As Companies Force Returning To The Office, Is Quiet Quitting Over?
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 26. 08. 2024
- Are Employees Losing The War On Remote Work? As More Companies End Remote Work, Quiet Quitting may be over. In this video I break down what companies are doing to force a return to the office, and what you can do about it.
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They can keep threatening since last 1.5 years but Millenials and Gen Z just quit. The sheer amount of employee turnover these days are unbelievable and many of us older workers in GenX are getting tired and will quit from burn out as we have to take on so much workload with worker shortages. Already the Baby boomers are retiring in the millions each year.
As someone with more than 20 years of experience in my field (copywriter), I spent most of my career commuting to an office miles away. I did this until 2015, when I decided to begin freelancing and doing contract work. I canât imagine going back to an office and feel I paid my dues. I personally think most people are more productive at home but I guess in am biased. I think this is all a power play on the employers part.
I worked as a copywriter while living and studying in Taiwan and working at an English radio station, and I have been trying to get back into copywriting as a job here in the U.S. I've been working as a technical writer instead. Do you have any advice on how to get one's foot in the door at a company or find clients?
I commuted at least 30 minutes and for about 10 years an hour and 30 minutes. I've been remote since 2004. I don't miss getting interrupted every time someone walked by cubicle ONE bit.
@@choufreakyc Most of the tech writing jobs I've seen pay WAY better than standard copywriting positions. Of course, if you don't like tech writing, then the pay differential may not be as important.
Youâre not biased. Our team is more productive from home although managers want to enforce more in office days. They get less out of us in the office. Theyâre truly pathetic these managers.
@@MTimWeaver Yeah, I know tech writing pays more depending where you are, but I've been SEVERELY under paid at my current job for what I do. I'm doing the job of 2-3 people and have been for nearly five years and I'm finally making over $65k, which is not great for tech writers in WA state. It was my first job upon returning home to the U.S. so I took what I could get. I don't like tech writing unless it's in a field I enjoy (currently in broadband telecom/electric stuff, which isn't that interesting to me).
There is a percentage of workers who make other people do their work for them and they are the same people who want you to go back into the office. It's harder to shirk your responsibilities onto someone else when you have the email and paper trails of working from home.
Big facts
Very well stated. It's mostly the socializers who produce little of value who are championing the return. Them and the control freaks in managment.
captured in a nutshell
Soooo true!
This perfectly describes what CEOs do, they delegate everything, they do very little other than occasionally show up, their assistants or other lower c-suites get to be a portion of the CEO, but not the pay.
Call it acting your wage and having boundaries, not quite quitting.
Yes! This whole "quiet quitting" term doesn't make any sense. All it is is literally just doing your job. If you go into a job and *just do the job* from the beginning, then there's nobody to melt down and say you're "quiet quitting" later on because you haven't given them your entire life. Screw corporations' sense of entitlement to your entire life, your thoughts, your social media, and all the other boundary violations they commit. Corporations only do this because we continue to let them get away with it. Labor productivity is at an all-time high compared to 1970, yet we're still getting 1970s wages. They have no right to demand even MORE productivity when their compensation is four decades behind.
This guy is wrong that your boss is always going to win the battle. That's only if you're doing it by yourself. This is why *worker solidarity* is so crucial. Join the nationwide labor rights movement at workersstrikeback.org. Don't commute for a job that can be done from home unless your company is willing to pay a huge premium for the inconvenience and your cost of living increases. Unionize your workplace or join your labor union. Discuss and compare your salary with ALL your co-workers no matter what your job says. Take 100% of your PTO. Arrive and leave on time. Don't attend non-mandatory work events or work for free outside normal work hours. Support strikes, work stoppages, and other labor actions. Never cross a picket line or take a job if you're being hired as a scab to replace a striking worker. *This is what we all need to normalize in solidarity with one another. Worker power = economic power. Class struggle is the only remedy.* No matter how much money and power the 1% controls, we are the 99% and we're bigger. And always remember this: "Power concedes NOTHING without a demand. It never has and it never will." -Frederick Douglass
Businesses want us to go back to the office so they can make us miserable. They recognize how happy we are, waking up in peace and getting some work done.
you said itđđđđđđ
Yep. Our misery and how they talk down to their staff, is what feeds their ego.
It's more than the cost of commuting is born by the workers. If the cost of commuting to workers was minor then I doubt many workers would be complaining.
They want their slaves back.
Exactly! They want their workers back in the office so they can micro manage their employees.
Even when the pandemic first broke out, there were managers that were very resistant to remote work. They were insisting that we can space ourselves 6 feet apart right here in the office. They were saying how will we know what our workers are doing? There was even one manager that was driving around to the homes of his staff making unannounced visits. He was checking up on them to see if they were actually working.
It just shows that a lot of companies really don't care for the well-being of their employees. I don't see the point of going into an office when my collaboration can be done just as easily remotely.
It has always been about the money. They had to let employees work from home or they would have had no company, so they were so caring and employee focussed. It's always about the bottom line.
Absolutely. People going into the office are still joining meetings via teams/zoom/whatever, so really - what's the point?
It's not about collaboration. It's about control.
Covid is still causing long Covid, so it is also a risk to employee's health. Particularly the effects of Covid on the brain are scary. Who wants to end up with brain fog?
The company is there for the shareholders. Not YOU. If it is a private company it is there for the customers again NOT YOU. You are a cost. The shareholders and customers are a revenue. Unfortunately, unless there is a good job market and you have skills that are harder to find the employer dictates how and when you work as they can replace you. This also includes someone in India if it can be done remotely or automated.
It's micro management winning out at companies, pure and simple. Collaboration doesn't happen that often at work. Special meetings can be held. And a lot of these companies pretend to be green while forcing people to commute.
No this just leads to even more massive worker turnover as younger workers keep quitting so much since 2020.
