Back to the office today

[MrGoat]

Originally Posted by Rayduil

I think the quarantine has put most of us in the position of working from home. Honestly, I can not complain since I was started sleeping more and having more free time. I didn't have to spend hours in traffic. But I missed the feeling of seeing people working beside me. My office has reopened this week. The location has changed since we started renting offices from www.aperfectspace.com. I can't even express how happy I was to see some faces. You are really like you can do the same. Most countries are still in complete lockdown. I wish you to adapt as quickly as you can.

How did you post a link with your first post?


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[superdog]

Originally Posted by MichaelFlash

Because at some point life needs to get back to normal and because working from home is not always the smartest thing to do. I never assume that every employer can just as easily and just as efficiently have their employees work from home.

agree.

we never closed. maybe for two days actually in the very beginning.

I did allow everyone to do what they want. you want to wear a mask, do it. you don't, that is okay too. Vaccine, same thing.

want to stay home, that is okay. but for certain those folks have missed out. imo, it is not possible to have the same level of collaboration. you simply can't do it. and great ideas and energy come from collaboration and discussion. often times that happens on the fly.

pros and cons to everything. we had a week or so where half the office was out with omicron. but everyone was fine, and they are all back.

[Ferdelious]

Originally Posted by superdog

agree.

we never closed. maybe for two days actually in the very beginning.

I did allow everyone to do what they want. you want to wear a mask, do it. you don't, that is okay too. Vaccine, same thing.

want to stay home, that is okay. but for certain those folks have missed out. imo, it is not possible to have the same level of collaboration. you simply can't do it. and great ideas and energy come from collaboration and discussion. often times that happens on the fly.

pros and cons to everything. we had a week or so where half the office was out with omicron. but everyone was fine, and they are all back.

Well said. Almost identical scenario at our small family fun business.

[904VT]

Originally Posted by superdog

agree.

we never closed. maybe for two days actually in the very beginning.

I did allow everyone to do what they want. you want to wear a mask, do it. you don't, that is okay too. Vaccine, same thing.

want to stay home, that is okay. but for certain those folks have missed out. imo, it is not possible to have the same level of collaboration. you simply can't do it. and great ideas and energy come from collaboration and discussion. often times that happens on the fly.

pros and cons to everything. we had a week or so where half the office was out with omicron. but everyone was fine, and they are all back.

You sound like a good boss Seth

[superdog]

Originally Posted by 904VT

You sound like a good boss Seth

The biggest priority I have, is creating a good environment for my team.

I spend a lot of time and energy on it. My goal is everyone that comes in, retires from my company after a very fruit and fulfilling career.

Thanks for saying that. Nothing more important to me.

[MrGoat]

Originally Posted by 904VT

You sound like a good boss Seth

X2!! Many employers don’t realize the advantages of having long tenured, happy employees. Treat your people like they’re irreplaceable, appreciate them and promote growth and they will do great things for your business.


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[huncho]

started going back slowly in oct/nov but took a break during omicron, going back 4x a week starting march. before going back in oct, they forced us to get vaccinated or else we'd have to wear a mask at our desk, so everyone got vaccinated and they then forced us to wear a mask everywhere in the office including at your desk anyway lol. so 9 hours of wearing a mask including commuting, can't wait

i hate sitting at home on calls for 7 hrs a day so i do want to go back to the office in some kind of hybrid form at least, but their idea is just not fair and especially since it comes from the higher ups who have their own corner offices where they can comfortably relax

[Rayduil]

No matter how convenient a WFH is, WFO is way more productive

[TheVTCGuy]

Originally Posted by Rayduil

No matter how convenient a WFH is, WFO is way more productive

Oh I seriously disagree. I have worked out of my house for over 20 years, and I swear I am FAR more productive then when I had to go in to an office. There are more distractions in an office, I had to be concerned about getting up and looking presentable at a certain time, I had to deal with other employees issues, a LOT of distractions. My boss tasks me with projects and they get done, sometimes at a coffee shop on my laptop, sometimes at 11:00 at night when I get a sudden inspiration.

