Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you care so much? Work in the office or don't, but stop policing everyone else's behavior. Keep your eyes on your own paper.

It’s my tax dollars at work. Or not at work. That’s the problem.

But it’s cool. It’ll all be over soon enough.

I have to agree. I have a friend -- lovely person -- who is a fed, works from home and is an avid reader. She literally reads books during the work day! She loves to "work" from home.

Thanks for sharing your anecdote. Mine: our work unit doubled our measurable productivity during covid and we won't be RTO.

yay for you then?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weird. I’m seeing more articles like this one about how RTO has stalled https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-return-to-the-office-has-stalled-e0af9741

Not because employers don’t want it.

I just laugh at the suggestion that workers are more “productive“ at home. We all know that is not why workers want to work remotely. This is an anonymous forum. Why can’t you just admit it? You want to work remotely because it is easier for you and easier for childcare. Not because you think it’s more productive. You don’t care about productivity at all.

The real case for WFH vs RTO is that different people in different jobs should be provided flexibility appropriate to the situation. The uniform-RTO-crowd can’t wrap their heads around this, and your screed makes my case. I have adult children and a 2+hour/day commute. I am absolutely more productive at home. So are my colleagues who are mostly in the same boat (our office of feds has an average age of late 50s and we don’t live in DC). Yes, I want WFH since it’s tons more convenient for me, and I am more productive for my agency. It’s win-win if I stay remote.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please outline the four main reasons, since I'm not paying for fortune magazine access. Thx

Maybe if you actually worked a little harder, you would be able to afford it lol

Not PP but some jobs just have low pay, no matter how hard you work and many of those are interesting and essential.

OP must work for Washington REIT (or whatever its name is now). Commissions are down again, huh?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Article after article like this one. Can’t wait for the feds to wise up and save our city.

https://fortune.com/2023/06/14/is-remote-work-era-ending-doomed-4-reasons-why-productivity/

I’ve lived in DC on and off since the late 80s. It has nothing to do with on-site feds (there was no remote work in the 90s and DC was a dump).

Gentrification led to over expanding. My neighborhood alone went from lovely row homes to over priced condos, no play space for families and NINE coffee shops in three blocks. Eventually those young people get married and have kids. They want playgrounds. They want good schools and they want more than just latte and gelato.

I’m talking about downtown. Y’all need to get back here. Stop being selfish hermits in the exurbs and get back into the city in offices where you belong. That’s what you signed up for when you took your job. Stop fleecing the taxpayers.

The mission of the federal government isn't to subsidize DC businesses

Agree. The mayor can spin it as federal government but it’s the rise in crime in DC and the lack of DC government using modern day enforcement and prevention.

The mission of the federal government also isn’t to pay for parents to “vacation” at home.

I was hired remotely and remote I shall stay.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you care so much? Work in the office or don't, but stop policing everyone else's behavior. Keep your eyes on your own paper.

It’s my tax dollars at work. Or not at work. That’s the problem.

But it’s cool. It’ll all be over soon enough.

I have to agree. I have a friend -- lovely person -- who is a fed, works from home and is an avid reader. She literally reads books during the work day! She loves to "work" from home.

On the rare occasion something like this can be backed up, it always turns out the friend is a book editor. Or manning phones that aren't ringing, clocking early/late hours around a midday pause in workflow, or something else totally benign.

It's not. Full time remote is unlikely for most people, but industries that can reasonably support remote work are actually working very hard to find solutions that offer flexibility and remote options for workers.

Realistically, people are going to need to get used to the idea that being a remote worker, or even hybrid, may mean giving up certain promotional potential or even making less money in their current role than someone who is in the office daily. People may also need to wrap their heads around the idea that employers might offer remote work as an option, but leave it to you to set it up. Which means you might need to be ready to buy your own office equipment and you definitely won't be getting stipends for internet or other tech support. In some places (tech, consulting, law) sure, they might offer this stuff as a benefit. But most jobs won't and you'll need to figure it out.

Also more companies may shift more jobs to contract positions with fewer benefits and stability, but make them remote. This was actually happening pre-Covid but will likely accelerate. So you get the benefit of remote work, but you are essentially different class of employee and have far less job stability.

But remote work is far from "toast" and a lot of industries are seeing the benefits of being able to hire regardless of location, of using remote work to help retain workers through different life stages.