Exactly! CEOs want spontaneous collaboration because it makes them feel better. It hasn't led to much growth or improvement
Yeah, they're making us go back to the office and people aren't collaborating anymore than they would do by phone or Zoom. Instead, they're chit-chatting all day about stuff unrelated to work and I have to listen to that crap.
Working remote spares me from commuting, hassle with parking, interruptions from CO workers, filthy rest rooms, and the atomic sneezers.
My manager supports remote and said everyone's production has improved.
Not everyone needs to brainstorm with CO workers.
That is a great Manager and one that seems to be open instead of being closed minded. These are the types of Managers that will be still employed in the future when things change.
I agree!!
@@bernsfindsandmore7636 another point.... if the manager needs people in the OFFICE most likely you have a MICRO MANAGER this is a TOXIC clown who needs to have a CIRCUS at their fingertips..
one GREAT example UMIT division there is FILLED with RINGMASTERS... who need to call your desk ... let it ring 2 times THEN call your Cell phone let it ring two times THEN IM you on whatsapp THEN IM you on MS TEAMS THEN SKYPE you and THEN SMS you.... AND FINALLY Chase AFTER YOU AND COMPLAIN "why did you not answer me!!!! all this within four minutes"... so whatever you do dont go to the bathroom dont get a drink of WATER do not be on another call because YOU ARE WRONG!!!... you SIT AT YOUR DESK because YOU ARE NOT LATIN and DO NOT BELONG IN UM!!!! ... these assclowns excel at racial profiling AND hostile ( in office ) ass in seat operation...
Excellent point about the bathrooms. Also, since I started working remotely at my current front-end developer job, I've actually started taking 30-minute breaks rather than 1-hour breaks-- because 30 minutes is really all I need when I'm at the house. So, I'm absolutely more productive at home than at the office.
You forgot: The Atomic Burpers after drinking or eating something, The Atomic Farters that let it rip without a care, The Company Clown, The Company Snitch, The Brown-Nosers, The Gossipers, The Nosy Bastards, The Loud-Talking/Loud-Laughing Females, The Inept Employees, The Lazy, Inept Managers and several other unsavory characters that make up your typical office or offices within your onsite, work space! YES!! I've had all of these co-workers within IT and other industries I worked in over 20+ years in the Corporate World!!
In office mandates make it impossible for a disabled person like me who can only work from home due to their disability to be considered for work.
It is by design.
Exactly! My HR is fighting with my doctors because they want me to return to the office. It's not always just a personal preference. WFH should be considered a reasonable accommodation for those with disabilities.
â@@tracy3418Wait, so you can do you job from home, you're disabled, and yet your HR is wasting time fighting your doctors on why you need to return to the office? What the hell happened to accomodations for those with diabilities? You have accomodations, it's ridiculous that they're trying to rip that away from you.
@@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley yes! I've been doing my job from home for years now. They're trying to push for everyone to come back to the office. My doctors have been filled out all the paperwork for reasonable accommodation 4 months ago. Then HR comes up with more questions, pushing back on every single thing. They're still fighting it. Wasting their time and mine.
The one factor that I did not hear mentioned in the video is that many companies get huge tax breaks for having employees working in the downtown, central business district. The cities are threatening to take away the tax breaks if the workers do not return.
Good point!
Lots of cities have additional regs for housing -- converting from commercial to residential wouldn't be profitable.
@@FirstnameLastnames No thats stupid. If they do that, then where will all the desperate workers that low-paying employers rely on as a cheap labor force come from? *sarcasm*
I'll say it again - any company forcing RTO has a financial motive.
Companies are lobbying to return because of commercial real estate holdings! It has nothing to do with productivity itâs about bailing out holders of commercial real estate aka big companies.
yess
So. Much. This.
And if I hear one more BS "the culture!" line I'm going to roll my eyes so hard they'll pop out. It's a job, not high-school - I don't need to join extracurricular clubs to get my job done.
@@RandomFandomDragon Exactly!
I left my 1st job as an analyst when my corporation forced us back to the office in the Central Business District despite me and my coworkers beating the weekly quota from the comfort of our homes during the quarantine era. My monthly salary back then was 25k Philippine pesos while the most affordable apartment near the office was 20k a month. I immediately left that corpo and sticked with another WFH job. No way am I gonna be that corpo slave who spends all of his wages on an apartment.
Good job brother
Yet in Europe they were found to be far more productive. Someone is lying somewhere.
Funny enough I have co workers who say that Europe "doesn't believe in remote work. They have a separation of work and home life."
Tell us about your experience. I'd be interested to know it that statement is true or false.
They have said that for a while.
@@jaredbills72 I live in Europe, and yes we do have far more separation of work and home life. However there is also a great deal of research that says that homeworking is far more efficient with people starting earlier and finishing later due to lack of commutes.
@@jaredbills72 oh and homeworking is now quite common.
@@mintywebb - there's studies in the US that say the same; you'll find most organizations publishing studies that are anti-WFO tend to be business journals or some other pro-business / anti-labor organization.
Commuting is expensive. The sudden shift to remote work in 2020, was like getting a substantial pay raise, and the employer didnât even have to pay for it. No wonder people quit when forced back in the office. They could take a lower paying remote job and still end up ahead because of all the additional costs associated with commuting, plus getting all those unpaid commute hours back.
My career is in construction. Iâve had to drive to all my projects, there is no way out of it. Iâve wasted a lot of time stuck in traffic.
Imagine all the money they saved on other little things too, like eating out during break or wear and tear on their vehicles. It makes no sense at all for an employee to return to the office.
I had to quit my job at the end of July unfortunately, because the company was demanding that employees commute to the office 3 days a week, non-negotiatory -- however, I have 2 young children and the childcare costs would be astronomic (I'm in Canada as well, so that tells you right there how that much more expensive it is)... it's sad. I pray to find a fully remote job soon. It doesn't make sense for employees to spend hours commuting while getting paid the same amount of pay, not considering the record-high inflation we're living through right now.
