RTO:Traffic is atrocious

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s noticeable watching the neighbors all get in their cars and drive away at 7:30am. The neighborhood finally has less dog walkers all day long. There are some benefits.

+1 It feels more normal like before Covid. Work relationships are building again.

My work relationships were just fine WFH. I don’t really want to have 10 pointless conversations every day that interrupt my work flow.

You sound like a real peach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The restaurants, coffee shops, and flower vendors are starting to flourish again. There are some great things happening, too. I guess you have to take the good with the bad.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/44-restaurant-owners-washington-dc-fear-may-have-close-2025

44% of restaurant owners in Washington, DC fear they may have to close in 2025

https://wjla.com/news/local/survey-shows-dc-restaurants-struggling-to-stay-open-with-wage-hikes-federal-layoffs-historic-pressure-metropolitan-washington-casual-dining-full-service-food-costs-tipped-wage-increases-servers-tips-taxes-tax-tariff-employment

A new survey from the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) reveals that more than two-thirds of casual dining restaurants will likely close this year.

The survey cited escalating food costs, federal layoffs, and tipped wage increases as some of the reasons for the expected closures.

The RTO is happening now so it will help some of these restaurants out then.

Not really. everyone in my office brings lunch for fast 20 minute breaks and nobody is going out for expensive dinners. RTO takes up our time and money for that. To the extent I do buy anything downtown, it’s just replacing what I would buy in my own neighborhood (often exactly the same franchise just in a different location.)

Everyone eats out in our offices and they meet up for coffee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s noticeable watching the neighbors all get in their cars and drive away at 7:30am. The neighborhood finally has less dog walkers all day long. There are some benefits.

Yes, there’s been no more dog dirt in the yard or easement since the RTOs started to happen!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The restaurants, coffee shops, and flower vendors are starting to flourish again. There are some great things happening, too. I guess you have to take the good with the bad.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/44-restaurant-owners-washington-dc-fear-may-have-close-2025

44% of restaurant owners in Washington, DC fear they may have to close in 2025

https://wjla.com/news/local/survey-shows-dc-restaurants-struggling-to-stay-open-with-wage-hikes-federal-layoffs-historic-pressure-metropolitan-washington-casual-dining-full-service-food-costs-tipped-wage-increases-servers-tips-taxes-tax-tariff-employment

A new survey from the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) reveals that more than two-thirds of casual dining restaurants will likely close this year.

The survey cited escalating food costs, federal layoffs, and tipped wage increases as some of the reasons for the expected closures.

The RTO is happening now so it will help some of these restaurants out then.

Not really. everyone in my office brings lunch for fast 20 minute breaks and nobody is going out for expensive dinners. RTO takes up our time and money for that. To the extent I do buy anything downtown, it’s just replacing what I would buy in my own neighborhood (often exactly the same franchise just in a different location.)

Everyone eats out in our offices and they meet up for coffee.

Nice fanfic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The restaurants, coffee shops, and flower vendors are starting to flourish again. There are some great things happening, too. I guess you have to take the good with the bad.

Not everything is bad….
- My house is clean since no one is there during the day.

-I am walking more and eating better since I am not snacking at home 24/7 (I bring my own lunch)

-I am working less. 8hrs vs 10hrs at home. They are getting what they are paying for.

My quote got reported and deleted so I’ll try one more time piggybacking on this

Another thing that’s really good about having true rush hours with everybody back in the office working normal office hours is that the time in between rush-hour is gloriously free of traffic. Because instead of being at target or the dentist office or the vet or the gym or the grocery store, people are in their offices from 9 to 3.

This is a welcome return to status quo for those of us who do things like work overnight in the ER and enjoy going grocery shopping midday mid week

Me, me, me… Are you also happy how things are going at HHS?

