Today at work one staff member had balls to mention to CEO he likes being able to work from home two days a week.

My CEO said you mean four days a week as you are already home on the weekends.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cities threatening to get rid of tax breaks for companies if they don’t RTO, because apparently small businesses are suffering, downtowns are becoming ghost towns, CRE values are plummeting & public transportation is being crime-filled due to normies no longer taking it.

Honestly, I am sick and tired if the FT WFH evangelists acting like these are not valid concerns. They are. Acting as if they are not is making the RTO worse. If you’re unwilling to meet halfway with hybrid, they’ll just make everyone come in all the time. The war path is over. People go back now.

Lots of people making $250k+ & WFH have the assets to retire or part-time freelance and would rather do that than RTO.

Ding ding ding! That's part of the point. They are hoping that lots of these people retire.

No, they’re not. The race for talent is real. There aren’t enough people with the right skills out there. Which is why this RTO thing will fail — workers have the leverage.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Is it going to be this way from now on? Like remote work is permanently over?

Of course not. Lots of WFH and remote work still happening. Find a different job if needed.

Op here. DW and I have been working on that. I just went through 6 rounds of interviews for a high paying, fully remote job. Received the offer, but they pulled the remote piece of it and were requiring me to move several states away, so I declined it.

DW just applied for an extremely specialized job in a rural location. Think something along the lines of-you need a PH.D., multiple certifications, and 10-15 years of experience, PLUS you need to speak French fluently. We wouldn’t have moved to the rural location, but we actually have family within a couple hours drive and she was willing to travel there monthly or even more in the beginning. They emailed her the day after she applied, asking for an interview, but only if she’d confirm that we would move to the new location and that zero remote work would be allowed. And on top of ALL THAT, they refused to even provide a range for the salary. She declined the interview.

The whole thing is just discouraging. The tide has really turned.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cities threatening to get rid of tax breaks for companies if they don’t RTO, because apparently small businesses are suffering, downtowns are becoming ghost towns, CRE values are plummeting & public transportation is being crime-filled due to normies no longer taking it.

Honestly, I am sick and tired if the FT WFH evangelists acting like these are not valid concerns. They are. Acting as if they are not is making the RTO worse. If you’re unwilling to meet halfway with hybrid, they’ll just make everyone come in all the time. The war path is over. People go back now.

Like many here, I don't buy lunch. When RTO fails to save downtown retail, what then? Will I be paid in vouchers for local restaurants? Capitalism means that sometimes businesses die.

Although, if RTO was really about boosting retail spending they would not be forcing a recession. This is all about keeping workers from gaining leverage.

NP. I'm a manager and I can see that permanent WFH isn't working. I don't care AT ALL about your retail spending or downtown rents.

It’s not your problem unless you own the company.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cities threatening to get rid of tax breaks for companies if they don’t RTO, because apparently small businesses are suffering, downtowns are becoming ghost towns, CRE values are plummeting & public transportation is being crime-filled due to normies no longer taking it.

Honestly, I am sick and tired if the FT WFH evangelists acting like these are not valid concerns. They are. Acting as if they are not is making the RTO worse. If you’re unwilling to meet halfway with hybrid, they’ll just make everyone come in all the time. The war path is over. People go back now.

Like many here, I don't buy lunch. When RTO fails to save downtown retail, what then? Will I be paid in vouchers for local restaurants? Capitalism means that sometimes businesses die.

Although, if RTO was really about boosting retail spending they would not be forcing a recession. This is all about keeping workers from gaining leverage.

NP. I'm a manager and I can see that permanent WFH isn't working. I don't care AT ALL about your retail spending or downtown rents.

I work for a major RE consultancy and we have no RTO policy, perhaps ironically. Many of us still come in 1-3 days a week while others are fully remote.

Downton DC is a ghost town compared to 20 years ago. But other markets aren't so bad. Southern cities and southwest have much higher and apparently more willing RTO employees. I suspect much of it is driven by commuting costs being a lot lower. Cities like Chicago, NYC, Philadelphia, and DC are going to suffer badly because commuting costs are high.

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Is it going to be this way from now on? Like remote work is permanently over?

Of course not. Lots of WFH and remote work still happening. Find a different job if needed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cities threatening to get rid of tax breaks for companies if they don’t RTO, because apparently small businesses are suffering, downtowns are becoming ghost towns, CRE values are plummeting & public transportation is being crime-filled due to normies no longer taking it.

Honestly, I am sick and tired if the FT WFH evangelists acting like these are not valid concerns. They are. Acting as if they are not is making the RTO worse. If you’re unwilling to meet halfway with hybrid, they’ll just make everyone come in all the time. The war path is over. People go back now.

