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Bosses mean it this time: Return to the office or get a new job! — As office occupancy rates stagnate, employers are giving up on perks and turning to threats (www.washingtonpost.com)
submitted 3 years ago by [M, B] to c/technology@lemmy.world
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Bosses mean it this time: Return to the office or get a new job! — As office occupancy rates stagnate, employers are giving up on perks and turning to threats::undefined

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[–] 102 points 3 years ago* (last edited 3 years ago) (16 children)

Give me a good reason and I'll come back to the office. None of this "it's more productive" bullshit. We know that one is a lie. I'm also not wasting my time commuting to an office just to support the local McDonald's, gas stations, etc.

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  • [–] 54 points 3 years ago* (last edited 3 years ago) (4 children)

    Your company CEOs golf buddies from the real estate business are complaining that they are losing money because rental office space value is dropping. It's the only reason.

    At some point they'll cook up some funded research to show that remote working is detrimental in various ways and soon the 1% will demand the end of remote working, due to looming economic Armageddon. However bs science takes time.

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  • [–] 23 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    Your company CEOs golf buddies from the real estate business are complaining that they are losing money because rental office space value is dropping. It’s the only reason.

    That's a cynical view thinking that's the only reason. /s

    Another reason may be that the company received generous tax breaks from the municipality or state to have workers working in a specific place, and now all those workers are spread out to different cities, counties, or even states, the tax man is getting angry and threatening to take the company pay up. So bosses are forcing workers back into office even though it is more costly to workers and makes them less productive.

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  • [–] 14 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    Yeah I heard a city mayor on NPR the other day talking about ways to get people back downtown to support businesses. They need to just stop already. That's not leadership. If people don't want to be downtown give them a good reason. Build housing and grocery stores or something. Don't Force people to commute.

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  • [–] 5 points 3 years ago

    Forcing a huge portion of the population to move to a particular area every day and then vacate it is becoming outdated, and it caused a shitload of problems anyways. Time to move on to more decentralized urban planning.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago

    Still, they're not passing on their savings / profits / ill gotten gains to the workers they're trying to force to commute.

    And they've shown they'd totally fuck the workers over if cheap (defective) robots were available tomorrow, as per their gladness to replace workers with generative AI while the tech is still sloppy.

    So, they've established the worker‐capitalist relationship as antagonistic and strictly transactional.

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  • [–] 26 points 3 years ago

    They have a very good reason: control.

    They have another good reason: AI monitoring such as WADU

    Sure they can turn your remote camera on and snap pictures if you’re remote but what if it’s covered? Even if the cam is working fine they don’t get cameras catching you in and out of bathrooms, break rooms, etc. THAT is why they need us in office

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  • [–] 14 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    Gasp!

    Now what will head management do when they want to give random people tours of their company! Think of all the empty desk spaces potential investors might see! (That's one thing I'll be happy to see hopefully end eventually. The people giving the tours where I work barely know anything about any of the processes or procedures. )

    On a serious note, even from the capitalism mindset, this doesn't make a lot of sense. Even if they already paid out a lease for their building, they would still be saving on regular maintenance costs, and they would have a good reason to downsize their physical location when possible. (Saving money, long term). Fewer employees being at work may also mean fewer workplace injuries. (Saving money, long term).

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  • [–] 5 points 3 years ago (5 children)

    Because we know that when you’re working from home you’re just playing TikTok and eating cheese puffs for half the day. When you’re in the office the manager can help you stay focused and get more work done. Plus, you don’t have the same kind of camaraderie and team spirit over a zoom call. I used to go into the office at my business several times a month just to tell my employees how much I appreciate them with a hearty pat on the back. Now that they aren’t there, how can I even do that? Send a back-patting emoji to them on zoom?

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  • [–] 4 points 3 years ago (4 children)

    You can tell your employees you appreciate them with words, and show them with actions. You don't need to touch someone to communicate you appreciate them, and frankly it's best not to go around touching people in the workplace.

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  • [–] 0 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    That’s too impersonal. Nothing can truly replace a good slap on the back to let my employees know that I appreciate them.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago (2 children)

    Nothing can truly replace a good slap on the back to let my employees know that I appreciate them.

    How about a raise?

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