Can someone please explain how you are able to watch your kids while you're trying to complete your workday at home?
@@karenburrill6816 itâs a juggling act⊠at times they would watch cartoons, or play together, colour/practice reading, etc. Work-from-home Moms do it all.
@@karenburrill6816 exactly, work from home while watching your kids and complain to boss about workload... i worked at company that had 4 staff working from home and its obvious who is working fully and who is working part time
@viliusr.8792 That's what I was wondering about. I remember how active and lively my 2 kids were. I can't imagine trying to work from home and be productive. My job OR my kids well being would have suffered.
@@karenburrill6816 in all normall business productivity is number one priority, however safe non-profit jobs remotely always work perfectly well as salary is guarantead regardless of the ammount of work being done
In the IT world, it seems to me that some management are becoming obsolete and they need to find purpose.
They need to go home and let the next generation take over. Bunch of old fools
I disagree with the remote war being lost. I work for a big tech company and they have a similar mandate. They are having a very difficult time with getting people back to the office. Office are still empty as we speak. They canât fire all of us at the same time lol
They'll just fire people slowly over time. Kind of what they're doing at my company.
That's where you're wrong. 80% of employees are literally useless
@@cpK054L and this is where your "wrong". If they are useless, you fire them. Problem solved says Capt Obvious
This whole "quiet quitting" term doesn't make any sense. All it is is literally just doing your job. If you go into a job and *just do the job* from the beginning, then there's nobody to melt down and say you're "quiet quitting" later on because you haven't given them your entire life. Screw corporations' sense of entitlement to your entire life, your thoughts, your social media, and all the other boundary violations they commit. Corporations only do this because we continue to let them get away with it. Labor productivity is at an all-time high compared to 1970, yet we're still getting 1970s wages. They have no right to demand even MORE productivity when their compensation is four decades behind.
This guy is wrong that your boss is always going to win the battle. That's only if you're doing it by yourself. This is why *worker solidarity* is so crucial. Join the nationwide labor rights movement at workersstrikeback.org. Don't commute for a job that can be done from home unless your company is willing to pay a huge premium for the inconvenience and your cost of living increases. Unionize your workplace or join your labor union. Discuss and compare your salary with ALL your co-workers no matter what your job says. Take 100% of your PTO. Arrive and leave on time. Don't attend non-mandatory work events or work for free outside normal work hours. Support strikes, work stoppages, and other labor actions. Never cross a picket line or take a job if you're being hired as a scab to replace a striking worker. *This is what we all need to normalize in solidarity with one another. Worker power = economic power. Class struggle is the only remedy.* No matter how much money and power the 1% controls, we are the 99% and we're bigger. And always remember this: "Power concedes NOTHING without a demand. It never has and it never will." -Frederick Douglass
You're kidding? Just wait till the next recession. Go ahead, stay home. Just don't expect a paycheck.
People can quiet quit in an office too.
The eternal toilet pooping phenomena of 2025
Sure. The layoff won't be so quiet though.
@@RobertLeeAtYT ok boomer
@@jackcarraway4707 đ€Ł
This whole movement does not make sense anymore. The internet was supposed to make life easier and these weirdo boomers want to make things way harder than it should be.
Unless you're in a client facing role, in building sciences, or in a manufacturing role, there is no reason to go to the office.
Sunk cost fallacy
Abuse of power
It makes a lot of sense to me
I won't do it. I had a remote job and eventually found my way to another because it was my strict focus. It can be done and it is priceless - life is just so much better WFH every single day, no comparison.
â@@DanielSong39jews. Makes more sense.
I don't even work anymore and I'm better off for it
Client-facing meetings can always be done with an hourly temporary office, such as one from Regus or an office trailer from WillScot.
Boomers are retired, bro. Many businesses are being run by millenials now, like my last company. We were on the road as IT techs most of the day anyway, but he wanted us all in the office.
I've been quiet quitting since high school which was a decade ago; I only took the easiest classes and I ended up just fine. My life doesn't revolve around work.
Whenever I go to the office, I can never get any work done, as people chit-chat, make noise, and move between desks all the time, and I cannot focus! I end up going home and catching up on work in my free time.
Yet all these companies have been moving work offshores so you still have to schedule a zoom meetingâŠor 1 person couldnât show up that day bc they have an apptâŠso youâre never sitting around table to collaborate anywayâŠ
Companies that trust their employees enough to let them work fully remote attract better talent and are probably more likely to retain their employees. Companies who don't will have more turnover and higher indirect costs from having to recruit, hire and train new employees with a learning curve.
I'd love to know what they use to measure "productivity" and what their measure is. I'm certain the metrics are doctored. So glad I retired from the Corporate Circus last year. Having worked corporate for almost 30 years, my advice to young people is to do everything and anything you can to stay out of the corporate world.
Couldn't agree more! I have 15yrs in myself, last 8 we've always had an option for remote work. Like many, I've been full time remote since 2020 and just took on a new role a few months ago that "was" recently downgraded to hybrid because I live within a 50 mile range of a downtown office. Anyone over that is exempt! I have no interest for office politics and the usual water cooler BS about who is doing what and did you hear about so and so (hard pass)! It's time to move on....
The red flags that this âstudyâ is bogus and canât be generalized to demonstrate American remote workers arenât being as productive are 1. Itâs 1 study and the parameters arenât known (how long?, did the remote group have reliable, consistent connectivity?, how experienced was the remote group with working remote?) 2. Itâs a study of Indian data entry workers, and they are acting like they found the smoking gun against wfh.
@@HilaryRob Does not surprise me in the least. Cherry pick small data points that support return to work and ignore the rest. Corporate leadership is thrashing about almost with almost cult-like control to all their people confined to one locations.
