Permanent changes to how we work?

[lowlight]

I think a lot of it depends on geographic location and type of business. I know a lot of the large tech companies have signaled that remote work is here to stay, and a lot of Silicon Valley/Bay Area has followed suit. On the east coast, in traditional corporate environments, many are resisting remote work with all their strength. Companies heavy with middle management seem to be particularly stubborn, because middle management only seems to exist to make the lives of line workers miserable, and that's better done in person. This is all my personal experience from my job and those in my circle, so it's certainly not fact.

 

[DisneyHardin]

Teachers here were remote for over a year. And when they have a covid issue, they immediately go back to remote learning for a week or two. Some schools had to extend the Christmas break due to infections. And parents have the option here of having their children remain on remote learning, but the Sacramento City Unified School District doesn't have enough teachers to supervise all those remote requests.

We taught remotely from March 2020-March 2021. This year we have done 2 weeks of remote when there were too many teachers out with Covid to safely have school.

 

[nene0182]

We were fully remote from March 2020-November 2021 and then in the office two days a week. We went back to fully remote the first week of January and are supposed to return to our hybrid schedule this week. However, there is a meeting on Monday discussing our positions going fully remote. Between the department I will be in charge of come Monday and the one I just left, there is no one that wants to return to the office full time and most would prefer an entirely remote schedule. We are trying to hire for two positions and in interviews have consistently heard the desire for completely remote work. Our jobs don’t require in person interaction and even before the pandemic we rarely interacted with the people we dealt with in person.

 

[RamblingRabbit]

My employer sold our buildings and lapsed all leases, except for corporate HQ for presidents and a small bay of offices if you need a place to work in office/have a meeting.

With that change they are allowing us to work anywhere in the lower 48 with no questions asked. We're never going back.

This really depends on the sector/industry you're in. I'm in telecom and my team is very much 12 people doing their own thing.

 

[soccerdad72]

We’re officially in a “beta” period of time doing a hybrid work schedule, but all indications seem to point towards this becoming permanent. I work in office three days and at home two days a week. Most people and 3/2 or 2/3 right now. Many employers have gone full remote, so it’s hard to compete for employees without at least some flexibility.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

Yet here we are in 2022, and despite their best efforts most people still work from home at least 1 day per week. I submitted a request for full remote, and was approved (I’m only a part time employee though .). I don’t know how everyone else seems to be swinging the remote days but I suspect there was a lot of, “make me” type conversations.

I’m an engineer, where the majority of the management/upper level are old white men who don’t get it. They want everyone in seats at the office. As a female, with a family, I LOVE remote and I’m never going back. The young ones don’t feel a need to be in the office 40 hours either.

Times they are a changing.

Something I see as well. Many of our upper management are older and don't know how to act without the structure of an office environment. They even are using the term "return to work" to describe office renovations... which is nails on a chalkboard to most of us.

Also, management is generally more extraverted where engineers lean towards being introverts (I'm definitely in that group). You know what I don't miss? The random person stopping by my cube to BS about the sportsball game this past weekend. College sports are big here and I went to school out of state so I couldn't care less about Michigan or Michigan State.

 

[unrequited23]

My DH was remote 2 days a week pre-pandemic. His department became 100% remote last summer. Everyone had to clean out their cubes and the space has been repurposed. He works in IT for a major hospital system.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I am shocked that people do not want to be jammed into filthy cans with marauders waiting to pounce as soon as you emerge, nevermind the value added by safe clean passage home all for $5 a day plus $15 lunch on top of the other costs, really, I'm just shocked.

 

[anniemae]

I work part time but my company was remote during pandemic then wanted everyone to return last Fall. Over the summer they were working on plans for people to come in 2 days a week starting after Labor Day. Then Delta started gaining speed and those plans went out the window. Then Omicron came along and we were told we were all staying remote. There has been chatter about bringing people back for 2 days a week. Being part time, I will only have to go in once in a while for big meetings.

 

[Stratman50th]

I've been teleworking for over 7 years now. My main office is in VA, the job site is in MD, and I live in FL. I won't ever go back to the job site.

