WaPo opinion piece from a CEO who wants people back in the office

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Serious question: does anyone enjoy the birthday celebrations?

No. I don't want to sing to you, I don't want you to sing to me.

The best company I worked for gave birthdays off instead of cake or lunch.

don't forget happy hours, where somehow it's ok for the creepy guy to hit on you because it's not work anymore

[Anonymous]

This is going to make for an uncomfortable birthday celebration at the Washingtonian next fall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best response I saw to this was that if your employees are spending 20 percent of their time on activities that "promote office culture," you should just institute a four-day workweek and you'd have the highest employee retention and satisfaction levels.

Ha! That's fantastic.

It's amazing how few employers are taking the overwhelming clamor for more WFH has pretty alarming feedback on that "office culture" this person is touting. If many of your employees are desperate to get away from the office, then maybe you've done a terrible job of creating a positive workplace culture.

I've always been more productive and happier working from home because there is less time wasted on dumb office BS. Who likes office birthday parties? Other than the cake, which honestly has been ruined anyway because everyone has so many dietary restrictions this days that you are as likely to be offered sugar-free, gluten-free cupcakes and OMG, I would much rather be at my desk working so that I can leave on time.

I manage 10 people and used to love doing a monthly birthday celebration where I'd bring in a store bought dessert. I had a boss who did this at my first job, and it always a nice 30 minute break in the day and a chance for some bonding/socializing. This became much more un-fun about 10 or so years ago, and then finally quietly quit doing it. So many diet restrictions. Either eat it or don't. I DGAF about your current "allergies" or diet.

You people are the worst. Food allergies are real. I mean I agree office birthday parties aren’t much fun but this isn’t the reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best response I saw to this was that if your employees are spending 20 percent of their time on activities that "promote office culture," you should just institute a four-day workweek and you'd have the highest employee retention and satisfaction levels.

Ha! That's fantastic.

It's amazing how few employers are taking the overwhelming clamor for more WFH has pretty alarming feedback on that "office culture" this person is touting. If many of your employees are desperate to get away from the office, then maybe you've done a terrible job of creating a positive workplace culture.

I've always been more productive and happier working from home because there is less time wasted on dumb office BS. Who likes office birthday parties? Other than the cake, which honestly has been ruined anyway because everyone has so many dietary restrictions this days that you are as likely to be offered sugar-free, gluten-free cupcakes and OMG, I would much rather be at my desk working so that I can leave on time.

I manage 10 people and used to love doing a monthly birthday celebration where I'd bring in a store bought dessert. I had a boss who did this at my first job, and it always a nice 30 minute break in the day and a chance for some bonding/socializing. This became much more un-fun about 10 or so years ago, and then finally quietly quit doing it. So many diet restrictions. Either eat it or don't. I DGAF about your current "allergies" or diet.

You people are the worst. Food allergies are real. I mean I agree office birthday parties aren’t much fun but this isn’t the reason.

Now I am remembering the office where the party organizers used to extort cash out of all the newer staff, then bring in food that only they wanted to eat.

I did used to love the cakes but these days it's hard to picture eating a cake someone's spit all over blowing out candles.

[Anonymous]

At the office, it's important that my birthday is acknowledged/celebrated and time is given to reflect on it. I also like to acknowledge the birthdays of my coworker and direct reports.

As a supervisor, I take note of enthusiasm and interest. It's hard to guage that over Teams, so I am asking higher management to have all workers back five days a week. I will not be allowing my employees to telework.

I'm 90% but not 100% sure... this is satire right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

At the office, it's important that my birthday is acknowledged/celebrated and time is given to reflect on it. I also like to acknowledge the birthdays of my coworker and direct reports.

As a supervisor, I take note of enthusiasm and interest. It's hard to guage that over Teams, so I am asking higher management to have all workers back five days a week. I will not be allowing my employees to telework.