Like many here, I don't buy lunch. When RTO fails to save downtown retail, what then? Will I be paid in vouchers for local restaurants? Capitalism means that sometimes businesses die.

Although, if RTO was really about boosting retail spending they would not be forcing a recession. This is all about keeping workers from gaining leverage.

Op here. Is it going to be this way from now on? Like remote work is permanently over?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cities threatening to get rid of tax breaks for companies if they don’t RTO, because apparently small businesses are suffering, downtowns are becoming ghost towns, CRE values are plummeting & public transportation is being crime-filled due to normies no longer taking it.

Honestly, I am sick and tired if the FT WFH evangelists acting like these are not valid concerns. They are. Acting as if they are not is making the RTO worse. If you’re unwilling to meet halfway with hybrid, they’ll just make everyone come in all the time. The war path is over. People go back now.

Lots of people making $250k+ & WFH have the assets to retire or part-time freelance and would rather do that than RTO.

Ding ding ding! That's part of the point. They are hoping that lots of these people retire.

Yep, so they can replace them with younger workers at lower pay

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cities threatening to get rid of tax breaks for companies if they don’t RTO, because apparently small businesses are suffering, downtowns are becoming ghost towns, CRE values are plummeting & public transportation is being crime-filled due to normies no longer taking it.

Public transit is doomed. After 3 years of hygiene obsession and isolation, cramming onto subway trains is just too traumatic for most people. If they are RTO for 3 days a week, they can drive the super commute for those 3 days and recover before the weekend. Still better than before times and train transit.

People are full on murdering each other on trains. Traffic is going to get really really bad, but more people will invest in AI cruise control and watch movies as their car creeps along following the car in front of it.

Is that a thing?! I have a minivan so I haven't looked into EVs but I thought they only go on autopilot on the highway.

My car driving itself has been a lifetime dream of mine.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cities threatening to get rid of tax breaks for companies if they don’t RTO, because apparently small businesses are suffering, downtowns are becoming ghost towns, CRE values are plummeting & public transportation is being crime-filled due to normies no longer taking it.

Honestly, I am sick and tired if the FT WFH evangelists acting like these are not valid concerns. They are. Acting as if they are not is making the RTO worse. If you’re unwilling to meet halfway with hybrid, they’ll just make everyone come in all the time. The war path is over. People go back now.

For people who believe their WFH productivity is just as good as in-office, these are NOT valid concerns. They’re somebody whining “who moved my cheese”. If you don’t believe WFH is productive, THAT’S a valid concern. Not some desire to prop up zombie businesses.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cities threatening to get rid of tax breaks for companies if they don’t RTO, because apparently small businesses are suffering, downtowns are becoming ghost towns, CRE values are plummeting & public transportation is being crime-filled due to normies no longer taking it.

Honestly, I am sick and tired if the FT WFH evangelists acting like these are not valid concerns. They are. Acting as if they are not is making the RTO worse. If you’re unwilling to meet halfway with hybrid, they’ll just make everyone come in all the time. The war path is over. People go back now.

Lots of people making $250k+ & WFH have the assets to retire or part-time freelance and would rather do that than RTO.

Ding ding ding! That's part of the point. They are hoping that lots of these people retire.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cities threatening to get rid of tax breaks for companies if they don’t RTO, because apparently small businesses are suffering, downtowns are becoming ghost towns, CRE values are plummeting & public transportation is being crime-filled due to normies no longer taking it.

Honestly, I am sick and tired if the FT WFH evangelists acting like these are not valid concerns. They are. Acting as if they are not is making the RTO worse. If you’re unwilling to meet halfway with hybrid, they’ll just make everyone come in all the time. The war path is over. People go back now.

Lots of people making $250k+ & WFH have the assets to retire or part-time freelance and would rather do that than RTO.

100%

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cities threatening to get rid of tax breaks for companies if they don’t RTO, because apparently small businesses are suffering, downtowns are becoming ghost towns, CRE values are plummeting & public transportation is being crime-filled due to normies no longer taking it.

Honestly, I am sick and tired if the FT WFH evangelists acting like these are not valid concerns. They are. Acting as if they are not is making the RTO worse. If you’re unwilling to meet halfway with hybrid, they’ll just make everyone come in all the time. The war path is over. People go back now.

Lots of people making $250k+ & WFH have the assets to retire or part-time freelance and would rather do that than RTO.

+1. This is us. Won't be going back multiple days per week. Have had two serious injuries commuting over the years, life is precious and short.