Washingtonian Staffers Love Remote Work

[TrumpedUpVol]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...s-understand-risks-not-returning-work-office/ <- Article in question



I figure that this will be on Fox News/CNN/MSNBC tonight but didn't see any discussion of it.

I absolutely get that attributing the inspiration of this op-ed to missing out on birthday parties and parking is a little much, but I think that Cathy Merrill has the trump card for sure. If you don't want to work from an office and your job is at an office, you should probably seek employment elsewhere and not throw a tantrum just because you're expected to comply with the wishes of your employer.

 

[NorthDallas40]

As a crotchety old boomer approaching retirement and working from the comfort of my home office in my nice custom home, I’d like to tell corporate America to F off I’m not going back to the office full time. I hated it at first but after a year no way do I go back to 100% in office. DONE with that. Press the issue and I’ll quit/retire.

I have to be in the office for stuff requiring me to put hands on hardware in the lab. But normal analysis and design activity? It’s gonna be in my home office going forward.

And our company actually is embracing this. My ivory tower closed office with a door and ceiling costs money. I’ll gladly give that up to work 75% from home. Which is exactly what the company wants as it saves them office overhead costs.

Living the boomer life ...

 

[Rasputin_Vol]

CEO is in her early 50s... acting like a baby boomer, but is an early Gen-Xer, unfortunately. It makes no sense for a group of editors to not be able to to telecommute. No reason at all.

 

[NorthDallas40]

She's in her early 50s... acting like a baby boomer, but is an early Gen-Xer, unfortunately. It makes no sense for a group of editors to not be able to to telecommute. No reason at all.

And that’s the point. It depends on the job. Like I said my company is embracing it at least right now. I do believe she has some valid concerns with regard to mentoring and career development for younger engineers though. No way that isn’t impacted for the next generation of senior corporate employees.

But that’s not my problem with the 1.5 years I’ve got left now is it?

 

[TrumpedUpVol]

As a crotchety old boomer approaching retirement and working from the comfort of my home office in my nice custom home, I’d like to tell corporate America to F off I’m not going back to the office full time. I hated it at first but after a year no way do I go back to 100% in office. DONE with that. Press the issue and I’ll quit/retire.

I have to be in the office for stuff requiring me to put hands on hardware in the lab. But normal analysis and design activity? It’s gonna be in my home office going forward.

And our company actually is embracing this. My ivory tower closed office with a door and ceiling costs money. I’ll gladly give that up to work 75% from home. Which is exactly what the company wants as it saves them office overhead costs.

Living the boomer life ...

Same here insofar as going from in-office to "permanently" remote, though I'm fairly indifferent to remote work in general (I worked remotely whenever I felt like it pre-pandemic, so the freedom isn't quite as novel as it is for some people in other roles and departments).

And you're damn right that there are a ton of overhead savings to be had by shuttering offices; I'd imagine that some companies have longer and more difficult to break leases than others, but it's of course cheaper to not have offices for the next 100 years than it would be to maintain them.

I still think that a lot of companies are going to about-face and require a lot of newfound-remote workers back on site in the not-so-distant future for a variety of reasons, though, and I'm not sure that the employees (Washingtonian in this case) really have a leg to stand on when it comes to their reluctance to return to the office just because they worked remotely for X months due to a pandemic.

 

[Rasputin_Vol]

And that’s the point. It depends on the job. Like I said my company is embracing it at least right now. I do believe she has some valid concerns with regard to mentoring and career development for younger engineers though. No way that isn’t impacted for the next generation of senior corporate employees.

But that’s not my problem with the 1.5 years I’ve got left now is it?

Are to talking about engineers at the Washingtonian?

 

[Grand Vol]

The only problem I see with this is when (not if) someone decides to file a lawsuit saying the company they work for is now responsible for paying or helping pay:

Utilities
Internet
Rent/Mortgage

Of said home worker. And they win in court and businesses will have to shell out said payments.

I don't mind working from home if the need arises. Trust me, I'm all about doing my job in basketball shorts and a ratty t-shirt and not dealing with traffic. But this will get shut down because someone can't handle a good thing...

 

[NorthDallas40]

Are to talking about engineers at the Washingtonian?

No. I was taking her comments and extrapolating them to my career field. A great deal of my work can be done remotely. Most all of me teaching and mentoring younger engineers even if we aren’t working on hardware cannot.

 

[NorthDallas40]

Are to talking about engineers at the Washingtonian?

Oh and without that mentoring and teaching the next generation of engineers will be ****. No they can’t just figure it out on their own. Only a few can do that but the cream always rises to the top anyway and those few are the leaders of the next generation and still need to interact with the plebes.

But that won’t be my problem

 

[McDad]

As a crotchety old boomer approaching retirement and working from the comfort of my home office in my nice custom home, I’d like to tell corporate America to F off I’m not going back to the office full time. I hated it at first but after a year no way do I go back to 100% in office. DONE with that. Press the issue and I’ll quit/retire.

I have to be in the office for stuff requiring me to put hands on hardware in the lab. But normal analysis and design activity? It’s gonna be in my home office going forward.

And our company actually is embracing this. My ivory tower closed office with a door and ceiling costs money. I’ll gladly give that up to work 75% from home. Which is exactly what the company wants as it saves them office overhead costs.

Living the boomer life ...

Can you finagle a "personal overhead' stipend since the company shifted it's overhead for your office to you?

 

[NorthDallas40]

Can you finagle a "personal overhead' stipend since the company shifted it's overhead for your office to you?

