Buckthorn Boy
That’s the title but I’m not gonna write about our little buckthorn battle today except that it was a beautiful warm day and some progress got made on cleaning out some fugly invasive bushes or whatever they are.
I have certain hot-button political issues and read as much as I can get my hands on about them in an attempt to understand what people are thinking and why. The top one is probably abortion rights but I’ll spare you today [you’re welcome]. There’s the House Speaker melee, which I am NOT well informed about. Wars in Ukraine and Gaza, which I have no words for and don’t comprehensively understand the issues.
Then there’s the issue of remote work vs. return to office. I actually know something about that since I have been a permanent telecommuter since covid. Unlike many companies in the news lately, mine is not forcing people back into the office. Although we are a huge global company, our local (always underutilized) office closed for good in June 2021 as did many others. They don’t plan to open a new local office and if they tried to relocate me, I would say seeya and ride off into the sunset. (Disclaimer: I KNOW how fortunate I am to be able to do that and I KNOW there are many others who cannot.)
What I don’t get are some of the reasons a lot of the Lord High Muckity-Mucks in tech industries are giving for why returning to the office is a good thing. “Innovation?” “Collaboration?” How do you quantify things like innovation and collaboration? If you can’t quantify them, how do you know whether it’s better to work remotely or on-site? What are the metrics?
My employer has always allowed people to work remotely. When there was an office and no pandemic, I usually schlepped in. It was a zen-like eight mile commute and I loved it. Unless it snowed. When it snowed I telecommuted. I telecommuted from the mooomincabin when I wanted to be up there. I telecommuted in the Frog Hopper on an LSD trip to Florida to rescue our brother. Etc., etc.
When I was at the office, I was usually the most innovative the moment I drove out of the parking lot. Eureka! I know what to do with this conundrum. Collaboration? What do they mean by that? Ummm… I can’t remember how many umpteen bazillion meetings I went to that started with the LSCHP (beloved big boss) going on and on about some movie he had seen that weekend or his latest video game. Is that collaboration? At one meeting sparkling vampires came up (Twilight was it?). I shut down the room PDQ by cheerfully telling the team the vampires that hung out by my childhood outhouse at night dripped blood down their fangs. I will never forget the look on the development manager’s face.
But really. I can see how encountering people face-to-face at least occasionally could foster some connections but my team has always been good at getting things done, socializing being very secondary. Of course we have to meet sometimes to sort out complicated issues but we are able to do that on teams. No need to be in the same physical space. (Disclaimer: we meet in a “stand-up” meeting almost every morning. But we were doing that well pre-covid.)
My conclusion? I don’t have all the answers but I think some of these muckity-mucks just panic if they don’t have their thumb on wherever their employees are at any given time.
October 24th, 2023 at 7:25 pm
Working remotely for the past 3 years, especially in an unfamiliar city with no friends was not at all good for my younger daughter’s mental or emotional health. Now that she’s back home, it’s a little better but I still think the face to face interaction (not screen) can more successfully build collaborative relationships. She would love to find a hybrid job.
October 24th, 2023 at 9:02 pm
Pre-covid we were looking at implementing some work from home program. Salaried employees could occasionally telecommute, as I did when Carl was in the hospital. But our resources, like laptops were somewhat limited. And hourly employees basically could not. The concern was more that they would put in more hours than they reported.
Then Covid sped up the process to warp speed. First it was acquiring and distribution laptops, then a firebox for security and phone connectivity, so the telephones followed. I carry my work desk phone back and forth, depending on where I am working. The end result post Covid is telecommuting 2 days per week, in the office the other days, and everyone is in on Mondays.
It works for me, and I do like seeing people here and there. The term, insert trust, is used if someone is concerned about time spent working, unless there is evidence demonstrating otherwise.
I know downtown Seattle’s infrastructure is missing the workers. All of the support services, restaurants, etc. I think that is part of the reason they are trying to get people working in the offices again. They’re also looking at the potential for converting some offices to apartments.
October 25th, 2023 at 9:29 am
I was chatting at the dentist’s about my visit to see our grandson, and how both his parents can work from home for a certain number of days/week. The dental hygienist said she would like to work remotely, but that is NOT an option for her!
“Open wider, I can’t see where the robotic arm is checking your gums with the sharp pointy thing!”
Um, no, I guess that’s not a viable option!