Does she think sleepless nights are going to improve mental health?
I am in general a big proponent for going to go to the office, I am an IT guy, and I find I have more focus when in the office, I also don’t want to associate my home with work, I need the physical separation and I find it to be easier to coordinate with others in the office.
That being said, this CEO is stupid, loneliness is not cured by being forced to interact with people that I need to be paid to interact with.
I also realize that just because I find the office beneficial, does not mean I get to dictate how other people should feel about it.
I am in general a big proponent for going to go to the office, I am an IT guy, and I find I have more focus when in the office, I also don’t want to associate my home with work, I need the physical separation and I find it to be easier to coordinate with others in the office.
Some people do.
The trick about remote work is not that it lets us all work from home, but that it gives us another location and we can pick our best environment.
I found a job that promises “work from anywhere in the country”, and many people min-maxed their location for profit. They only have to match time-zone to ensure they’re punched in during ‘business hours’ (and, for some, starting later in their day to synch with the home office is f’n awesome).
But they still maintain “hotel” spots, two of them permanent. People did find some days or many days in the office each week is their jam. Some come and go as per their current needs and best environment. One of my peers went camping, and did a server update over VPN over starlink over smores, and then put the laptop away for the weekend. He was proving he can camp while on-call.
Sometimes I like my view. Sometimes I need a featureless wall to cut down on distractions. I find what is best and I rock that shit. And that’s what it’s about: find your best space.
When the only space is Office Space, then there is no freedom to find that environment where you crush it today, and that needs to be seen as an impairment. Let us pick our time and place and - sun tzu - victory is assured.
I fully agree with you, there are times when I need to work remote, I hate it, but I love having the option to do it.
During the pandemic, I worked from home in two week periods, it was absolutely terrible, just disconnecting from the RDP session and be in “home mode” never worked for me, normally take the bus to and from the office and have an hour to wind down after work and just empty my mind through Youtube, I don’t have that mandatory time when I work from home…
These days I at least have a car, so I can take a trip after work, but when driving, my brain doesn’t really rest, so it is far from the relaxing time heading home on the bus…
I started working remotely before the pandemic because it absolutely works for me. But part of that is that I have things that I do to get into and out of office mode. I get up and get dressed, make myself breakfast, and have a separate area where my office PC lives. When I’m done with work I leave my office. Even if I’m going to be back in there very shortly to record music (because my office doubles as my studio) I walk out of it physically. If I don’t feel disconnected enough from work I’ll change clothes or shower. The key is to always be intentional about it.
That’s not in an effort to convince you of anything. Just giving you tools to keep in your toolbox in case you ever want to use them.
Some folks do way better in an office. Some don’t. But I’m absolutely convinced the workers that want everyone back at the office really need someone to talk to because no one in their personal life wants to be their friend. They don’t have a life with interests and hobbies. But the people that want to go back to the office because it’s better for them, I absolutely support y’all! I think you’re great.
Remember how clean the air was when most people were working from home?
But shareholder value is more important.
Good luck to this woman finding good employees. Good employees have a choice.