For every supposed study that says workers are more productive at the office there is a study that says work from home workers are more productive. Unfortunately, some researchers arenât ethical and are probably in the pockets of banks and commercial real estate companies.
@@HilaryRob They fail to mention all the studies that say work from home workers are more productive. Itâs crap research. Any researcher worth their salt has robust evidence for and against and stays neutral as much as possible.
âThe guy writing your paychecks will winâ
If have more than one person writing my paychecks because I donât put all my eggs in one basket I win. Never allow anyone to have that much power over you, if anyone âdemandedâ I go into an office I will quit on the spot.
This whole "quiet quitting" term doesn't make any sense. All it is is literally just doing your job. If you go into a job and *just do the job* from the beginning, then there's nobody to melt down and say you're "quiet quitting" later on because you haven't given them your entire life. Screw corporations' sense of entitlement to your entire life, your thoughts, your social media, and all the other boundary violations they commit. Corporations only do this because we continue to let them get away with it. Labor productivity is at an all-time high compared to 1970, yet we're still getting 1970s wages. They have no right to demand even MORE productivity when their compensation is four decades behind.
This guy is wrong that your boss is always going to win the battle. That's only if you're doing it by yourself. This is why *worker solidarity* is so crucial. Join the nationwide labor rights movement at workersstrikeback.org. Don't commute for a job that can be done from home unless your company is willing to pay a huge premium for the inconvenience and your cost of living increases. Unionize your workplace or join your labor union. Discuss and compare your salary with ALL your co-workers no matter what your job says. Take 100% of your PTO. Arrive and leave on time. Don't attend non-mandatory work events or work for free outside normal work hours. Support strikes, work stoppages, and other labor actions. Never cross a picket line or take a job if you're being hired as a scab to replace a striking worker. *This is what we all need to normalize in solidarity with one another. Worker power = economic power. Class struggle is the only remedy.* No matter how much money and power the 1% controls, we are the 99% and we're bigger. And always remember this: "Power concedes NOTHING without a demand. It never has and it never will." -Frederick Douglass
same here, you need to handle your job skills like a business. I KNOW that a company will need 9-12 months to replace me. i worked freelance before and still network with other freelancers i worked with before, occasionally subcontract a few hours for them or get referred small projects from them. I also have a hobby that also occasionally is a side business and invest my money in rental units instead of wasting it on car payments.
Leaving a company just mean a status change to freelancer. feels just like taking some unpayed time off, other incomes leave me time to take some courses and relax while new recruiter offers come in.
Compared to others, it now pays of to spend more time in university than on parties and investing money instead of wasting it.
Employers will win, but not in the way you'd expect:
Remote work will become a competitive tool. If an employer values remote work, both for increased productivity and attracting superior talent, they will embrace it.
Likewise, employees will eventually change the culture to treat remote work like any other benefit.
I think if Employers think remote working will disappear then they're delusional. But I doubt we'll also hit the same levels as during Covid unless another disaster of such a scales occurs.
I agree with you. I think it's gonna play out like when Ford implemented the 40 hour work week
It depends, people who believe remote-only that's what most people in my current company assume until they announced hybrid and they dragged back a good portion of those people who relocated back to the office. If it becomes a collective decisions for many companies to force in office like they did with hybrid they will win, the companies that always been remote-first (remote-only) or went remote-first (sold their offices) are going to stay remote. Like I been telling people with the right condition (economic hardship) if the collective employer can pull off back to office and even 5 day work week, they will and you will have a small sample size of companies to choose from when they're an excess of people who needs jobs. If you want people to push against the companies you need the majority onboard; otherwise, places like Amazon will get rid of the small few who don't want return to office.
@jasantana You're not wrong, but at the end of the day companies want to make money.
If an employer sees value in letting their workers go remote to make more money, they will do it.
Federal employees are working from home in San Francisco due to homelessness and crime, maybe that's one way
@@middleagebrotips3454 thats a democrate created problem from encouraging gov bribes to not work, needle exchange programs, etc
I've been on a new job which is mostly remote, though we do need to report to HQ every once in a while. Last time I went to the office, there was all this incessant chatter around me, plus the smell of coffee which I hate, the A/C which was much colder than I'm used to. How is that sort of stuff supposed to make me more productive?
Office leases eventually expire!
When that's happening, the company must make a decision about whether to cut costs by reducing office space and embracing remote work vs. renewing for another year or so and forcing RTO (return to office). For remote workers, it may be a matter of just holding out long enough.
Meanwhile, there are dedicated remote job boards, such as SkipTheDrive, NoDesk, and Flex Jobs.
I didn't know about those job boards, thank you! WFH is the hill I'm willing to die on, so I am trying to plan for the worst.
The main issue for me has always been the time and cost of commuting. When I tell prospective clients and employers that they must pay more to have me commute, and even more if it is during rush hour, they suddenly stop insisting on it. Some might not hire me, but I'd rather eliminate them right at the start.
Exactly, and this is the main issue I have with working at the office. Your never paid for new clothes, for gas, or wear on your car.
The best way the smarter companies should be operating is that if they want them back at the office, pay them more to be at the office. But no that's too obvious.
Exactly! Pay me more for the wear and tear on my car and the cost of gas. Keep your fruit baskets and free snacks.
not worth the extra pay. remote work is whats up
In the middle east its common for the employer to pay for car or transport to and from office. Some even pay for the rent. But the thing is these benefits were more for those with western passports from eu, us, Canada, etc.
@@Jedimack7 because a lot of them will take it because NO MARKETABLE SKILL.
aka degree-mill Indians
Theyâre already not paying for electricity and, often as not, internet if youâre remote. My company just canceled its Internet reimbursements.
This is all about the office real estate these companies have tied up. There are many companies especially startups that operate remote only.
