Oh, I’m sure they’ll be a line of corporations marching in lock-step behind Microsoft’s “lead”.
Already doing this via Teams.
Our company is too. Also a tech company (a big company but not one of the biggies)
But beyond the inability to properly monitor worker output, some of the employees in this company are starting to experience mental health issues. While not completely locked down here (hair services and such are available with guidelines), the lack of socialization is causing all sorts of problems for some employees.
While some like to think that working from home (no commute, very casual dress, etc.) is some kind of Utopia, in practice it doesn't appear to be the case for some right now.
There’s really not a good reason to be in an office if the job allows remote work.
Right?
My company (well, government entity) had started moving towards work from home several years ago. We’ve been working from home 3-4 days a week anyway for a couple of years as a cost-savings measure. It allows for a smaller office footprint because you only need to allow for say, 20 people in the office any one day instead of the full 100. You don’t have your own personal cubicle; you pick whatever spot is available when you arrive. So when we were told to stay home...well, it was another day at the office for us!
I’m an introvert so I’m perfectly happy with it! But I do believe it’s harder to team-build working this way. As for the socialization....I think it’s going to have to be similar to homeschooling. You’ll have to make your own opportunities for socialization outside work by joining community groups. I feel the socialization issue is more the result of the lockdowns as opposed to working from home.
MY company has already closed one office, and has gone to 100% work from home. We currently still have our large office here, but are not going to re-up our lease when it expires. We are looking for a small space with just a conference room and electrical closet to use as a server room.
>>Microsoft will be covering home office expenses for permanent remote workers,
And what of thousands of contractors who must pay out of their substandard paychecks?
Ford just announced that their remote employees would be working from home till June.
Looking at a Catalina 445 this weekend might head to Key West for the winter. All I need is a good internet connection.
I’m seeing patient using tele-health and will be doing so through December.
But, there are a lot of people earning salaries to control all of that useless nonsense, who if out a salary are at least out of power to wreck havoc.
Are most Microsoft employees in the Seattle area?
If this is the case, it will mean they can all move away from King County and some other place that is less expensive to live.
This is the new trend for people who work over the internet.
It is generally bad news for the big cities and cities expensive suburbs.
Why live in King county, when you could live somewhere else where your cost of home ownership might be half or less.
Many companies are questioning the holding of real estate when workers have been out for nearly a year.
If you can go a year, you can go two years and longer.
“While Microsoft employees will be allowed to move across country for remote work, compensation and benefits will change and vary depending on the company’s own geopay scale. Microsoft will be covering home office expenses for permanent remote workers, but any that decide to move away from Microsoft’s offices will need to cover their own relocation costs. Flexible working hours will also be available without manager approval, and employees can also request part-time work hours through their managers.”
Dell just riffed a bunch of their employees. Maybe they can get on with MS.
“with manager approval” Even company policies change.
Be careful and don’t stray too far from the mother ship.
Change in manager, change in approval. Want that promotion? Need to be in the office.
That move to the mountains, ski slope, lake, whatever may not look like such a great idea in 4 or 5 years. Then you’ll be stuck with a house you paid too much for in a place where nobody wants it.
People with big bank rolls are showing up and paying too much for over priced properties that have been on the market for hundreds of days. Don’t think this will serve them well in time.
Too often people extrapolate the conditions of a point in time too soon and in a panic or impulsively. It is not usually a good idea.
I’ve been working from home for a major bank for at least 6 months. Office space was so tight before that they adopted a “hoteling” system a couple years ago (you reserve a cube for a day - you can only reserve up to 2 weeks in advance). This way they could ensure each cube was filled every day......and they were still squeezed for space. Office space is expensive.
We don’t return to the office until 2021 at the earliest. With everybody having worked from home for a year and proven they could do it, are they going to dogmatically insist everybody return to the office? C’mon. No way.
This will have big implications for expensive big cities. I’ve had headhunters run 100% remote jobs based in San Francisco by me. Why live there when you could live like a king on the same salary, be more free, not face traffic or fresh human turds on the sidewalk and be much safer in some nice little town 1500 miles away?
Will Bill Gates demand that they ALL get vaccinated???