I'm 90% but not 100% sure... this is satire right?

wait, did she actually write that in the article?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s a dumb article but there are some valid points. The people who suffer most from telework are the more junior staff that just don’t get as much professional development. I’m a senior person and would love to continue to just work from home most of the time but it’s not really fair to the junior folks. I know they are struggling. Face time for face time’s sake is dumb but the truth is that most humans are better at developing connections in person. We are struggling with finding the balance, as an office.

I also think that many employers will just hire peoole in lower COLA locations rather than people around here, if they are going to be primarily remote. That happened years ago with customer service and then with IT support, when businesses realized how someone could do it from Ohio for 50K just as easily as someone in DC doing it for 80K.

Only works for fully remote jobs. If those are plentiful, many DC-based workers would gladly move to lower cost-of-living states and take/keep these jobs.

In reality, I suspect even the most pro-WFH bosses will almost always want people to be able to come into the office from time to time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a dumb article but there are some valid points. The people who suffer most from telework are the more junior staff that just don’t get as much professional development. I’m a senior person and would love to continue to just work from home most of the time but it’s not really fair to the junior folks. I know they are struggling. Face time for face time’s sake is dumb but the truth is that most humans are better at developing connections in person. We are struggling with finding the balance, as an office.

I also think that many employers will just hire peoole in lower COLA locations rather than people around here, if they are going to be primarily remote. That happened years ago with customer service and then with IT support, when businesses realized how someone could do it from Ohio for 50K just as easily as someone in DC doing it for 80K.

Only works for fully remote jobs. If those are plentiful, many DC-based workers would gladly move to lower cost-of-living states and take/keep these jobs.

In reality, I suspect even the most pro-WFH bosses will almost always want people to be able to come into the office from time to time.

At my federal office in DC, we required 100% teleworking remote staff to come into our agency's DC office for one week every 10 weeks. That's 5 trips to DC per year, paid for by my agency. This was so they could maintain a personal connection to their bosses and colleagues living in the Capital region.

98% of remote workers would have no issue with that stipulation. All expenses-paid week in DC away from their kids and home responsibilities? LOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a dumb article but there are some valid points. The people who suffer most from telework are the more junior staff that just don’t get as much professional development. I’m a senior person and would love to continue to just work from home most of the time but it’s not really fair to the junior folks. I know they are struggling. Face time for face time’s sake is dumb but the truth is that most humans are better at developing connections in person. We are struggling with finding the balance, as an office.

I also think that many employers will just hire peoole in lower COLA locations rather than people around here, if they are going to be primarily remote. That happened years ago with customer service and then with IT support, when businesses realized how someone could do it from Ohio for 50K just as easily as someone in DC doing it for 80K.

Only works for fully remote jobs. If those are plentiful, many DC-based workers would gladly move to lower cost-of-living states and take/keep these jobs.

In reality, I suspect even the most pro-WFH bosses will almost always want people to be able to come into the office from time to time.

At my federal office in DC, we required 100% teleworking remote staff to come into our agency's DC office for one week every 10 weeks. That's 5 trips to DC per year, paid for by my agency. This was so they could maintain a personal connection to their bosses and colleagues living in the Capital region.

98% of remote workers would have no issue with that stipulation. All expenses-paid week in DC away from their kids and home responsibilities? LOL

that sounds amazing

[Anonymous]

Cathy Merrill, the CEO who wrote the opinion piece, is now doing damage control.

Here is a WaPo story about the blowback she's been getting:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2021/05/07/cathy-merrill-washingtonian-strike/

See this passage:

Merrill has spent the hours since the op-ed published doing damage control. “I have assured our team that there will be no changes to benefits or employee status,” she told The Post via email. “I am sorry if the op-ed made it appear like anything else.”

She added that was proud of her employees’ work during the pandemic, and said the company “embraces a culture in which employees are able to express themselves openly.”

[Anonymous]

Miraclemomma wrote:

Let's be honest, productivity at home is not even close to productivy in office.
She knows it, you know it, we all know it.
Enough BS people. Show up for work or expect to be fired, in not too far of a future.


This simply is not true. So you really want to sit in traffic all day? Sit through hours of small talk, waiting at a printer, looking for food in unsanitary work cafeterias?

