The verdict after three weeks back in the office

[ping72]

Agree on the flexibility.

But maybe it's because I turned 50 last year, but hearing people whine about how awful "working" is makes my eyes roll uncontrollably, especially if their main bitch is having to get their asses up off their couch and go into an office.

I’m lucky I have some flexibility and plenty of options and a wife who could support us on her own salary.

But the vast majority of Americans schlep into jobs they hate merely to sell their time in order to pay rent and not starve to death. Add in commute and child/home responsibilities/chores and they get like 1-2 hours of the day for “balance.” That’s stupid.

Then add in companies that guilt you for only working your standard hours, reject or shame PTO use or that expect you to always be checking email/texts/phone, etc.

I’ll never fault anyone for loathing selling hours of their life to make somebody else money.

 

[SI_NYC]

I rode up 6th, then down 7th most days. Fixie. Total wannabe bike messenger douchebag. Holding onto cabs and buses. No helmet. Whipping around shoulder to shoulder with all the traffic. Well, morning ride was 6am so not much traffic really but the ride home was a daily decompression adrenaline rush.

Occasionally I rode that west side highway path. Was a member for a few years at Chelsea Piers Athletic Club so rode it frequently those years.

You are braver than I. Riding on the avenues, is ballsy. I've done it, but didn't care for it all that much. I too idiotically rode for two years without a helmet. In NYC on a bicycle, it's not a matter of if you are going to get hit by a car, but when you will. Luckily, I moved out of the city before that day happened. I did hit many pedestrians on the Brooklyn Bridge however and it was always their fault. I promise.

 

[mattymoknows]

I’m lucky I have some flexibility and plenty of options and a wife who could support us on her own salary.

But the vast majority of Americans schlep into jobs they hate merely to sell their time in order to pay rent and not starve to death. Add in commute and child/home responsibilities/chores and they get like 1-2 hours of the day for “balance.” That’s stupid.

Then add in companies that guilt you for only working your standard hours, reject or shame PTO use or that expect you to always be checking email/texts/phone, etc.

I’ll never fault anyone for loathing selling hours of their life to make somebody else money.

I'm thankful that I've been gainfully employed my entire adult life and appreciate that I can help support my kids, Co-parenting with my ex.
However, as we get older it gets harder to keep pushing yourself to play the games to move forward in a company.

I was once a fresh faced youngling who moved up quickly in corporate America only to have the rug pulled out from under me early on. I kept pressing on throughout the years, hoping I could catch that big break again but as you age it just gets harder and harder.

I love it that many on HROT have achieved great success in their careers and some have found careers they love. However, that's probably not the case for the majority of the working class that just feel like they've been beat up and left behind.

There's a reason so many people are resigning from their jobs because there's only so much they can take before they break. If companies can't start realizing this, how do they intend to keep motivated and hard working employees?

Allowing a flex schedule is just one little thing a company can do to say thank you to their employees and show they trust them and value work is not priority #1 for most of us. For those that belittle that option and act as it is some ridiculous entitlement employees are asking for, remind me never to come work for you. 😉

 

[Rudolph]

Oh for sure, but rural connectivity has been an initiative that has been pushed long before the GND. It's been going on since Bush and was actually pretty big under both Obama and Trump. I agree we need the investment in infrastructure, however, would that wired investment be wasted if instead everything becomes satellite based like Starlink? Something to think about.

More speaking to living more locally and rejiggering the economic models to promote that. More local production of goods and services helps alleviate macro pressures. Covid showed us how this globalist supply chain bullshit is highly problematic and fragile.

Why we try to ignore laws of nature; ignore what natural world makes quite plain for us, endlessly amuses and frustrates me.

But greed and hubris.

You are braver than I. Riding on the avenues, is ballsy. I've done it, but didn't care for it all that much. I too idiotically rode for two years without a helmet. In NYC on a bicycle, it's not a matter of if you are going to get hit by a car, but when you will. Luckily, I moved out of the city before that day happened. I did hit many pedestrians on the Brooklyn Bridge however and it was always their fault. I promise.

I have incredibly spatial awareness like maybe best ever.

 

[torbee]

I have incredibly spatial awareness like maybe best ever.

Hubris: The Dangers of Excessive Pride and Confidence – Effectiviology

effectiviology.com

 

[Rudolph]

Hubris: The Dangers of Excessive Pride and Confidence – Effectiviology

effectiviology.com

That’s the joke, torbee.

 

[torbee]

That’s the joke, torbee.

I would just hate for you to end up a smear on a delivery truck.

 

[funksouljon]

My employer is old school but I agree.

the future is remote, flex, four day work week.

basically get it done and be done.

not sure how that works for some jobs like developers where there is a never ending backlog but nonetheless it’s the future.

we had somebody leave after a few months that said “ being required to come to work at a set time and set number of hours wasn’t something they could deal with “. 10-15 years ago this would have been laughed at by everybody, now it’s common.

IMO, the worst group of folks you could have picked for this. Some development methodologies show on a 2 week cycle if your work is completed. Others show on a day to day if the development work is being completed per schedule. There is AlWAYS a backlog of development work in a busy company, regardless of 4 vs 5 day work weeks. Is the work getting done based on the schedule set forth? Lots of traceability and never ending. And happy employees statistically do more work outside the work hours. Most developers I know take their work home cause they love it.

We have a guy who decided to hit the road when COVID hit. He is in Panama right now, has spent time in Miami, Atlanta, NYC, Hawaii, Mexico City. And those are just the ones I know, he has been moving about every month.

 

[funksouljon]

There is so much truth to the "you don't build the same relationships when you are remote and everyone else is in the office." Office politics and relationships are a huge factor in seperating the risers out of the masses.

6 months before COVID, I finally accepted that and decided to switch jobs to a smaller, local firm. Then COVID hits and everyone is remote. Our hiring model changed as we grew drastically during COVID and all expectations of a local work force went out the window. As it needed to, we couldn't find the right set of folks in a single population center.

Now my boss has opted to move from Denver to NC since her boss is in WI. They want the local folks to come back for social Wednesdays which is likely a fair middle ground.

 

[win1forthe]

One of the many things I appreciate about my boss is his attitude toward summer work hours. He doesn’t care if I work one hour or nine hours in a day as long as everything is ready for the first day of the school year.

 

[Mike Zierath]

Some industries just can't support remote or flex options.

Logistics
Warehouse
dispatch (both truck and emergency)
Any job where physical labor is 95% of the job

But for the most part, I agree that a flex schedule and a 4 day work week are coming fast.

Z

 

[St. Louis Hawk]