Young workers with the expectation of full time remote or maximum flexibility to work from wherever, with no impact on career trajectory, and fully supported by their employer including associated costs, are being unrealistic and will be disappointed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weird. I’m seeing more articles like this one about how RTO has stalled https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-return-to-the-office-has-stalled-e0af9741

Not because employers don’t want it.

I just laugh at the suggestion that workers are more “productive“ at home. We all know that is not why workers want to work remotely. This is an anonymous forum. Why can’t you just admit it? You want to work remotely because it is easier for you and easier for childcare. Not because you think it’s more productive. You don’t care about productivity at all.

Exactly. I love my two days at home but I am most certainly more productive at the office.

I have a coworker who has had two children since covid and neither one of them has been in day care for 1 single day. her husband runs a dealership so he is not at home. Tell me please how productive she is watching a newborn and a toddler at home while working.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Article after article like this one. Can’t wait for the feds to wise up and save our city.

https://fortune.com/2023/06/14/is-remote-work-era-ending-doomed-4-reasons-why-productivity/

I’ve lived in DC on and off since the late 80s. It has nothing to do with on-site feds (there was no remote work in the 90s and DC was a dump).

Gentrification led to over expanding. My neighborhood alone went from lovely row homes to over priced condos, no play space for families and NINE coffee shops in three blocks. Eventually those young people get married and have kids. They want playgrounds. They want good schools and they want more than just latte and gelato.

I’m talking about downtown. Y’all need to get back here. Stop being selfish hermits in the exurbs and get back into the city in offices where you belong. That’s what you signed up for when you took your job. Stop fleecing the taxpayers.

whatever. i live two miles from the office and i'm absolutely more efficient at home. it takes over 10 minutes to get through security and to walk to my office. i don't go out to lunch, there's no point. at home i might stop by the coffeeshop for a lunchbreak since i CAN do that in 30 minutes. i do spend a bunch of time just socializing at the office when i go in since its apparently so godawful important.

anyway, giant swathes of corporate and government real estate has always resulted in an evening wasteland. the city needs better residential options, not people in cubicles.

no one is fleecing the taxpayers by working from home, except for maybe the contractors who we are not allowed to ask if they are working two jobs at once.

i think middle managers are just big mad that there aren't any young women in the office to harass and try to have an affair with.

This! OP just wants to see the young ladies in person

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you care so much? Work in the office or don't, but stop policing everyone else's behavior. Keep your eyes on your own paper.

It’s my tax dollars at work. Or not at work. That’s the problem.

But it’s cool. It’ll all be over soon enough.

Your taxes pay for private businesses? That’s what the article you linked is about.

Yea you’re a logical thinker. Not.

Ooh, ad hominem! Always the sign of someone with a good point! At least I know the difference between “yeah” and “yea.”

Well, now you’re resorting to correcting my English, rather than addressing the ridiculousness of your argument. The true sign of defeat.

Whatever you say, sweetie

Wow, you really don’t have anything of substance to add to this discussion, do you?

😘

I’m removing all network equipment from 58 offices in the DC metro area since nobody is going back.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you care so much? Work in the office or don't, but stop policing everyone else's behavior. Keep your eyes on your own paper.

It’s my tax dollars at work. Or not at work. That’s the problem.

But it’s cool. It’ll all be over soon enough.

I have to agree. I have a friend -- lovely person -- who is a fed, works from home and is an avid reader. She literally reads books during the work day! She loves to "work" from home.

Thanks for sharing your anecdote. Mine: our work unit doubled our measurable productivity during covid and we won't be RTO.

Anonymous wrote:OP is peanut butter and JELLY.

I'll write more after I walk my dog.

Lol I’m OP and I’m only jelly of the dog. I don’t even work ha ha.

OP is peanut butter and JELLY.

I'll write more after I walk my dog.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you care so much? Work in the office or don't, but stop policing everyone else's behavior. Keep your eyes on your own paper.

It’s my tax dollars at work. Or not at work. That’s the problem.

But it’s cool. It’ll all be over soon enough.

Your taxes pay for private businesses? That’s what the article you linked is about.

Yea you’re a logical thinker. Not.

Ooh, ad hominem! Always the sign of someone with a good point! At least I know the difference between “yeah” and “yea.”

Well, now you’re resorting to correcting my English, rather than addressing the ridiculousness of your argument. The true sign of defeat.

Whatever you say, sweetie

Wow, you really don’t have anything of substance to add to this discussion, do you?