Comment by lopkeny12ko 10 months ago
Before the pandemic, everyone was working in-office 5 days a week. The pandemic is now over. Why is it so controversial to return to what everyone was already doing previously?
Kudos to Jassy for being a leader in this space.
> Why is it so controversial to return to what everyone was already doing previously?
One reason is that they aren't returning to what they were previously doing: many companies have sold off office space and have removed dedicated work spaces in favour of hybrid-friendly environments and 'hot desks'.
Because working in an office at most tech companies sucks, and now that it isn't the norm, there's no good reason to accept that it should be.
If you work in-office for an American tech prime, there's a good chance your office is in one of the following cities: SF, LA, Seattle, NYC, Chicago, Houston, DC. Commuting in all of these cities is absolutely miserable. It benefits neither you nor your employer to spend multiple hours per day not working, not tending to personal matters, but simply getting to and from a job you could just as easily do at home.
If you're a parent, working from home makes it easier to be present as a parent. Commuting can be exhausting, and the energy saved by working from home can be put towards your kids.
It makes the logistics of everyday tasks easier. Because I no longer piss away 20 hours a week on the L going into downtown Chicago, I now have 20 more hours per week to work out, do the laundry, buy groceries, and cook healthy meals. This is a flat-out benefit of remote work that simply cannot be offered by any employer that demands in-office work. Paychecks can't buy time.
Tech companies are also are prone to the most backwards forms of "modern office design," which universally result in a distracting and uncomfortable work environment. There's also research to suggest that they result in higher rates of illness among workers [1]. So, even if your commute doesn't suck, there's a good chance your office does suck.
None of this is to say that you shouldn't be allowed to work in an office if you want to. I sure as hell don't. I'm happier, healthier, and more productive than I ever was in an office environment.
> Before the pandemic, everyone was working in-office 5 days a week. [...] Why is it so controversial [...]?
Because it is a lie. Teams managed themselves and trusted their members.
People who were virtual employees, or whose team was in a different location than theirs, have been let go at different points of the layoffs/RTO mandates, when they existed before the pandemic.
This is a regression to a point that never existed in Amazon's history.
because its a regression. WFH is better for a lot of folks. It saves time and money. Being forced back to office is like taking a pay cut as well as wastes 2 hours each day.
Because as humans progress, so must our working conditions. The onus of working in the office is ALL on the employee:
- getting to the office (commute time is never paid time)
- figuring out a mode of travel (parking, gas are rarely paid, transit sometimes)
- child / senior care (major cost for parents)
- biology issues (quality of bathrooms, quality of kitchen, bringing items to/from work, flatulence, illnesses)