Employees will win this one. Demographics speak for them selves. Not to mention, that some companies have been remote first since the beginning and some have shifted that way, meaning there are more companies now, that are willing to accept remote work. It's only a matter of time and it will change with changing of generations. Millenials are used to working on computers and know, that those can work from anywhere, meaning, even as managers, they will be more accepting of remote work. As Boomers die out, office will cease to be as important.
I think this is a good point. Young people get it - they want remote. It is these old geezers who are only used to the old way who are still in charge at many of these places, but they will retire and Gen x and Millennials will eventually be making these decisions. It's not to say all old people are like that (and I applaud the ones who are not), but many are.
I am visiting my employerâs global HQ this week. In an expansive farm of about 200 cubicles with low partitions, you can see everyoneâs heads. Almost every person is wearing headphones and facing their screens. They are talking to each other through Teams. Even some people I travelled here to collaborate with want to meet via Teams. Thereâs about 200 people who could have skipped the commute and run their laundry while they worked.
Yeah... bizarre. Zoom advocating for return to office is sort of like Trojan advocating for abstinence.
I thought that was ironic and made no sense, either. The pandemic and remote work made Zoom a household name. Iâd never heard of it before 2020, and Iâm not the only one. Now theyâre spitting in the face of what made famous by jumping on the RTO bandwagon.
@@labachaterairlandesa Clearly the corporate overlords want us to go back to being "good" little slaves!
I'm an accountant. 75% of my work is independent and requires concentration. I really hate collaborative work spaces/open work space because the distractions are huge. I absolutely loved being able to be remote (or coming into the office when I know most of everyone else is remote like on Fridays). It doesn't make sense to blanket order people back into the office.
I was way more efficient when fully remote. Being forced in 2 days a week we all sit in our cubes with little engagement but way more interruptions. I think type of work is important when they conduct these studies. Itâs an absolute waste of time, gas, miles on the car etc. when I could actually be working.
I cut my expenses to $3K per month by moving to a small town. I would cut my pay rate to $3K per month (a 70% pay cut) as a senior software engineer before moving back to a big city and commuting. Collaboration is a code word for shoulder surfing and micro-managing. It may reach a point where hiring someone in Calcutta, Ohio is cheaper than hiring someone in Calcutta, India.
Small town = overseas?
I started at my current company as software engineer in late 2021. After my initial training I only had to be in the office 2 days per week. About 6 months ago our team leader went to bat for us. She talked to her boss (VP Tech) and he allowed us to be required in the office 2 days per MONTH. But catch is our whole team has to show up on the same days so we have work out schedules of when everyone can be there. And there has been a few times when there was a demo in our shop of a new robot that they wanted us to all be there and see since we write the code for it and is usually a "lunch and learn" where company caters lunch for us. :)
As someone who wrote several papers about remote work in grad school pre-Covid, I found the research overwhelmingly pro-remote, especially with productivity, even when weighing things like "in-office networking." Although as an interesting point, most research found that companies with a mix of in-office and remote, remote workers were often passed over for promotions. I'd be curious to know the undertones of the lower productivity now. My guess is there's an underpinning that is causing it if one looks at the reasons why. I also walked away from a 21-year career after we received our RTO (after two years of saying this was the launch pad into the future and we were never going back to the office) and landed a remote first position that paid better as well. Some employers may win the short-term battle, but the employees will win the war. When stockholders ask the boardrooms why the company is losing market share and productivity to these nimble, remote-first employers, the RTO will be to blame.
^^ This. ^^
I didn't just quit commuting during the pandemic; I decided to work for myself. If anything, the pandemic opened my eyes to how toxic employers are and why we should do what is best for us. I took a massive pay cut, but I don't dread going to work every day. All of my staff and contractors are remote too. In jobs where remote work can be done, it should be the way for companies to get competitive.
Stay strong my fellow rats. If we are united we can win this đȘ
That's assuming you all exot the Petrodollar system, which I doubt
This whole "quiet quitting" term doesn't make any sense. All it is is literally just doing your job. If you go into a job and *just do the job* from the beginning, then there's nobody to melt down and say you're "quiet quitting" later on because you haven't given them your entire life. Screw corporations' sense of entitlement to your entire life, your thoughts, your social media, and all the other boundary violations they commit. Corporations only do this because we continue to let them get away with it. Labor productivity is at an all-time high compared to 1970, yet we're still getting 1970s wages. They have no right to demand even MORE productivity when their compensation is four decades behind.
This guy is wrong that your boss is always going to win the battle. That's only if you're doing it by yourself. This is why *worker solidarity* is so crucial. Join the nationwide labor rights movement at workersstrikeback.org. Don't commute for a job that can be done from home unless your company is willing to pay a huge premium for the inconvenience and your cost of living increases. Unionize your workplace or join your labor union. Discuss and compare your salary with ALL your co-workers no matter what your job says. Take 100% of your PTO. Arrive and leave on time. Don't attend non-mandatory work events or work for free outside normal work hours. Support strikes, work stoppages, and other labor actions. Never cross a picket line or take a job if you're being hired as a scab to replace a striking worker. *This is what we all need to normalize in solidarity with one another. Worker power = economic power. Class struggle is the only remedy.* No matter how much money and power the 1% controls, we are the 99% and we're bigger. And always remember this: "Power concedes NOTHING without a demand. It never has and it never will." -Frederick Douglass
I do appreciate talking face to face in the office and being able to overhear other chatter about current work, but I love WFH and not having to commute.
Same. Being in office does have some social benefits, but I love being at home. I can sleep in longer or get to work on chores or errands quicker once work ends, I have a bigger selection for my lunch, I can nap in bed when I finish lunch early (or make phone calls without needing to find somehwere quiet to speak in the office), I can use my own bathroom.
