percentage of vaccinated population, I would imagine the world will begin to return to normal anyway. Nobody's going to keep the world shut down for people who are just too ignorant to take the necessary measure to get it moving again.

Originally Posted by yesmaybe

They will if they like receiving a paycheck. The question is going to be how much flexibility people will get. You don't want too much flexibility because if they are cool with remote, they will force people back into the office hoping local will quit so they can be replaced with cheaper remote.

Anecdotally, most workplaces I'm familiar with are planning to allow for at least some level of flexibility. My girlfriend did interview at a big Boston firm that did say they're bringing everyone back full-time with zero exceptions once it's safe. Interesting because she's done fairly well remotely and this work would be similar (no reason it shouldn't work just fine remotely). I know I've been going in 2-3 days per week for the most part and going back full-time isn't going to be an easy adjustment. Though I imagine I'd get back into the routine fairly quickly.

[msRB311]

I would think that companies who are paying a lot for their space will want employees back. However I think the employees who don't want to return will look elsewhere. It's kind of a no brainer.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by yesmaybe

Good luck to them if they think they can get anything close to what they are making now unless they are very severely underpaid.

Welcome to my life. I started telecommuting in 2009. My total comp hasn't remotely tracked inflation. Unless I'm an exact match for rare subject matter expertise, I can't command left coast/right coast high COL region comp. There are also lots of job functions I've traditionally done for a living that are impossible. I can only do individual contributor and road warrior things. If had tech jobs with titles like Chief Architect. You can't do that telecommuting. I've done things over the last 5 years I never would have considered in my younger years. 1099 work billing 100 hours per month? Sure. I also have to compete against L-1B people who helicopter in from the mothership in Asia and live in corporate apartments. I've worked with an awful lot of really good Taiwanese, South Korean, and Chinese engineers over the last decade and I'm going to get shot between the eyes as soon as they think they've climbed the learning curve because I'm expensive even dropping my rate significantly.

[msRB311]

I do think people forget that there were plenty of wfh home jobs before the pandemic

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by msRB311

I would think that companies who are paying a lot for their space will want employees back. However I think the employees who don't want to return will look elsewhere. It's kind of a no brainer.

If I'm a bean counter paying $65 per square foot triple net for office space and closer to $100 somewhere desirable like Kendall Square or walkable from South Station, I'd be 100% on board with continuing telecommuting indefinitely as long as there are productivity metrics.