 

[Snowysmom]

My company was remote once the pandemic started. We always had some people remote but the office staff came in every day prepandemic. Then they were going to do a hybrid after Labor Day where people would come in at least 2 days a week. That went south when Delta started. Now they told everyone that you can decide if you want to be fully remote, go into the office occasionally, a few days a week, or all week. Most employees want to stay remote. The company plans on renting a smaller space once the lease is up and is basing the size on a survey on how many people want to come back to the office for even a day a week. I went in one day a week even during the pandemic as I had to do a few tasks that made it necessary. Now I am going through a life change and am living further away from the office temporarily so my manager has taken over those tasks and I am fully remote with only going in if he is on vacation. Once I get settled back in the area of the office I will go back to one day a week in the office. I like to see some of the people I work with so I won't mind once the commute is not a nightmare.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

We constantly hear about the world-ending climate crisis we have on our hands and then seemingly overnight our whole way of life changes in a way that allows for one of the most impactful positive changes we can make for the environment — take an enormous number of cars off the road. And while the smog is clearing, people are seeing how much their work-life balance improves when they don’t spend hours per week sitting in traffic. They’re saving money on transportation costs, and lunches, and office attire and they’re realizing life is way more comfortable in yoga pants. Their schedules are more flexible which makes it easier to juggle errands, and doctor appointments, and bus stop pick-ups, and kids’ activities. Businesses are realizing employer-provided laptops are a lot cheaper than rent, utilities, and furnishings for an office space.

Now we have a bunch of empty office buildings? Well, that’s convenient, because we have a housing shortage that’s expected to take years to straighten out. Start converting those buildings into condos for all those millennials who are looking to buy their first home and who would be happy to be in the prime real estate location office buildings often inhabit. People move back into the area and surrounding shops and restaurants start to thrive once again.

I think everything will reach an equilibrium eventually and we may find ourselves better off once we get through this period of adjustment. Developers just need to make sure they remodel those new condos to have home offices because most people are going to need one in our new world.

 

[easyas123]

We never went remote, though at first we did trade off who was in the office and who wasn't, but that was at the beginning of it all. We've been back to in-person meetings with insurance/bonding agencies/various salesman/vendors & subs/state & city officials/private companies for quite a while now. Nature of our work doesn't much allow for it in the long term, though we do still on occasion have online meetings.
We actually prefer being in the office & jobsite vs. at home, so for us it's all good continuing as 'usual'.

 

[tvguy]

Right now employees have the upper hand and it is glorious. Remote working saves people 1+ hours a day on commuting. I know if my employer took away the option for remote work I’d find a new job that allowed it. I’ve done stellar work from home for the past two years, so I think taking it away wouldn’t be because of efficiency or output.

Yes, and no. Some companies refuse to recognize that they need to be flexible on remote work, salary and benefits. They end up with unfilled positions and the workload being shifted to the workers that are there.

 

[barkley]

Here is what a lot people aren't thinking about if people don't go back into an office/work setting all those buildings will go empty values will go down and that will effect the taxes on your homes and maybe state and city sales tax.

I still think a lot of places will save money (and keep employees happy) by remaining partly remote.

i read/heard discussions regarding how a number of larger companies (particularly in the tech industry) are realizing just what a tremendous savings they can realize with the elimination of many of their pre-covid workplace norms-

employer provided transportation,
employer provided meals,
work site fitness and fun areas,
general overhead for full time security, cleaning, cooks, maintenance, utilities....that their buildings/campuses cost.

going entirely remotely can save a TREMENDOUS amount, the building or buildings could still be retained and used at the minimum level to justify tax write offs. going remotely only a portion of the time can still yield tremendous employer savings b/c they can still totally eliminate the meals/transportation aspect as many who've gone back p/t have. ON THE FLIP SIDE-i read that some that work in that industry have come to what is a shocking realization for themselves-groceries cost allot of money, and prepping and cooking groceries to eat takes time from your free time. i guess it's been a big shock for individuals who largely lived at home/went to college-dorms w/meals/went straight into jobs with meals provided. never occurred to them what the dollar value of those free lattes, muffins, lunches and dinners during working hours were (my non tech kid realized it when her job that provided meals went remote for a few weeks during early covid).

