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Because the pro-office folks seem to think those of us working remotely are goofing off all day, every day. While everyone probably takes breaks here and there, I can state most certainly I work WAY more hours from home vs. in an office. My last office job (15+ years ago), I had people walking into my cube every 30 mins or so to chat about generally non-work topics. I took long lunches, walked as often as I could to get away from that awful cube environment and started/stopped my day at exactly the same times, rarely ever working late. At least once per week my team would go to lunch together at a restaurant, which took probably 90 minutes in total away from our desks.
It's rubbish, all of it.
BINGO! They still believe that people are just goofing off all day despite actual data proving otherwise.
BINGO! They still believe that people are just goofing off all day despite actual data proving otherwise.
Either the work is getting done or it isn't. If it's getting done, it doesn't matter if the at-home workers are goofing off in between doing their work. It's not their in-office coworkers' business. If it isn't getting done, then the boss needs to deal with that issue.
I'm at home. Sometimes I sit in the yard with my dog, sometimes I'm watching an episode of a tv show I like, sometimes I am running an errand during office hours. But my work always gets done. Nobody I work with would say, "oh, that Sharon is goofing off at home, her reports aren't in on time/her clients are left hanging/she doesn't fill out all of her documentation forms."
I don't know what my coworkers are doing whether they're at home or in the office. Maybe in-office Suzie is spending half of her day outside smoking and maybe at-home James is glued to his computer screen from 7 am to 7 pm. Neither of those situations are my problem. If they aren't getting their work done and it's impacting me, I could let the boss know that I can't get these reports done because so and so didn't do their job and I'm waiting on their results. As long as they do their jobs and I do mine, though, what's the difference?
Because the pro-office folks seem to think those of us working remotely are goofing off all day, every day. While everyone probably takes breaks here and there, I can state most certainly I work WAY more hours from home vs. in an office. My last office job (15+ years ago), I had people walking into my cube every 30 mins or so to chat about generally non-work topics. I took long lunches, walked as often as I could to get away from that awful cube environment and started/stopped my day at exactly the same times, rarely ever working late. At least once per week my team would go to lunch together at a restaurant, which took probably 90 minutes in total away from our desks.
It's rubbish, all of it.
Yep. As others mentioned, micromanagement is part of it, but I think the above is a big part too. IME bigger. I have worked since a teen and in 40 years some things have never changed. How do people land cushy jobs and get promoted? It's all about who you know and who you kiss up to. This is a big part of the status quo being protected.
I noticed WFH leveled the work playing field in a positive way. You had to actually prove you did something. Ironically, more so than in person. This may be why so many supervisors are reporting more overall "productivity" when going remote. Well yeah, the gab fests that went on for hours were not happening, for one.
There is always office politics to deal with. Some places worse than others. I notice that the people that get away with the least work know how to play "the game".
I don't think it's about work not getting done; that's very easily proven or disproven. It's the managers who want warm bodies in the office, and it's to preserve their own jobs as they're not needed when we WFH. Pretty obvious!
If so, doesn't it mean that employers have a "loophole" to get rid of someone without them collecting unemployment - just demand them to return to the office in full, 9-5, and let them quit and be denied unemployment?
Or are people actually getting other jobs lined up *just in case* the employer schedules an office return date?
Something about what is being said in the media seems really weird. What is really going on? Are employees willing to effectively cede their right to ever claim unemployment.....all because they don't want to go back to the office?
Millenials and Gen Z have decided to call the employers' bluff. Not all jobs can be offshored...those that can't, the workers are using their leverage to gain the upper hand.
With more Boomers retiring, a lot of spots are opening up. Gen X is a small generational cohort so they can't eat up all of the openings. A good example is at my job where a 60+ year old Boomer just retired from his VP role. Insert a 38-year old Millenial into the same role. This Millenial has been with the company since graduating from college, so a good 15 or 16 years on the job. The qualifications are there as is the performance. I can think of half-a-dozen people that have left gigs where they only WFH 2-days per week....now they telecommute permanently and received anywhere from 10 to 30% raises.
Employers were used to having a large, talented and experienced cohort of Boomers to fill slots and then throw in some Gen X, Y and Zers to fill things out. The workplace is going from having 4 generations in one building down to 3.
It's just a 'supply & demand' thing.....except it's the youngins that are supplying labor and demanding more. My own company is struggling with this because they've been used to a marketplace where they could tell workers to just go kick rocks if they don't like their job. Now they're scrambling because all of their competitors pay more and offer full telecommute with better 401(k) matching/contributions. The smart employers pay a little more now but secure good talent and have peace. The ones with an antiquated mindset will pinch pennies now and pay MUCH MUCH more later.
BINGO! They still believe that people are just goofing off all day despite actual data proving otherwise.
And... While yes, I do get up here and there to do random stuff like laundry, sweep the floor, a random set of pullups, etc., these are little things I do mainly to get up and move around, all of which takes maybe 2-5 minutes at a time. I find myself wasting (if you even want to call it that) MUCH less time working from home than I ever did at the office, what with the list of distractions there, the lunch outings, stupid conversations about nothing, etc.
And... It's currently 7PM. I just logged off of the work server. At the office, I'd have closed everything and swiftly hopped into my car at 5:30 on the dot.
in the industry i work in, yes there are people are quitting when called back to work.
because they can get comparable jobs which are full time Telework.
I don't think it's about work not getting done; that's very easily proven or disproven. It's the managers who want warm bodies in the office, and it's to preserve their own jobs as they're not needed when we WFH. Pretty obvious!
I'd modify that a bit to say it's the managers who aren't capable of managing and the ones who want to socialize all day that want everyone back in the office.
Consider, to manage a workforce that works from home, the manager actually has to manage -- to assign work, measure results, and track what's happening. They have to manage. Whereas the in office manager simply has to drop by the minion's cubicle to remind her about the TPS reports to pretend he's managing.
That and socializing with the uppers to "prove" his worth.
is telework being abused where i work? yes, it is. not by everyone, but by a significant portion.
i like how one division phrased it. they said, there are people who are not "suited for or compatible with" teleworking. in that division it was only granted if someone was deemed to be trustworthy.
What jobs do you guys do that enables 100%, or at least a majority of your time, being able to work in your pajamas?
At least here the WFH guys do it at the bars.
Engineering for me too. I have to go in to the office when I need to work on something classified.
In the next few weeks I'm expected to go in about 3 days a week in order to keep a private office. I could work from home indefinitely if I wanted to give up the office. I have 30+ years of books, papers, and stuff in my office and am not eager to re-home all of that. At least not immediately
My company has embraced the "hybrid workplace" and management is smart enough to realize that most of us can work from home or otherwise remotely without any loss of productivity. They are also smart enough to realize that companies that make reasonable accommodations for WFH are going to have an easier time hiring staff than those who don't.
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