this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2023
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Work Reform

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Earlier in the pandemic many news and magazine organizations would proudly write about how working from home always actually can lead to over working and being too "productive". I am yet to collect some evidence on it but I think we remember a good amount about this.

Now after a bunch of companies want their remote workers back at the office, every one of those companies are being almost propaganda machines which do not cite sound scientific studies but cite each other and interviews with higher ups in top companies that "remote workers are less productive". This is further cementing the general public's opinion on this matter.

And research that shows the opposite is buried deep within any search results.

Have you noticed this? Please share what you have observed. I'm going paranoid about this.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think the companies were lying to us when covid started. They said working from home was awesome and we could still do our jobs well so investors wouldn't get scared. But now they want us to come back to the office and they say working from home is bad for us. They are just trying to trick us into doing what they want.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)

A lot of these companies are locked in to 5,10 or 20 year leases. If they were sensible they'd just eat the loss and take the extra productivity and happier staff, but that's not how the corporate hivemind works. They're paying rent so they have to justify it by having bums on seats, or they're bleeding money for what looks like no reason.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago

Most of them get tax breaks from the city, but only if they maintain a minimum occupancy. So they've lost their tax breaks and they want them back. As always, it comes down to money.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Productivity was never the point of work. Increases in productivity thus was never a boon to those in charge.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I'll be weird and say I absolutely prefer working in-office over from home in most cases. I prefer being able to build relationships with my coworkers, ask quick questions and give quick answers, and just actually being able to talk to people.

However, I don't think everyone needs to be in the office. My line of work requires it but I think it's dumb that companies are requiring them to go in when there's no reason beyond "we rent the space so we have to use it."

Also you're correct in how the headlines changed and it's really dumb, but it's mostly about the fact that real estate owners are trying to force people to rent their spaces instead of selling them.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Search Bloomberg and remote lol

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I will not, but I'm guessing they're all opinion pieces by people who own massive business real estate holdings (directly or through a hedge fund they run) and think "getting back to work" is good for the American spirit, or something.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

I've actually still been seeing positive news

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