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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The second part of it is a bit disjointed.
However, she is on point saying you can be a contractor if you don't want to come in.
She is essentially right and what companies want is responsible employees.
Why are rental cars all double the price from a year ago? Why are all Airbnbs rented, also for double or triple price now?
The reason people need to be in the office is accountability. That you are working.
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.

Awww. You're so cute with your outdated dinosaur Big Boomer Energy.

She's right. I own a company and so much is slipping through the cracks. Communications that took 20 seconds of face to face conversations are now long email chains. Client calls/emails are taking way to long. Productivity is no where near what it was 2 months into closing to in-person work.

A memo is going out in June requiring in person attendance no later than September 1 or they will be fired.

No. She (if it's even a she, which I doubt) is not right. Your company is making poor, rigid choices and it will hurt your future acquisition of talent (if not make you lose existing talent).

Also, you're in the minority, but have fun with that!

So much resistance to the accountability of in person work. This instance of staying remote is making the case against your argument.

If you're really a CEO, your company has bigger problems (ie your communication) than remote work.

[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.

My office is planning to go 100% remote when it's time to go back, and while it's great for me now, I'd hate it if I were a new employee -- especially if I were just starting out in my career. When I started my career, I was new to DC and my workplace was where I met most of my friends. It's hard to make friends over zoom the way I did when I could just see everyone in person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The second part of it is a bit disjointed.
However, she is on point saying you can be a contractor if you don't want to come in.
She is essentially right and what companies want is responsible employees.
Why are rental cars all double the price from a year ago? Why are all Airbnbs rented, also for double or triple price now?
The reason people need to be in the office is accountability. That you are working.
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.

Awww. You're so cute with your outdated dinosaur Big Boomer Energy.

She's right. I own a company and so much is slipping through the cracks. Communications that took 20 seconds of face to face conversations are now long email chains. Client calls/emails are taking way to long. Productivity is no where near what it was 2 months into closing to in-person work.

A memo is going out in June requiring in person attendance no later than September 1 or they will be fired.

No. She (if it's even a she, which I doubt) is not right. Your company is making poor, rigid choices and it will hurt your future acquisition of talent (if not make you lose existing talent).

Also, you're in the minority, but have fun with that!

So much resistance to the accountability of in person work. This instance of staying remote is making the case against your argument.

If you're really a CEO, your company has bigger problems (ie your communication) than remote work.

+1. Our productivity is even better now than it was when everyone worked in person. If your employees aren't productive, it probably has to do with the way you are managing them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The second part of it is a bit disjointed.
However, she is on point saying you can be a contractor if you don't want to come in.
She is essentially right and what companies want is responsible employees.
Why are rental cars all double the price from a year ago? Why are all Airbnbs rented, also for double or triple price now?
The reason people need to be in the office is accountability. That you are working.
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.

Awww. You're so cute with your outdated dinosaur Big Boomer Energy.

She's right. I own a company and so much is slipping through the cracks. Communications that took 20 seconds of face to face conversations are now long email chains. Client calls/emails are taking way to long. Productivity is no where near what it was 2 months into closing to in-person work.

A memo is going out in June requiring in person attendance no later than September 1 or they will be fired.

This is a management problem.

Maybe but it's been a slow slide during remote work and no longer workable. Managers are on board with bringing everyone back. It's just too easy to slow down at home.

Do you not have measurable productivity? We've adapted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The second part of it is a bit disjointed.
However, she is on point saying you can be a contractor if you don't want to come in.
She is essentially right and what companies want is responsible employees.
Why are rental cars all double the price from a year ago? Why are all Airbnbs rented, also for double or triple price now?
The reason people need to be in the office is accountability. That you are working.
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.

Awww. You're so cute with your outdated dinosaur Big Boomer Energy.

She's right. I own a company and so much is slipping through the cracks. Communications that took 20 seconds of face to face conversations are now long email chains. Client calls/emails are taking way to long. Productivity is no where near what it was 2 months into closing to in-person work.

A memo is going out in June requiring in person attendance no later than September 1 or they will be fired.

No. She (if it's even a she, which I doubt) is not right. Your company is making poor, rigid choices and it will hurt your future acquisition of talent (if not make you lose existing talent).

Also, you're in the minority, but have fun with that!

So much resistance to the accountability of in person work. This instance of staying remote is making the case against your argument.

If you're really a CEO, your company has bigger problems (ie your communication) than remote work.

Maybe you're right. However, we sre going to figure it out in person. If I have to clean house. It's a good time to do it. It's get on board or get out time at my company. I have the bench strength to train up new team members. Might not be popular; but, it's my job to make unpopular decisions. Everyone is replaceable...everyone.

[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.

My office is planning to go 100% remote when it's time to go back, and while it's great for me now, I'd hate it if I were a new employee -- especially if I were just starting out in my career. When I started my career, I was new to DC and my workplace was where I met most of my friends. It's hard to make friends over zoom the way I did when I could just see everyone in person.