So much of what we do at work is filler. Between commuting, meetings for people to brag about their vacations/kids/pets, and all kinds of office politics that usually start from silly or mindless unintentional comment.

Telework is the best thing for companies. They can cut real estate, overhead, and they already push these expenses off on to the employee. If a company cannot measure productivity, then they have a bad system to start with. Work has changed. Slavery used to be the norm, child labor and even certain dangerous jobs. Daily commuting into an office is just not something worth doing anymore.
It is hard to take you seriously when you equate working in office to slavery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look all of you super workers from home. Sure, you are doing it great and it might be sustainable for you.
But, it is unlikely sustainable for the majority and even if it was, people in charge want you to go into office.
You have an option, quit or show up at work in person. At the office.
Your whining here shows that you are not a team player and hence you might be let go. Life is hard and not catered to what you want.
Unfortuanly many of this younger generation didn't get the memo about, suck it up!
All this whining here proves it.
You still think if you whine enough, mom/boss will let you have 1K prom dress.
Well, think again.
Your mom and your boss might be sick of your whining and trying to get your way.
Even if you are that productive from home!

Why do I get the feeling this was written from the back room of a dry cleaner in Annandale?

Wherever they’re located, they seem to think they’re still typing on a typewriter or word processor at best.

When a millennial has nothing of value to add to present their opposing point of view. Sadly, stupidity is the new norm here.
I can't argue my point so I will attack something of no substance. Nobel prize awaits you, my cupcake!

[Anonymous]

for 15 years pre-pandemic I was 90% WAH, and traveled to my office in NYC every other week for one day. They paid for my Amtrak and I just took a very early train and had a late train home. One long day out of every 10 days was totally worth it to me for the 9 days I was WAH. I fully expect to be asked to resume that in-person schedule post-covid, and I have no issues with that. But I see no reason to do more. This has worked fine for 15 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look all of you super workers from home. Sure, you are doing it great and it might be sustainable for you.
But, it is unlikely sustainable for the majority and even if it was, people in charge want you to go into office.
You have an option, quit or show up at work in person. At the office.
Your whining here shows that you are not a team player and hence you might be let go. Life is hard and not catered to what you want.
Unfortuanly many of this younger generation didn't get the memo about, suck it up!
All this whining here proves it.
You still think if you whine enough, mom/boss will let you have 1K prom dress.
Well, think again.
Your mom and your boss might be sick of your whining and trying to get your way.
Even if you are that productive from home!

Why do I get the feeling this was written from the back room of a dry cleaner in Annandale?

Wherever they’re located, they seem to think they’re still typing on a typewriter or word processor at best.

When a millennial has nothing of value to add to present their opposing point of view. Sadly, stupidity is the new norm here.
I can't argue my point so I will attack something of no substance. Nobel prize awaits you, my cupcake!

Says the boomer who talked about prom dresses to prove a point. Ok!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a dumb article but there are some valid points. The people who suffer most from telework are the more junior staff that just don’t get as much professional development. I’m a senior person and would love to continue to just work from home most of the time but it’s not really fair to the junior folks. I know they are struggling. Face time for face time’s sake is dumb but the truth is that most humans are better at developing connections in person. We are struggling with finding the balance, as an office.

I also think that many employers will just hire peoole in lower COLA locations rather than people around here, if they are going to be primarily remote. That happened years ago with customer service and then with IT support, when businesses realized how someone could do it from Ohio for 50K just as easily as someone in DC doing it for 80K.

Only works for fully remote jobs. If those are plentiful, many DC-based workers would gladly move to lower cost-of-living states and take/keep these jobs.

In reality, I suspect even the most pro-WFH bosses will almost always want people to be able to come into the office from time to time.

At my federal office in DC, we required 100% teleworking remote staff to come into our agency's DC office for one week every 10 weeks. That's 5 trips to DC per year, paid for by my agency. This was so they could maintain a personal connection to their bosses and colleagues living in the Capital region.

98% of remote workers would have no issue with that stipulation. All expenses-paid week in DC away from their kids and home responsibilities? LOL

that sounds amazing

For real! What agency?