The only benefit I have for going into the office is, "I can speak with my co-workers in person" and sometimes, this helps get something done faster, but even at the office, I still Slack co-workers because they're on the other side of the office, and we only have meetings once a month. I don't see my co-workers too often or for too long each day (most people live too far to come in and thankfully, they're not making a fuss about it). I do really like my co-workers and managers...but I don't think I need to come in every two days of the week, as we currently have scheduled. But I'm grateful it is at least hybrid and I do have some days at home and the people are awesome. It could be worse.
As an 18 year old boy/man, I have much to learn about careers. But at least I know a portion of the industry thanks to your videos, keep up the good work đđ.
Then allow me to save you years of hard lessons!!! This whole "quiet quitting" term doesn't make any sense. All it is is literally just doing your job. If you go into a job and *just do the job* from the beginning, then there's nobody to melt down and say you're "quiet quitting" later on because you haven't given them your entire life. Screw corporations' sense of entitlement to your entire life, your thoughts, your social media, and all the other boundary violations they commit. Corporations only do this because we continue to let them get away with it. Labor productivity is at an all-time high compared to 1970, yet we're still getting 1970s wages. They have no right to demand even MORE productivity when their compensation is four decades behind.
This guy is wrong that your boss is always going to win the battle. That's only if you're doing it by yourself. This is why *worker solidarity* is so crucial. Join the nationwide labor rights movement at workersstrikeback.org. Don't commute for a job that can be done from home unless your company is willing to pay a huge premium for the inconvenience and your cost of living increases. Unionize your workplace or join your labor union. Discuss and compare your salary with ALL your co-workers no matter what your job says. Take 100% of your PTO. Arrive and leave on time. Don't attend non-mandatory work events or work for free outside normal work hours. Support strikes, work stoppages, and other labor actions. Never cross a picket line or take a job if you're being hired as a scab to replace a striking worker. *This is what we all need to normalize in solidarity with one another. Worker power = economic power. Class struggle is the only remedy.* No matter how much money and power the 1% controls, we are the 99% and we're bigger. And always remember this: "Power concedes NOTHING without a demand. It never has and it never will." -Frederick Douglass
If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? If a leader/ boss/ manager takes a role, and there is no one around to hear them or see them in-person, do they get their proper "respect and accolades"?
great point!
I would negotiate in my employment contract , if able to, to have a term that states I will remain a remote worker regardless of company policy change, if they sack me to refuse I would sue them for breach of contract.
Make sure to keep a copy and notary on site. Otherwise, your paper is useless
I find it interesting how productivity of workers has steadily increased over the years, our pay has not, then companies think that a little downturn in productivity is the end of the world.
I'm not US based, but the alternative I found was to create my own consulting company (similar to a LLC), then I'm able to negotiate contracts with clauses to ensure WFH and flexibility, and I work as a contractor.
I know it is not possible for everyone, but I have this opportunity due to the nature of my job
Thanks for a really interesting video.
I find this situation particularly frustrating because I've spent nearly all of the last 40 years in telecoms progressively enabling people to work remotely as technology has advanced over that time. I've also spent a lot of time working for large corporations where it's normal for teams and management to be distributed around the world and remote is just accepted.
It all feels like turning the clock back to the 1970s.
I also find it frustrating that moving away has meant that I now have an office at home. It's set up to help me be more effective. Whereas a lot of modern offices are noisy areas with open seating where I struggle to get work done - all the while feeling I'm being measured by presence in the office and not by achieving objectives.
I know I can't win - the job market is what it is.
Thank you for being a voice of reason in a frustrating world.
The employees will win this one-not the employers. Employers may get a short term victory, however, long term it is the employees that will come out on top here.
It's just like the Industrial Revolution, we see who lost that battle. Remote work is the way of the future and we're moving deeper into the 21st century now, so those employers that don't fall in line, will be left behind! IMOđđ
You're looking at this wrong.
Nearly 490 of the fortune 500 are zombie companies.
It doesn't matter if employees win, when the US dollar collapses, you ALL lose and the CEOs and fat cats already have assets, so that doesn't matter.
Not really. Ultimately, the employer decides organizational culture. Low unemployment until now mid2023 gives employees the false sense of security that they are entitled and can make the demands from employers, but as more companies do layoffs and get more efficient, and looking for a new job takes many more months than in recent past, employees will not be in the position to make the same demands.
â@shuki1 if the best employees only accept remote then that's what employers will offer.
@chriswhite714 and that is a fatal way to look at it as Georgians, Jordanians, Eastern Europeans code far better and are significantly cheaper than their American counterparts is how we all get unemployed
â@@ItsAllCulturalMarxismeach employer makes a cost benefit decision. Not all employers need 'best'. And certainly, once they accept full remote employees, then offshore people who are cheaper and also not buying into 'quiet quitting' BS will take the jobs instead of someone of worked in Sillicon Valley and now wants to remote work in Wisconsin. My company started hiring in India two decades ago. The offices in India are now half the company. Low performers are easily replaced, the pool of graduates is humongous.
The fact is that I, like other people, refuse to go back to an office. The companies that are forcing their people back are not companies that I would want to work for anyway.
I work for a large US bank and i work in commercial banking. I was hired 1 year ago and the department went fully remote in 2020. We had a meeting recently where the CEO said that people should be going into the office at least 3 times a week, but it didn't apply to our department. Our department has been a 20% increase in revenue and efficiency has skyrocketed, not to mention they hired me and there isn't a location in my entire state! I feel blessed to have a fully remote job, it's been great to be home and be able to grow professionally.
I agree with you, for sure. The pressure is back on employees to show up to the office. I especially appreciated what you said at the end around understanding your unique skills so that you can hold onto some of that leverage in job negotiations with employers that appreciate those skills.
I get so restless from my office job. The first thing that happens when I'm there is im starting to think, when can I leave again? It's just a feeling of imprisonment.
