[HN Gopher] Google is accelerating reopening of offices and putt... ___________________________________________________________________ Google is accelerating reopening of offices and putting limits on remote work Author : richardknop Score : 29 points Date : 2021-03-31 22:21 UTC (39 minutes ago) (HTM) web link (www.cnbc.com) (TXT) w3m dump (www.cnbc.com) | jlawer wrote: | I find this interesting that the new economy Google is so set on | office work where as Shell (at least in .au) is planning on staff | having an office / work from home mix. They have even reduced | overall office space so that they don't have enough spaces for | all employees to work from some local offices. | 0xy wrote: | Remote work is terrible for productivity especially if the | company was not already remote first. In my employer, we've | noticed a 30-40% productivity dip across the board. Not only | that, but people are reporting more stress and are working | unhealthy hours. Replying to emails at 9pm, etc. | | The communication breakdowns are constant. Previously you'd | absorb information through osmosis, but the watercooler chat | about projects and upcoming initiatives has outright stopped. | | If in person meetings are 10 in terms of information bandwidth, | video calls are less than 6. They're just terrible. Oh, I | accidentally interrupted someone yet again because of lag despite | us all having fiber internet. Amazing. | briga wrote: | I'm guessing they found that employees aren't as productive when | they not obliged to show up to the office every day. Not to | mention when they're not provided with a steady stream of free | food and coffee. | | Fourteen days a year seems pretty limited--weren't Googler's | working from home more often than that before the pandemic? | lupire wrote: | That's quite speculative, considering how open offices are | terrible for productivity but the companies still require it. | Most likely it's just management bias. | briga wrote: | I mean, could it be anything other than speculative when I | opened with "I'm guessing"? | BrissyCoder wrote: | Found that my productivity - and that of the team I'm on -has | gone through the roof since WFH. I'm on a fairly small team | though (2-3 devs). I suspect that productivity changes are | different in larger, more corporate settings where it is less | conspicuous when a worker abuses the circumstances. | person_of_color wrote: | God no.. remote wirk advocates needed Google | tyingq wrote: | That's interesting, since my assumption is that Google would be | fairly data driven. I'd be curious if Googlers feel like this is | because they are really seeing reduced productivity, or if | there's a different motivation. | d3ntb3ev1l wrote: | Google HR told me "data showed remote doesn't work" I asked for | the data and never got it. | | I don't work their anymore | dmitrygr wrote: | > Google would be fairly data driven | | That _was_ Google. No longer. | | Xoogler (2012-2019) | grillvogel wrote: | damn i guess all the megacorps decided to announce today | castlecrasher2 wrote: | As someone who's worked only remotely for several years, this | makes sense. I know many will disagree with this assertion but in | my estimation in-person collaboration is far better than online- | only. | | I think the best balance is at least a couple days per week in | the office and the rest remote. | voxl wrote: | It's easier, I agree, but I would not say its better. | Collaborating online requires documentation, its more effort, | but the artifacts you produce can be a lot more useful for | everyone involved. | TeMPOraL wrote: | "Couple days per week in the office" kind of defeats the whole | point of going remote in the first place. | mciancia wrote: | You can still save some time on commute that way ;) | mgkimsal wrote: | For some people, yes. For others, no. | | I've been 'remote' for... 12 years now, but do travel to | offices sometimes, and do enjoy being able to do some face to | face time with folks, even sometimes for multiple days or | weeks at a stretch. The core matter is who decides when I | need to be in an office. If it's me or mostly me, it's great. | If it's solely at the discretion of others, that's where | problems often are (regardless of whether it's full time or | not). | caniszczyk wrote: | did everyone starting leaving the hell hole known as Mountain | View? | lupire wrote: | What does "accelerating" mean? | maxerickson wrote: | They are opening the offices earlier in the year than they had | planned. | | Presumably the increasing availability of vaccines factors into | it, lots of new information between Nov 1. and the last few | weeks. | bilal4hmed wrote: | After spending more than a year remote, full remote is difficult | ( not impossible ) . Most of us have settled on 3 days at home, 2 | days at work, so we can socialize, make new connections or just | simply have lunch. | | Going back to in office 100% is a thing of the past unless you | are a team that has to be there - making hardware etc. | | For ex I cant imagine the Pixel team working 100% remote. | paulcole wrote: | > just simply have lunch. | | I thought I had to be in an office for this as well then | discovered this entire room in my apartment full of mostly | unassembled food. ___________________________________________________________________ (page generated 2021-03-31 23:00 UTC)