Why? - Back to the Office - Fannies in Chairs

[newwurldmn]

Remember when the office trend was open workspaces as they fostered collaboration and idea generation? That was like 2010 to 2020. Prior to that it was about separation (cubicles) to reduce distractions.

now we are moving further into the separation camp with WFH. I don’t see how it lasts. I don’t see how flexible schedules last when you have half the people on a zoom meeting snd half in person.

 

[bone]

You need to be mindful of the messenger. In this case, it's Management Consulting Firms like McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group.

Their business model is almost totally reliant upon stealing best practices from one client and selling them at exorbitant prices to another client. This is considerably harder to do on Zoom.

Why are companies so hot about having their employees back in the office? I'm perfectly happy with the "new normal," but GS is calling it an "aberration." [1]

I was hoping that a wfh culture would be the silver lining of COVID. It looks like a win-win for employer and employee:

EMPLOYER PERSPECTIVE:

- Massive cost savings. Real estate is expensive!
- Reduced cost for office space leases and real estate.
- Reduced cost for utilities: electricity, water, heat, etc.
- Reduced cost for services: bathroom, cleaning, etc.
- Reduced insurance costs
- Less hassle dealing with OSHA/COVID workplace guidelines
- More productive workers

Basically, instead of burning ca$h on office space, why can't the top brass just give themselves bigger bonuses?

EMPLOYEE PERSPECTIVE:

- No Commute! If I never spent another penny on commuting costs, I wouldn't shed a tear.
- No more burning hours/gas on the road or on public transportation
- More time to exercise
- Healthier diet as Peeps cook at home
- No waste of time and money commuting
- Better work/life balance
- Money saved on lunch, newsstands, , etc.

I've asked some reasonably smart Peeps, and got these answers:

A: The cost savings is exactly what's driving the move back to the office. Transportation is sitting idle, and offices are empty. Investors are losing money! They want the people back!

B: Managers want to keep an eye on their employees--in the flesh.

C: "Fannies in Chairs." Lower-level managers want their workers at work.

D. City businesses want the people back. without the people, the cities are ghost towns, and there's massive tax losses.

E. Tax revenue and political pressure. With people wfh, there's massive tax revenue losses.

When I asked about the commuting time, stress, and cost, one said, "Well I did it for 40 years. That's part of work life." The classic, hard-headed, "That's the way we've always done things" answer.

1. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56192048.amp

 

[Nine_Ender]

Remember when the office trend was open workspaces as they fostered collaboration and idea generation? That was like 2010 to 2020. Prior to that it was about separation (cubicles) to reduce distractions.

now we are moving further into the separation camp with WFH. I don’t see how it lasts. I don’t see how flexible schedules last when you have half the people on a zoom meeting snd half in person.

Remote work was growing rapidly even before Covid. Depends on the industry and how sparse talent is it can be a huge advantage to offer remote work.

 

[vanzandt]

I've asked some reasonably smart Peeps, and got these answers:

A: The cost savings is exactly what's driving the move back to the office. Transportation is sitting idle, and offices are empty. Investors are losing money! They want the people back!

B: Managers want to keep an eye on their employees--in the flesh.

C: "Fannies in Chairs." Lower-level managers want their workers at work.

D. City businesses want the people back. without the people, the cities are ghost towns, and there's massive tax losses.

E. Tax revenue and political pressure. With people wfh, there's massive tax revenue losses.

When I asked about the commuting time, stress, and cost, one said, "Well I did it for 40 years. That's part of work life." The classic, hard-headed, "That's the way we've always done things" answer.

1. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56192048.amp

Your "smart peeps" missed the biggest and most important reason of all.

The more remote workers, the more 'potential' access points into a company's network via cyber carelessness or even outright nefarious physical means.

 

[kmiklas]

Your "smart peeps" missed the biggest and most important reason of all.

The more remote workers, the more 'potential' access points into a company's network via cyber carelessness or even outright nefarious physical means.

You really think? Remote access is locked down pretty well. I have to go through pre-registration and two different password-protected gates.

 

[vanzandt]

You really think? Remote access is locked down pretty well. I have to go through pre-registration and two different password-protected gates.

I don't know a lot about how this stuff works, I get locked out of my email for 30 minutes because I type in the wrong password when I misplace my reading glasses, but I think there's the potential for a real problem here.

Imagine you're a top cyber geek with Southern Company ($SO) and Ivan (who recently snuck across the boarder disguised as a beleaguered Venezuelan but in reality is a highly trained GRU operative) breaks into your house at 6AM and puts a gun to your wife or kid's head because he knows who you are and what you have access to. You can write the movie script from there.

I mean maybe there are checks in place. Double secret passwords or 'distress' passwords that work but send out the proper bells and whistles. I hope there is, because I'll tell you one thing I do know... if our grid gets shutdown for an extended period... we are gonna be f'd in a big way. Across the board.

 

[SabreMan]

The idea of remote workers just does not work. People are slacking off, they sleep, take frequent breaks, play around with family members, stroke their dick while working from home. Did you honestly expect that the mediocre work ethics of workers in offices will not drop much further by letting them work from home?

Also booze, i cant be the only one who has increased beer consumption in the afternoon.

Some people will be drinking harder stuff and taking drugs as well. wfh, no one can smell your breath or notice the coke on your nose

Also youtube consumption during the day is much higher, no one stops us in our office from watching the odd video, but if you do it too much it will always raise eyebrows.

Luckily p0rn consumption does not waste too much time during the day (if you get the urge to do so during work hours), at least not for someone my age.

 

[tsznecki]

@vanzandt Is concerned about remote security and then admits she doesn't understand remote security protocols and then starts blabbering on about stuff that sounds like a movie script.

Only on ET. I was right, that condition is hereditary in the family of @vanzandt

 

[mfaulk57158]

Your "smart peeps" missed the biggest and most important reason of all.

The more remote workers, the more 'potential' access points into a company's network via cyber carelessness or even outright nefarious physical means.

It’s very rare for a company to not have remote VPN access already available for vendors and traveling staff?

 

[mfaulk57158]

It sounds like many in this thread aren’t familiar with office work at all. 90 plus percent of that shit can be done at home and it can also be more secure, not less. Remote work removes the advantages local companies have on recruiting local talent.