I remember, I think, some movie once where the boss was telling an employee who was debt free, how much he liked his employees being in debt. How it made them harder and more dedicated workers.
I have never seen it so well stated. If you can, work for the purpose of being free from needing a job. Then the person who signs your paycheck isn't the one who wins 10 times out of 10. Give yourself the best chance to stand up for yourself and what you want in life, if you can.
Well stated. Would you happen to remember the name of the movie by any chance? It sounds interesting.đ
@@TheScienceNerddAkemi I have tried for a while to find it or remember the movie. No luck so far.
I remember that scene. I think the movie was Picture Perfect with Jennifer Aniston.
My company is slowly transitioning to a 1-day a week mandate later this year and I'm not too upset as it's far better than 2, 3, 4 or 5 days a week. And ppl who live more than 30km from an office are not mandated to the 1-day a week in office but it's up to the manager and depends. Very tricky situation. Great video!
Remote work saves companies money. The ones who donât have expensive office leases have a competitive advantage. Remote work allows employers a larger pool of workers to hirer. There will be companies who have a cost advantage compared to a company that requires employees in the office 5 days a week.
This is your best post yet...Some Corporates are wanting their slaves back in-person.
I have noticed that a lot of jobs are advertised as remote but when you investigate the details, itâs not really a remote job. The companies located in California must be having a hard time recruiting people to relocate there. Housing is unaffordable.
I will not work in a cubical prison box. If its not hybrid or remote I wont waste a moment of a life in that job. Fyi companies overseas are no allowing working from home.
Its not a coincidence that all these survey results on productivity are being released during a time multiple companies are issuing back to office ultimatums.
I think the productivity metrics from the pandemic were skewed. I think a lot of people used work as a coping mechanism. Most of us had no experience with remote work, and the lines between work and home were blurred. Plus, almost everything was shut down. There was a lot of unhealthy work/life balance. Now, a lot of us are burned out. Inflation has been high, and unless you changed jobs, your raise was probably underwhelming. If pay isnât keeping up with inflation, then why should people continue to work themselves into the ground? They shouldnât regardless, but you get my point.
Quiet quitting is a goofy new terminology for something that has been happening for a very long time. People were doing this in an office setting before the pandemmy, they will do it again once they return to the office.
Quiet quitting isnt over. Companies are forcing their employees back to work but it doesn't mean they will go. But that for the company to figure out. Their problem. They wanted to go into business. Thats just how it goes.
The hardest part for the employee being remote is not moving around much. No exercise cause you are not moving enough.
My former commute time was turned into work out time. I set up a pretty nice home gym and dropped 10lbs from my "office weight". Lowered blood pressure also.
The people who want "everyone back to the office" are the bluffers and spoofers who talk a good game but never actually deliver anything; abusive micromanagers; and commercial property fund managers. I'm 50 with decades of IT experience and I'll simply quit rather than kowtow to assholes with toxic agendas. I think the usual talking points of "missing out on social office culture" or it "harming your promotion prospects" are absolute BS and again just a sign of bad toxic mismanagement and poor corporate culture
^^ This. ^^
We have endless infrastructure to work remotely.
I'm going to commute to an office to sit in a zoom meeting with my co-worker who lives in another state or on the other side of the world?
Are we fucking joking?
My previous employer told us when we were in the office that we were not to "roam around the building" and that all questions for and from other departments could be answered via phone and email (we were not a public-facing department). Our RTO orders said the primary reason was for collaboration and networking. The hypocrisy was deafening. I told them to shove it and found a better job with a remote-only company. My new company went all in with remote work, sold the buildings they owned, and let the leases run out on all but one in the country, and the only people in that office are employees who have a need to be there.
@@Legendsingray Anyone who has to spend time and money to commute to an office because you have bad managers needs to speak with their feet.
Employers act like they own you and as soon as times get bad they push the boot on your neck. I'm sick of it, I'm 32 years old and have been in corporate for over 10 years now. Every single time employers think they can get away with taking advantage of their staff they do it.
I think this depends on the business you work in. If you need to exchange a lot with colleagues, be creative together, work in presence for some days in a week - is just a necessity. In IT business this will be very different.
Actually i have quite some young people in my team who want to be at the office with colleagues they like. They spent years studying alone at home in lockdown an enjoy working with "real people". Others would like a 100% homeoffice which is not possible in our company (we have 3 days per week in homeoffice, and 2 in the office).
It's an interesting evolution and I think the perception of homeoffice might change over the next years.
As tempting as it was to join the crowd and move far away, I stayed in my metro area because I knew this would happen. Employers didnt choose to make us remote, they did it because they had to. Once they didn't have to do it anymore, they were sure to call people back.
Depends upon the company some will love it others wonât
Working remote is a huge raise for employees, especially those with daycare-age kids. I remember that lots of remote jobs paid a little less bc they know that you save lots of money.
I'm glad to have given up the office a couple of years ago. The office is very political and power-driven.
Yes, they are. Simple reason is the employer holds the keys to a remote job or not. Been lucky there myself as my employer has not done that with me. Good to note, I was hired as a 100% remote worker back in 2021. I've never met my boss or co-workers. Those who were in office prior the pandemic were all mandated to return 3 days a week. On that note, I've been 100% remote since 2008. If they "ordered" me to go to an office. I'd do it if I could go to the local office. If they said "downtown office" then I might consider looking for something new. My commute to that downtown office might be 1.5 to 2 hours each way.
yep same here . My "home base" is couple hours away from me. If they forced me to go in once a week I can.
Employers write the checks, but if youâre a TOP person in your niche, then you will always be able to call the shots.
