work-from-home boom will lift productivity in the U.S. economy by 5%

[CyOps]

My boss didn't want people working from home until he tried it. Now he's building a house two hours from his office. Since January I only go to the office if I need a vehicle or direct IT support. The wasted time chit chatting in the office was more than the time I spend at home with the kids during working hours.

When working from home you get to find out what kind of dog everyone has and the dogs have to be included in video conferencing from time to time.

I eat a lot healthier working from home. There's only two lunch places within 10 miles.

 

[SCNCY]

Burnt popcorn guy deserves a suspension

If that guy deserves to be suspended, reheat salmon guy deserves to be stoned and quartered.

 

[BCClone]

If that guy deserves to be suspended, reheat salmon guy deserves to be stoned and quartered.

How about burnt fish sticks lady?

 

[IcSyU]

When working from home you get to find out what kind of dog everyone has and the dogs have to be included in video conferencing from time to time.

And the ones with no pets just out themselves as monsters. Win/win really.

 

[SCNCY]

How about burnt fish sticks lady?

It’s all fish.

 

[shagcarpetjesus]

people are still finding ways to be stupid even in email and video.

I believe they call it the Full Toobin.

 

[brianhos]

I hate WFH. I cannot wait to go back, but we have a really cool office with incredible amenities. We will be told at least 90 days ahead of a return to work order. There is no order, so we are at least August at the earliest.

 

[cyclone1209]

Plain and simple, those who don't offer up the flexibility will lose talent.

This is true. I think for most businesses a true hybrid model makes the most sense.

This is all dependent on the industry and business though. It's probably also true as well to think that for many businesses they thrive on healthy competition internally, and that's why they want employees back in the office long term.

 

[jsb]

I hate WFH. I cannot wait to go back, but we have a really cool office with incredible amenities. We will be told at least 90 days ahead of a return to work order. There is no order, so we are at least August at the earliest.

We got an email today that we will be for the rest of the year. Not sure if that’s fiscal year of 9/30 or calendar year.

 

[throwittoblythe]

My company is 100% WFH. We are an engineering/construction company with 500 employees spread all over the US, Canada, and New Zealand. We seem to make it work pretty well. Lots of Teams meetings to cover day to day tasks. Then we do a fair bit of in-person training in group cycles. Our regional teams get together once a year, then the whole company does once a year as well.

We also have to get out in the field to visit our projects semi-regularly. So, you end up seeing people pretty frequently.

It’s a nice balance of WFH with travel to keep things interesting. I really like it. I could see how all WFH with no travel would be a drag though.

 

[cowgirl836]

I read Quiet by Susan Cain this year for a work goal. A lot of the book is about how to maximize efficiency with introverts and extroverts on teams. Basically there is an entire chapter dedicated to how unproductive open office spaces are for employees of both stripes but it's extremely damaging for people who are more introverted.

Open workspaces are terrible.

 

[CYphyllis]

I haven't worked in an office in just short of a decade now. Just the idea of moving to a new position that would require me to go back to a standard work schedule with daily commutes, office small talk and an endless line of useless meetings makes me want to dive head first into traffic.

 

[JM4CY]

Open workspaces are terrible.

You have to be insane to prefer that. There are so, so many reasons they are awful.

 

[carvers4math]

Open workspaces are terrible.

One of the many reasons my sister is still happy to be home.

Fortunately, the day she resolved she was going to demand work from home or quit in March 2020, after her hour train commute home full of coughing people, she got an email saying they were going all virtual and other than a few IT people, have stayed that way.

She is always cold in the open workspace as she is quite thin and even older than me. She keeps her winter coat there in summer due to AC. They have all this free food there that she doesn’t eat cause it’s processed junk. Occasionally grabs a banana. They have a bunch of TVs on in the big food room and whenever she can’t find someone, they are in there watching a rerun of some game on one of the ESPNs. She can’t imagine they are any less productive at home, and she is more productive since she isn’t freezing in the open workspace and commuting two hours a day on the train.

 

[cowgirl836]

One of the many reasons my sister is still happy to be home.

Fortunately, the day she resolved she was going to demand work from home or quit in March 2020, after her hour train commute home full of coughing people, she got an email saying they were going all virtual and other than a few IT people, have stayed that way.

She is always cold in the open workspace as she is quite thin and even older than me. She keeps her winter coat there in summer due to AC. They have all this free food there that she doesn’t eat cause it’s processed junk. Occasionally grabs a banana. They have a bunch of TVs on in the big food room and whenever she can’t find someone, they are in there watching a rerun of some game on one of the ESPNs. She can’t imagine they are any less productive at home, and she is more productive since she isn’t freezing in the open workspace and commuting two hours a day on the train.

Omg, I forgot all about running my heater 24/7

 

[NDMARTIN2015]

My wife is 100% WFH for Principal, and she gets double the work done in the same amount of time. She handles it really well. My company offered the option for a 10% pay cut, and I said absolutely not. I also get more work done at home, why would I take a pay cut.

 

[throwittoblythe]

My wife is 100% WFH for Principal, and she gets double the work done in the same amount of time. She handles it really well. My company offered the option for a 10% pay cut, and I said absolutely not. I also get more work done at home, why would I take a pay cut.

My industry (construction/civil engineering) is extremely strapped for talent. Companies are offering 10-20% over market wages just to hire people. If a company told someone today to take a 10% pay cut just to WFH, they’d tell them to EABOD and get an offer from somewhere else within the week.

 

[IcSyU]

My wife is 100% WFH for Principal, and she gets double the work done in the same amount of time. She handles it really well. My company offered the option for a 10% pay cut, and I said absolutely not. I also get more work done at home, why would I take a pay cut.

If my employer offered to have me work more for a smaller paycheck my resume would be going elsewhere so fast their heads would spin.

Whoever suggests that at management level needs to lose their job immediately.

 

[chadly82]

So, let me get this straight. A desk job, able to be done anywhere there's an internet connection has people disputing its net gain. No surprise. No driving, by itself, is chocked full of good reasons: lower insurance, lower fuel consumption, lower maintenance, less stress, more time to devote to job. I'm sure the opponents will be funded by those associated industries (ie car, insurance, gas). But, now let's consider the savings in commercial real-estate. A whallop of savings.
Of course, initially, there will be more adjustment pains, but being in the industry, any company not already designed for remote workers was just plain negligent. I had already prepared all the small businesses I consult for.
The bottom line is: ALL companies should be shifting towards split labor policies. Better for everyone ... and the planet.

1000% here and it’s also been part of the new construction home booming. People needing more space and a bigger home including an office area

 

[JM4CY]

If my employer offered to have me work more for a smaller paycheck my resume would be going elsewhere so fast their heads would spin.

Whoever suggests that at management level needs to lose their job immediately.

In that scenario, I would consider taking my resume elsewhere anyway. That is a sign of potential serious business management issues and I wouldn’t want to work under that.