You know, I am not alone in enjoying the relatively empty roads again from 9:30 - 2:30. There are tens of thousands of us in the DMV who are the essential workers were never handed the gift of WFH and who work weird schedules and, as a perk for working bizarre hours, we enjoyed empty Targets, hair salons, vets and roads during the day —- until 2020. When these places became clogged all day long with people simultaneously working from home while getting highlights.

It’s fascinating how the roads and the stores are a ghost town now. Especially because every thread on here insists that every former WFH was working all day long.

honestly i think its more the cuts and risk of RIF, where huge swaths of consumers have pulled back. i haven't got a haircut since january for example!

It's this but the beeatchy night shift workers is just a selfish hag.

NP but I assume this night shift worker works in a hospital or some other essential service. I would never call those people selfish as they worked all throughout covid while you sat at home.

+1
Oh, the irony that is completely lost on this poster.

They work because they need the money not because they are selfless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The restaurants, coffee shops, and flower vendors are starting to flourish again. There are some great things happening, too. I guess you have to take the good with the bad.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/44-restaurant-owners-washington-dc-fear-may-have-close-2025

44% of restaurant owners in Washington, DC fear they may have to close in 2025

https://wjla.com/news/local/survey-shows-dc-restaurants-struggling-to-stay-open-with-wage-hikes-federal-layoffs-historic-pressure-metropolitan-washington-casual-dining-full-service-food-costs-tipped-wage-increases-servers-tips-taxes-tax-tariff-employment

A new survey from the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) reveals that more than two-thirds of casual dining restaurants will likely close this year.

The survey cited escalating food costs, federal layoffs, and tipped wage increases as some of the reasons for the expected closures.

The RTO is happening now so it will help some of these restaurants out then.

Not really. everyone in my office brings lunch for fast 20 minute breaks and nobody is going out for expensive dinners. RTO takes up our time and money for that. To the extent I do buy anything downtown, it’s just replacing what I would buy in my own neighborhood (often exactly the same franchise just in a different location.)

Everyone eats out in our offices and they meet up for coffee.

Nice fanfic.

This didn't happen at my agency pre Covid, much less now that inflation has risen.

We don't have enough time to go out to eat and then get back through security, not to mention the money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The restaurants, coffee shops, and flower vendors are starting to flourish again. There are some great things happening, too. I guess you have to take the good with the bad.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/44-restaurant-owners-washington-dc-fear-may-have-close-2025

44% of restaurant owners in Washington, DC fear they may have to close in 2025

https://wjla.com/news/local/survey-shows-dc-restaurants-struggling-to-stay-open-with-wage-hikes-federal-layoffs-historic-pressure-metropolitan-washington-casual-dining-full-service-food-costs-tipped-wage-increases-servers-tips-taxes-tax-tariff-employment

A new survey from the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) reveals that more than two-thirds of casual dining restaurants will likely close this year.

The survey cited escalating food costs, federal layoffs, and tipped wage increases as some of the reasons for the expected closures.

The RTO is happening now so it will help some of these restaurants out then.

Not really. everyone in my office brings lunch for fast 20 minute breaks and nobody is going out for expensive dinners. RTO takes up our time and money for that. To the extent I do buy anything downtown, it’s just replacing what I would buy in my own neighborhood (often exactly the same franchise just in a different location.)

Everyone eats out in our offices and they meet up for coffee.

You sound like you are writing a DC sitcom that took place in the 1950s.

[Anonymous]

I think people ate out more when we were only in 1 day a week. They were not in a routine of packing. It made coming in seem more fun and 1 day was affordable. Now that it is 5 and we are worried about RIFs everyone is packing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The restaurants, coffee shops, and flower vendors are starting to flourish again. There are some great things happening, too. I guess you have to take the good with the bad.

Not everything is bad….
- My house is clean since no one is there during the day.

-I am walking more and eating better since I am not snacking at home 24/7 (I bring my own lunch)

-I am working less. 8hrs vs 10hrs at home. They are getting what they are paying for.