Nope, for me anyway, I am a far better employee working at home.

[Rayduil]

No matter how convenient a WFH is, WFO is way more productive. But it depends on the person. For me, a home is a place for chilling. Every single piece of my flat dispose me to get relaxed. I can manage some easy stuff, but a full-fledged job for me is possible in the office. Sometimes I also pick a coworking space on https://osdoro.com/us/coworking-space-nyc/, being in New York. Nevertheless, I'm glad the pandemic forced us to revisit working habits. People should have a choice, as WFH or WFO are both valid, depending on the situation.

[walds11]

RTO office for my company is March 14th on a hybrid basis, which I did before the pandemic, so all good with me. They kept putting it off, but this appears to be a firm date. We shall see. It will be 2 years since everyone was in the office. Crazy!

My office is close to home. My round-trip commute is under 30 minutes. And easy in and out, free parking, etc. I have no complaints.

[zengineer]

Originally Posted by Wahlberg

I still don't get why some companies feel the need to put people back in the offices when work from home is currently the smartest thing to do and makes most sense. Do they think they are losing control?

It depends on the type of company I think. We are an automotive supplier and also do design and development for much of what we make. We have test and chemical labs, prototype facilities as well as engineering, sales and many other functions. 1/3 rely on equipment in the building and never went to WFH.

1/3 can forever do what they do remotely. The final 1/3 are best suited to a hybrid model We are implementing. A few days a week teams come to the office and 2-3 days they can be remote if they choose. More than a few don't have a home situation that allows them to be productive and choose to come in.

We put the general offices in the same building for good reasons and those reasons are solid. When I was in the design side my guys would frequently wander back to the shop or labs to tinker or brainstorm with others.

I have a unique job with responsibility for our European and Asian operations so 90% of what I do is virtual meetings or travel and I have a good situation at home, but I go in 1 - 2 days a week based on customer visits, product trials or meetings that work better face to face.

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[huncho]

Originally Posted by Wahlberg

I still don't get why some companies feel the need to put people back in the offices when work from home is currently the smartest thing to do and makes most sense. Do they think they are losing control?

because in some fields (all of IT at least) this means sitting on calls for 8 hrs a day and working at night becomes the norm. there is no separation of work and private life anymore and no social interaction and worst of all, no such thing as lunch time or any form of breaks anymore because everyone's at home so people think no one wants to go outside. it's hard to even step away for 30 mins for lunch on most days. wfh sucks and so does going into the office 5 days a week after we've experienced the other side. hybrid is best but wfh 5 days a week glued to your computer on meetings all day is borderline depressing and mentally draining, unless you actually don't do any work or move near the beach or have some kind of nice area to work outside to change things up. in nyc you don't really have that luxury and it just forces a lot of people to be confined to small living spaces and paying huge amounts for rent because they try to live within close commutes

[Moondoggy]

I went in on Tuesday morning walked back out Tuesday lunchtime.

Not going back.

[TheVTCGuy]

Originally Posted by Moondoggy

I went in on Tuesday morning walked back out Tuesday lunchtime.

Not going back.

They fired you huh?

[BNA/LION]

Selfishly as a retired person I wish everyone would go back to their office jobs. There are to many people out and about during the week nowadays.

[Moondoggy]

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

They fired you huh?

I'll pay that one close, I fired myself.

[RyanJ]

I am fortunate to be able to WFH permanently now and would not have it any other way. My life has changed completely in a positive way. I am in tech and our team is global so even in the office I spent a lot of time on video meetings. We have always stressed breaks and had team events during the day even when in the office. It is not unheard of now for me to have 4-5 teammates up on an extra monitor in a video call just talking back and forth like we are in the office.

My work life balance is better than it ever has been and my overall health has vastly improved. In a way, now that I look at it... It almost feels like we had been training for something like this to happen without knowing it.

However, I can totally understand that WFH is not for everyone and not everyone's situations work well with it. For those people, I really hope you find balance again and get through things successfully.