Posted on 06/07/2022 6:22:42 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
To Jonathan Pruiett, it just didn't make sense.
A geospatial analyst who updates Google maps for a living, Pruiett had been called back to his company's offices in Bothell, Washington, five days a week, starting June 6.
Like many on his team, Pruiett had only worked remotely, having started the job in the pandemic. He'd adapted well to it, finding efficiencies such as multitasking during virtual meetings, using the time to process data.
And yet, now he was being told to report to office. Anyone who failed to report within three days of the return date would be processed as having abandoned their job.
"Nothing will change other than having a couple snacks in our office and having an in-person meeting," Pruiett said. "We're kind of starting to think that this job isn't worth it."
Source of tension between workers and bosses
More than two years into a pandemic that has no clear end, the debate over remote work has only intensified. Working from home isn't possible in many jobs. But for those who have the option, it's now evident that it is feasible, even beneficial.
But how beneficial is a point of contention between workers and their bosses. Some bosses are deciding too much is lost when people aren't in the office and it's time to come back.
Tesla boss Elon Musk is one of them. He recently emailed his employees with the subject line "Remote work is no longer acceptable." He reasoned that Tesla creates and makes "the most exciting and meaningful products of any company on Earth. This will not happen by phoning it in."
Musk told them anyone wishing to do remote work "must be in the office for a minimum (and I mean *minimum*) of 40 hours per week."
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
I've seen the reverse. The worst disengaging I used to experience was people in face-to-face meetings engaging with their smart phones instead of those in the meeting. The worst would do it right in the middle of their own narrative. Now with online meetings, that one-hour time waster can be trimmed to a 15 minute high-productivity meeting with everyone fully engaged.
We can also get the pros in the meetings instead of underlings who could only really play airmail back to their bosses instead.
I can't even begin to describe how incredibly straightforward and productive it has been to have people write things out due to remote work instead of the previous spluttering and unprepared statements in face-to-face meetings. It's like the whole group had to learn for the first time that words have meanings and they can't just chirp something and expect everyone else to fill in the blanks.
Having to work again instead of gaming on the company time is gonna leave a mark.
Wrong. Working from home is awesome. Do some abuse it? Sure. But they’re also the same slackers in the office.
It is very simple.
You do what your bossman tells you to do,
or if you don’t like it, then you find another job.
I’ve done it many times, and life goes on.
He produced The Tubes album Remote Control, and it sounds like it. “Tube” Rundgren.
Like clockwork. Along with the “if I can’t see you work, you ain’t workin’” contingent. Before retiring in 2011 I managed (from home) groups of 9-15 remote workers (who worked in the field and from home) for almost 30 years. If I had any problem working from home, it was the tendency to work more hours/day than I had to - but that was my choice.
There is a push for a 4 day work week.
Welcome to France.
There is a push for a 4 day work week.
Welcome to France.
Yes they should have offered you once/twice a week in the office. Balance. The best is both worlds and the happiest and most productive employees I predict.
Believe me, I haven’t been gaming. My company wanted to keep me on, but the government disagreed.
Well, with me in Florida and them in Silver Spring, I would have been fine with something as frequent as once a month.
When I started working remotely it was the exception, not the rule (less than a dozen people in the company of ~5,000 employees).
Before that I had worked for 15 years as a field engineer, with a territory that spanned the entire state. In that role I set my own schedule, worked the hours required to get the job done, and functioned autonomously.
A new manager changed all that. He resented my independence and the rapport I had with my users. So he abruptly removed me from my job and assigned me to the Helpdesk doing phone support (an entry level position). His one dispensation was to allow me to work remotely. I inadvertently proved that the job could be done from anywhere I have an internet connection.
Soon everyone on the technical team was clamoring to work remotely. He decided to hold that against me, too. So he decided to rescind my “privilege” and demanded that I report daily to a location 65 miles from home.
Instead I encouraged him to go F himself and announced my retirement. I never looked back.
I guess my husband’s company was ahead of the curve. He’s been working remotely for years. There are times when he has to travel to the job site to solve problems that arise that can’t be handled remotely. In those instances, he hops on a plane (most of the time...it’s rarely across town, but sometimes that does happen), and then he has to spend the night at a hotel, which sometimes sounds like vacation, but even that gets old. He has figured out how to balance things, so that he’s home more than he travels out of town now. Having been in this business for 30 years, he is starting to train younger folks to do what he does. Retirement beckons in a few years. I just hope Joe doesn’t screw that up for him.
Jealous? I hate working from home and have the option to do just that. I have two offices in my home - one in my bedroom and one in my basement. I alternated between the two for variety. One day while in my bedroom office late in the day, I realized I had spent almost 20 out of the last 24 hours in my bedroom. How is that unlike prison?
I decided then to go back into the office almost everyday. My mental outlook has improved dramatically, I think I was getting a little depressed working from home. The drifting of days into monotonous sameness without real interaction with others was darkening my spirits.
Yes they should have offered that. I believe humans need humans in person occasionally.. it’s not healthy or optimum to live (or work) 100% virtual.
Loaf from home and being productive is a lot like the lie of the people who say they have worked on a project 18 hours a day for months. Not possible for all but a very very few.
What you may get from loaf from home is what is required, if that. You don’t get collaboration and innovation and stimulation from peer to peer.
Besides, with no flock bosses get lonely and look useless. That may be something that needs looking into.
I Agree. Commuting signifies transition. But every day is too draining. I think once or twice (or more if preferred) a week is optimum. The sweet spot.
Well, I must be one of those very few, then. I do fine from home, and my boss is certainly not useless.
Good for you! And your boss!
Why do you say that? There's no Republicans left there. I know because I was born and raised where you used to work.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.