Nice to see your intro music and video back â€
I donât know why this was not addressed in this video, but again companies are not mandating return-to-office for everyone across the board. Theyâre picking out certain groups or individuals to go into the office every day so the majority of the company can work from home every day, particularly the managers, leads, supervisors, etc. Thatâs the problem; itâs not equal or equitable, and definitely not fair or ethical. I donât think itâs ethical, and possibly not legal
The company I work at has all the old timers/boomers/management back in the office. All the worker bees /younger folks are still remote due to lack of space to bring everyone back. So most of the teams are still remote and this old timer has to commute to be on the phone most of the day anyway.
We are definitely witnessing the wind down to the Great Resignation. Glad I went back to school when I did, but I could have done without the year long job hunt.
Factory workers, logistics operators, nurses, janitors, gardeners are all in solidarity with office workers
Graduated in '22 and have been remote since I started working shortly after. I imagine I'll have an in person job at some point but find it hard to imagine being more productive when I have to get less sleep and waste energy commuting.
I got lucky and switched to a fully remote job in 2021 for a group that has always been remote, even prior to the pandemic. I thought it was going to be perfect for me but I understand now why lots of employers want their employees back in office. For me, the pros of remote work is having a super flexible schedule, no commute, and unnecessary distractions and work politics. The cons that not enough people talk about are how isolating and lonely it can be, the lack of comradery and how much more effort you have to put in to build the trust and respect between you and your peers. There's a lot of overthinking because you have no one to bounce ideas off of. Self-discipline has also been challenging on some days. I work in engineering, so technically we don't actually need to be face to face with coworkers, but it would be nice go interact with people and build a small community at work.
Funny thing for me is, I actually went from working remotely to a job working in office-- despite the fact that I prefer working remotely. Mostly because the remote job I was at was so fucking miserable that I gladly left that in 2021 for an in-office job (which only has a 15 minute commute on all back roads anyway). Despite that though, I prefer working remotely still, and I recently started doing so on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In-office, for me, I actually get less human interaction than when I'm at home. If I need help with something I just GChat my supervisor, so no issues with collaborating there. Self-disciplining is definitely an issue, too, even in the office. But I'd rather get better at forcing myself to stay on-task than being micro-managed (which I'm not at my current job, thankfully). I think since I'm more introverted/have high-functioning autism, I tend to have more energy when I'm by myself. Lol. :P
wonder if the push back from remote work would make the real estate market better. Too bad most people are locked into the 3% or lower rates, but if tons of people start to get laid off because they moved too far away maybe that would tip the scale a bit
Going into the office once a week. I chose the day each week which has been a good balance for me. Its a nice change of pace and to get out of the house.
It's always interesting when you hear a former HR person talking about class war while avoiding as much as possible to say "class war".
Graduate from collegr in 2020 literally me đ i didnt even got an oppurtunity to get job for a year jusy ecause the same reason you said - companies werent extremely trustful with hiring new people only for remote work
Also yes during period a lot of people moved away from cities (a few of my relatives)
I've been working remotely since 2020 and would never go back unless I absolutely had to.
My experience working remotely against a deadline for a project is that i found my self working a lot more and longer than otherwise.
It is kind of difficult to split the time between work and leisure time.
I work for a big company and they just slapped us with RTO because downtown is suffering. So they made a deal with the city.
We're being used as money bags for the city to fix their problems and that does not bode well with me. Of course I'll be getting another job.
The company is so big that it doesn't make sense now to go back. We'll just be in teams meetings. My boss lives across the country!
2020 grad here thank you for the shout out
A friend of mine works for amazon in a tech field. He was being forced back into the office initially but was able to get an exemption relatively easily to be remote forever.
It's all about the almighty dollar, not about "poor productivity."
Companies are lobbying to return to office work because of commercial real estate holdings! Itâs about bailing out holders of commercial real estate.
People will return to the office but will be more pissed off, angry, unhappy and overall have a more miserable life because they are having 1+ hours of free time stolen away from them.
I died laughing at the point when you read that article đ
You need daycare whether remote or not, having kids at isn't working remote properly, there is no way you could concentrate.
Yeah, how can you concentrate with a couple toddlers/preschoolers running around getting into everything? SMH
Good video--thank you
I think now is a good time for remote workers to demand that, if they start going back to the office, that commute time be on the clock, and demand additional compensation for things such as childcare. Yet another reason we must work toward turning EVERY JOB into a UNION JOB, and we need to restore laws that used to exist to support unionization and fight against union and strike busting. And we need to get the entire working class united in this, because it doesn't actually help anyone, even those doing the behaviors, for part of the workforce to go full flex meritocracy in blaming the rest for "being lazy" and "needing to do more work" when we already collectively do the most work ever and most of us aren't getting close to the full value of our labor.
I have a feeling this is coming from bankers or billionaires. They hold the loans to these offices and are probably putting pressure on these businesses
I commuted to New York City for twelve years. Twelve years of four-hour round trips (if everything works well). Synergy can go to hell, I am not going back to an office.
Do you think that companies seeing competitive advantages in remote first approach are actually going to win out at the end because people willing to move around from companies forcing people back are going to be the real winners?
We need to stop giving these CEOs and corporations the benefit of the doubt - those forcing RTO are 100% doing it because of the expensive building they bought or they rent, or some other financial reason. Any other claims, if they are even true, are secondary.
Let those who want to go back in do so, and leave the rest of us alone.
If I ever have to go back to an office I'm going to put up a sign, "This is my job, not my family, my family is at at home waiting for me and doesn't care where I work." These large corps are just butt hurt at the millions of dollars they spent when they realized they didn't have to spend a dime on a building.
It was said companies who offer remote first jobs are going to become super popular. Does that mean companies that force employees back into the office are going to have a harder time attracting employees? Is it going to be especially harder to win the top tier talent?
Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.
In my field, it's not that hard to find remote jobs as long as your A-S tier skill wise.
I am 10000x more productive at home. Our entire company is remote and we are excelling.