I wouldn't trust this long term. First comes the move to 100% remote. That provides proof of concept to outsource overseas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The second part of it is a bit disjointed.
However, she is on point saying you can be a contractor if you don't want to come in.
She is essentially right and what companies want is responsible employees.
Why are rental cars all double the price from a year ago? Why are all Airbnbs rented, also for double or triple price now?
The reason people need to be in the office is accountability. That you are working.
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.

Awww. You're so cute with your outdated dinosaur Big Boomer Energy.

She's right. I own a company and so much is slipping through the cracks. Communications that took 20 seconds of face to face conversations are now long email chains. Client calls/emails are taking way to long. Productivity is no where near what it was 2 months into closing to in-person work.

A memo is going out in June requiring in person attendance no later than September 1 or they will be fired.

No. She (if it's even a she, which I doubt) is not right. Your company is making poor, rigid choices and it will hurt your future acquisition of talent (if not make you lose existing talent).

Also, you're in the minority, but have fun with that!

So much resistance to the accountability of in person work. This instance of staying remote is making the case against your argument.

If you're really a CEO, your company has bigger problems (ie your communication) than remote work.

Maybe you're right. However, we sre going to figure it out in person. If I have to clean house. It's a good time to do it. It's get on board or get out time at my company. I have the bench strength to train up new team members. Might not be popular; but, it's my job to make unpopular decisions. Everyone is replaceable...everyone.

RIP to your dying company.

[Anonymous]

You gotta worry about that office culture this CEO is so afraid of losing. Sounds horrible. The whole publication is irrelevant though so it’s not a surprise. Her backtracking is really sad too - if that’s how you feel why backtrack?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The second part of it is a bit disjointed.
However, she is on point saying you can be a contractor if you don't want to come in.
She is essentially right and what companies want is responsible employees.
Why are rental cars all double the price from a year ago? Why are all Airbnbs rented, also for double or triple price now?
The reason people need to be in the office is accountability. That you are working.
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.

Agree, people like working from home because it allows them to work less, not better. And there is some obvious sock puppeting in this thread.

That is not true. My work product is the same no matter where my desk is. I have the same output. In fact, I get more done when I am not wasting 3 hours a day commuting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

+1. I did it for an employer for 7 years before zoom. All I need is a phone and a computer. This pandemic was just proof to my current employer. I do not need to go in 5 days a week to sit at a specific desk. It's ridiculous. Occassional in person meetings are fine for connections.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You gotta worry about that office culture this CEO is so afraid of losing. Sounds horrible. The whole publication is irrelevant though so it’s not a surprise. Her backtracking is really sad too - if that’s how you feel why backtrack?

She backtracked because productivity dropped to zero today. She was talking out her ass without understanding her company at all.

[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.

My office is planning to go 100% remote when it's time to go back, and while it's great for me now, I'd hate it if I were a new employee -- especially if I were just starting out in my career. When I started my career, I was new to DC and my workplace was where I met most of my friends. It's hard to make friends over zoom the way I did when I could just see everyone in person.

I think there is definite validity to new, young employees needing some in person interaction and mentorship, but you need to balance that with the needs of the people you are asking to provide that mentorship. Are these people being compensated for the fact that they are being looked to provide training or mentorship? A lot of agencies have spent years shoving mentorship and training responsibilities off on people who are not necessarily being compensated for providing that. There was a period of time where I was the equivalent of a GS-13 yet being tasked with mentoring and training new hires and I had to draw my line in the sand. If you are expecting non managers to return to an office to provide this in person mentorship and training to new hires you better be prepared to compensate them appropriately for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The second part of it is a bit disjointed.
However, she is on point saying you can be a contractor if you don't want to come in.
She is essentially right and what companies want is responsible employees.
Why are rental cars all double the price from a year ago? Why are all Airbnbs rented, also for double or triple price now?
The reason people need to be in the office is accountability. That you are working.
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.

Awww. You're so cute with your outdated dinosaur Big Boomer Energy.

LOL!
I bet you are are so productive from home. No need to go back in person!
Here you are responding to one post 10 hours later! Funny how delusional many people are about how great they are at...anything!
When you get fired, no doubt it will be unjust, bcs you didn't sleep with the boss and bcs he or she hates you because you are younger! LOL!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

This is my situation, except I was going to CT. When I think of how early I used to get up to catch a train, and how excruciating it was to take a shower at 4am...yeah, not going to happen any more. There’s just no need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The second part of it is a bit disjointed.
However, she is on point saying you can be a contractor if you don't want to come in.
She is essentially right and what companies want is responsible employees.
Why are rental cars all double the price from a year ago? Why are all Airbnbs rented, also for double or triple price now?
The reason people need to be in the office is accountability. That you are working.
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.

Awww. You're so cute with your outdated dinosaur Big Boomer Energy.

LOL!
I bet you are are so productive from home. No need to go back in person!
Here you are responding to one post 10 hours later! Funny how delusional many people are about how great they are at...anything!
When you get fired, no doubt it will be unjust, bcs you didn't sleep with the boss and bcs he or she hates you because you are younger! LOL!

Wait, are you trying to say the first poster isn’t productive because it took them 10 hours to respond to your post? I’m going to go out on a limb here but maybe there were working? Lol.