My quote got reported and deleted so I’ll try one more time piggybacking on this

Another thing that’s really good about having true rush hours with everybody back in the office working normal office hours is that the time in between rush-hour is gloriously free of traffic. Because instead of being at target or the dentist office or the vet or the gym or the grocery store, people are in their offices from 9 to 3.

This is a welcome return to status quo for those of us who do things like work overnight in the ER and enjoy going grocery shopping midday mid week

Me, me, me… Are you also happy how things are going at HHS?

You know, I am not alone in enjoying the relatively empty roads again from 9:30 - 2:30. There are tens of thousands of us in the DMV who are the essential workers were never handed the gift of WFH and who work weird schedules and, as a perk for working bizarre hours, we enjoyed empty Targets, hair salons, vets and roads during the day —- until 2020. When these places became clogged all day long with people simultaneously working from home while getting highlights.

It’s fascinating how the roads and the stores are a ghost town now. Especially because every thread on here insists that every former WFH was working all day long.

honestly i think its more the cuts and risk of RIF, where huge swaths of consumers have pulled back. i haven't got a haircut since january for example!

It's this but the beeatchy night shift workers is just a selfish hag.

NP but I assume this night shift worker works in a hospital or some other essential service. I would never call those people selfish as they worked all throughout covid while you sat at home.

+1
Oh, the irony that is completely lost on this poster.

They work because they need the money not because they are selfless.

They are willing to work in a capacity that helps others, which seems to involve odd hours and the requirement to be on-site at all times, likely on their feet in a demanding capacity. They aren't taking a conference call while grabbing a latte and walking their dog, complaining that they are now forced to RTO and can't flex their hours anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The restaurants, coffee shops, and flower vendors are starting to flourish again. There are some great things happening, too. I guess you have to take the good with the bad.

Not everything is bad….
- My house is clean since no one is there during the day.

-I am walking more and eating better since I am not snacking at home 24/7 (I bring my own lunch)

-I am working less. 8hrs vs 10hrs at home. They are getting what they are paying for.

My quote got reported and deleted so I’ll try one more time piggybacking on this

Another thing that’s really good about having true rush hours with everybody back in the office working normal office hours is that the time in between rush-hour is gloriously free of traffic. Because instead of being at target or the dentist office or the vet or the gym or the grocery store, people are in their offices from 9 to 3.

This is a welcome return to status quo for those of us who do things like work overnight in the ER and enjoy going grocery shopping midday mid week

Me, me, me… Are you also happy how things are going at HHS?

You know, I am not alone in enjoying the relatively empty roads again from 9:30 - 2:30. There are tens of thousands of us in the DMV who are the essential workers were never handed the gift of WFH and who work weird schedules and, as a perk for working bizarre hours, we enjoyed empty Targets, hair salons, vets and roads during the day —- until 2020. When these places became clogged all day long with people simultaneously working from home while getting highlights.

It’s fascinating how the roads and the stores are a ghost town now. Especially because every thread on here insists that every former WFH was working all day long.

honestly i think its more the cuts and risk of RIF, where huge swaths of consumers have pulled back. i haven't got a haircut since january for example!

It's this but the beeatchy night shift workers is just a selfish hag.

NP but I assume this night shift worker works in a hospital or some other essential service. I would never call those people selfish as they worked all throughout covid while you sat at home.

+1
Oh, the irony that is completely lost on this poster.

They work because they need the money not because they are selfless.

They are willing to work in a capacity that helps others, which seems to involve odd hours and the requirement to be on-site at all times, likely on their feet in a demanding capacity. They aren't taking a conference call while grabbing a latte and walking their dog, complaining that they are now forced to RTO and can't flex their hours anymore.

Instead they complain about their Target run on a Tuesday.