I can probably work a “just let me do what the hell I want or I’ll quit” angle which I’d probably prefer. I got no gripes on compensation after including bonus and restricted stock I wouldn’t pay me what they pay me

 

[VolStrom]

I can probably work a “just let me do what the hell I want or I’ll quit” angle which I’d probably prefer. I got no gripes on compensation after including bonus and restricted stock I wouldn’t pay me what they pay me

You sound like me before I retired. A man can only take so much bullcrap from a company before he throws his hands up and says I'm done.

 

[NorthDallas40]

You sound like me before I retired. A man can only take so much bullcrap from a company before he throws his hands up and says I'm done.

Yep. Don’t get me wrong I am treated very well and paid quite well. But I’ve made it clear what my timeline is and that I really am not interested in any “new and exciting challenges” in the time I’ve got left. I’m not mailing it in (yet...) but I’m done with heroics to keep the world safe for Democracy. I’ve played the “yeah I’m not gonna do that” card on business trips in the last year but this is an unusual case. But now that I’ve gotten used no more travel...

 

[Rasputin_Vol]

The only problem I see with this is when (not if) someone decides to file a lawsuit saying the company they work for is now responsible for paying or helping pay:

Utilities
Internet
Rent/Mortgage

Of said home worker. And they win in court and businesses will have to shell out said payments.

I don't mind working from home if the need arises. Trust me, I'm all about doing my job in basketball shorts and a ratty t-shirt and not dealing with traffic. But this will get shut down because someone can't handle a good thing...

Now you do have a point with regards to that. I never thought about that angle, but you are spot on.

 

[Rasputin_Vol]

No. I was taking her comments and extrapolating them to my career field. A great deal of my work can be done remotely. Most all of me teaching and mentoring younger engineers even if we aren’t working on hardware cannot.

Oh, ok. I was thinking you were talking about the Washingtonian.

 

[NorthDallas40]

Oh, ok. I was thinking you were talking about the Washingtonian.

It was my fault it was a poorly crafted sentence. As is usual for me

 

[Grand Vol]

Now you do have a point with regards to that. I never thought about that angle, but you are spot on.

I guess the question would be whether or not companies would save money by giving something like a stipend to their employees for such a thing compared to rent and utilities on office space.

Honestly, I think there are a lot of jobs out there that could sustain a profit by giving a stipend for home workers and foregoing a large office space. The problem will be when the government gets involved and mandates said stipend.

Because they can't leave well enough alone...

 

[Rasputin_Vol]

I guess the question would be whether or not companies would save money by giving something like a stipend to their employees for such a thing compared to rent and utilities on office space.

Honestly, I think there are a lot of jobs out there that could sustain a profit by giving a stipend for home workers and foregoing a large office space. The problem will be when the government gets involved and mandates said stipend.

Because they can't leave well enough alone...

...

 

[Orangeburst]

As a crotchety old boomer approaching retirement and working from the comfort of my home office in my nice custom home, I’d like to tell corporate America to F off I’m not going back to the office full time. I hated it at first but after a year no way do I go back to 100% in office. DONE with that. Press the issue and I’ll quit/retire.

I have to be in the office for stuff requiring me to put hands on hardware in the lab. But normal analysis and design activity? It’s gonna be in my home office going forward.

And our company actually is embracing this. My ivory tower closed office with a door and ceiling costs money. I’ll gladly give that up to work 75% from home. Which is exactly what the company wants as it saves them office overhead costs.

Living the boomer life ...

Nothing like working in ur underwear! No shaves, no shower.

 

[DC_Vol]

I don’t know if these clowns do well working from home or not.

The biggest issue is them executing a public pr campaign to exert pressure to get their way. And also refusing to work in protest.

I’d fire the entire lot of them just out of principle if it were me.

 

[Rasputin_Vol]

I don’t know if these clowns do well working from home or not.

The biggest issue is them executing a public pr campaign to exert pressure to get their way. And also refusing to work in protest.

I’d fire the entire lot of them just out of principle if it were me.

I mean they're journalists. What more could possibly be gained by bringing them into the office?

 

[lukeneyland]

I wonder if corporate real estate will take a big hit in the long term. You’d think a lot of companies are going to see the value in not having to pay for office space and employee accommodation that no longer seems necessary

 

[LouderVol]

Our office is on the deep dive back into full time office work. 3 days in starting may 17th. 4 days in after July 4, 5 days sometime after that but you can request 1 day to work from home.

They will let you choose which days you are in the office, but if it's not what the principal wants you get yelled at.

So now we have to schedule when we are in or out. And if you arent in when you say you will be it's considered a sick day or PTO. Which has ticked off the staff. Especially as the principals have already taken advantage of their new rules.

Hearing more and more people only willing to accept 3 days in.

For me going in adds 2 hours to my work day. Plus all the lost freebies during the day.

 

[Ernest T. Vol]

I wonder if corporate real estate will take a big hit in the long term. You’d think a lot of companies are going to see the value in not having to pay for office space and employee accommodation that no longer seems necessary

Commercial real estate may pop like the housing bubble in 2008. Commercial mortgages are being packaged and sold based on incomes that have to be overstated. Look at 2008 spike compared to now. Never fear though, Biden's Ghost is in charge.

 

[lukeneyland]

Commercial real estate may pop like the housing bubble in 2008. Commercial mortgages are being packaged and sold based on incomes that have to be overstated. Look at 2008 spike compared to now. Never fear though, Biden's Ghost is in charge.

It’s funny the ways what happened that caused 08 are repeated. I guess until the Fed quits supporting unsound lending it’ll always be at risk of happening