 

[TipsyTraveler]

i read/heard discussions regarding how a number of larger companies (particularly in the tech industry) are realizing just what a tremendous savings they can realize with the elimination of many of their pre-covid workplace norms-

employer provided transportation,
employer provided meals,
work site fitness and fun areas,
general overhead for full time security, cleaning, cooks, maintenance, utilities....that their buildings/campuses cost.

going entirely remotely can save a TREMENDOUS amount, the building or buildings could still be retained and used at the minimum level to justify tax write offs. going remotely only a portion of the time can still yield tremendous employer savings b/c they can still totally eliminate the meals/transportation aspect as many who've gone back p/t have. ON THE FLIP SIDE-i read that some that work in that industry have come to what is a shocking realization for themselves-groceries cost allot of money, and prepping and cooking groceries to eat takes time from your free time. i guess it's been a big shock for individuals who largely lived at home/went to college-dorms w/meals/went straight into jobs with meals provided. never occurred to them what the dollar value of those free lattes, muffins, lunches and dinners during working hours were (my non tech kid realized it when her job that provided meals went remote for a few weeks during early covid).

As someone who often went hungry in my early working years due to not making enough money to afford food, this is blowing my mind. What a game changer it would have been to have an employer that fed me. I’m having a hard time wrapping my brain around the idea that there are young people today who don’t understand the value of food because they’ve never had to manage feeding themselves in any substantial way. Wow.

 

[tvguy]

i read/heard discussions regarding how a number of larger companies (particularly in the tech industry) are realizing just what a tremendous savings they can realize with the elimination of many of their pre-covid workplace norms-

employer provided transportation,
employer provided meals,
work site fitness and fun areas,
general overhead for full time security, cleaning, cooks, maintenance, utilities....that their buildings/campuses cost.

going entirely remotely can save a TREMENDOUS amount, the building or buildings could still be retained and used at the minimum level to justify tax write offs. going remotely only a portion of the time can still yield tremendous employer savings b/c they can still totally eliminate the meals/transportation aspect as many who've gone back p/t have. ON THE FLIP SIDE-i read that some that work in that industry have come to what is a shocking realization for themselves-groceries cost allot of money, and prepping and cooking groceries to eat takes time from your free time. i guess it's been a big shock for individuals who largely lived at home/went to college-dorms w/meals/went straight into jobs with meals provided. never occurred to them what the dollar value of those free lattes, muffins, lunches and dinners during working hours were (my non tech kid realized it when her job that provided meals went remote for a few weeks during early covid).

Employer provided transportation? Employer provided meals? Work site fitness and funs areas? Where were THESE employers before I retired? Okay, my last employer did bring in doughnuts and fruit every two weeks on pay day.

 

[WhatDinosaur]

Yes, and no. Some companies refuse to recognize that they need to be flexible on remote work, salary and benefits. They end up with unfilled positions and the workload being shifted to the workers that are there.

true, but that seems like it’ll lead to a race to the bottom. The overworked employees will either quit or burnout and be much less efficient.

 

[EACarlson]

My company went from 5 buildings to 2. About 60% are working from home full time, another 20% of us are on a hybrid schedule. I'm currently 90% from home and spend on average of 4 hours a week in the office only because I have some paperwork that isn't allowed to leave the building. About half of the space in the office building has gone from traditional assigned cubicles to "hoteling" stations that have monitors, keyboards and phones. You sign up for them by the day and bring in your own micro pc. It's worked out great for me, I can take the kids to school at 7:45 and be at my desk working by 8, if I had to go into the office every day I would have to change my hours to start at 8:15.

 

[2China2009]

As a nurse I obviously go in everyday. I was just looking at remote nursing jobs as I would like to be home FT over the next 5 years if I can make it that long. There are a lot of jobs out there. The best thing in my opinion when The pandemic happened is that so many companies went remote after fighting it for long before that. These companies realized that their employees were more productive, happier and they did not have to worry about getting sick. And here we are 2 years later with 40% of people resigning from their jobs realizing how truly unhappy they were for so long. Time to reinvent themselves wanting and deserving so much more. As a nurse for the first time 28 years I am in the drivers seat. I tell my employer when I will work, how much they will pay me not them. If I am unhappy I give my 2 weeks and move on.