[Anonymous]

I think that a lot of the traffic from the past week has been due to the cherry blossoms, not RTO. I've had to go to work in person this whole time, even during Covid, and there definitely has been a gradual increase in traffic over the past two months but it hasn't made the commute much worse than it already had been.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think people ate out more when we were only in 1 day a week. They were not in a routine of packing. It made coming in seem more fun and 1 day was affordable. Now that it is 5 and we are worried about RIFs everyone is packing.

it’s different if you are GS-12 or GS-15

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You knew where you job was when you bought your house. Poor choice on your part.

Many people bought post pandemic when commutes were very different. My job was in my house at that point.

Well you’re not so bright then thinking you’d work from home forever. Enjoy the traffic

There were many instiutions that believed this was a generational shift in how we work.

link? Most of went back to work by end of 2021–a year and a half since Covid

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The restaurants, coffee shops, and flower vendors are starting to flourish again. There are some great things happening, too. I guess you have to take the good with the bad.

Feds are not the ones supporting expensive downtown restaurants. Maybe sandwich shops, but even then, the closest shop to my office now is a two block walk and lunch is 30 minutes. There isn’t enough time to walk there and back, order, eat, and get back through security. Plus, it’s like $15 for a sandwich I can make at home for a couple dollars. I’ve been in the office full time for 3 weeks and I have yet to spend a dime downtown. I’m also a DC resident, so spend almost all my money in DC and am spending less overall because I had to quit my gym, can no longer do dinner out on weeknights because I get home so much later, gave up the personal trainer since I can’t do that before my TOD anymore with the commute, quit my pool league since I don’t want to stay up that late anymore, etc. So all told I’m probably spending close to $800 less a month now.

not our office. Some will buy 4 cups on the way into the building for coworkers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The restaurants, coffee shops, and flower vendors are starting to flourish again. There are some great things happening, too. I guess you have to take the good with the bad.

Not everything is bad….
- My house is clean since no one is there during the day.

-I am walking more and eating better since I am not snacking at home 24/7 (I bring my own lunch)

-I am working less. 8hrs vs 10hrs at home. They are getting what they are paying for.

My quote got reported and deleted so I’ll try one more time piggybacking on this

Another thing that’s really good about having true rush hours with everybody back in the office working normal office hours is that the time in between rush-hour is gloriously free of traffic. Because instead of being at target or the dentist office or the vet or the gym or the grocery store, people are in their offices from 9 to 3.

This is a welcome return to status quo for those of us who do things like work overnight in the ER and enjoy going grocery shopping midday mid week

Me, me, me… Are you also happy how things are going at HHS?

You know, I am not alone in enjoying the relatively empty roads again from 9:30 - 2:30. There are tens of thousands of us in the DMV who are the essential workers were never handed the gift of WFH and who work weird schedules and, as a perk for working bizarre hours, we enjoyed empty Targets, hair salons, vets and roads during the day —- until 2020. When these places became clogged all day long with people simultaneously working from home while getting highlights.

It’s fascinating how the roads and the stores are a ghost town now. Especially because every thread on here insists that every former WFH was working all day long.

honestly i think its more the cuts and risk of RIF, where huge swaths of consumers have pulled back. i haven't got a haircut since january for example!

It's this but the beeatchy night shift workers is just a selfish hag.

NP but I assume this night shift worker works in a hospital or some other essential service. I would never call those people selfish as they worked all throughout covid while you sat at home.

I’m happy to call her selfish if she thinks her right to drive to Target supercedes everything.

Exactly. And how do you know we aren't also people who were going into work during the pandemic. That doesn't mean we celebrate tons of our neighbors being laid off in the most cruel ways possible for no real reason other than to dismantle the government so that we can get to Target faster.

FFS she is a selfish, repugnant hag for even leaving that post. People's lives are being totally upended. F her Target runs.

Did you care this much when essential workers’ lives were totally upended and they were exposed to Covid, isolated from family members, etc? The poster said they enjoyed the perk of Target being empty. That’s not a complaint. You’ve been working from home for five years. They’ve been commuting for five years. Get over it.