Work Reform

Its amazing but only because the alternative is so horrible, we really, really appreciate working from home.

I think its also having a strong effect om how we are as people. Office culture changes people, into scared little humans who self censor themselves to fit in, and use language they think makes them sound professional.

Its a waste of life. We are originals. We are unique personalities. Not clones, not resources to exploit.

If humanity survives capitalism, and its a big if, we will look back at this and wonder what we were thinking.

LOLWTF it also swapped it for me

It's probably just another clone of this clone of a clone of a ....

https://www.greatplacetowork.com/resources/blog/remote-work-productivity-study-finds-surprising-reality-2-year-study

Like they GAF. They've got the money & politicians in their pockets, so inconvenient truths are easily trodden over.

Isn't diversity neat? My ADHD pulls a gun on me if I get within 30 meters of an office.

As someone who currently sleeps, works, and relaxes in the same room these absolutes you're throwing out come off as hilarious. I've literally always lived in a room with both my bed and my computer, always worked and gamed from my computer, always slept within a couple of meters of my desk chair and computer.

You absolutely can work, relax, and sleep in the same space.

Does that mean I prefer that? Could I gain some meaningful benefits from having more spaces to dedicate to certain tasks? Absolutely. And the moment we tax the ultra-wealthy out of existence and therefore make housing affordable again, I'll make those rooms.

But working from home is not reliant on a square ft/m metric that the home must pass, nor how those spaces are organized or themed. I think saying it does only hurts my ability to stay at home, which is better for the environment, the economy, my productivity, and most importantly my life and mental health.

oddly, the link goes to the right article, then the site redirects to the swimming article,

here it is on another site

https://evidencenetwork.ca/remote-work-increases-happiness-4-year-study-findings/

edit: it's someone elses take, looking for original

edit2: OK, the original article is from 2020, there are updartes in 2024.

This page does a better job covering the the couple of gallup polls and some of the criteria listed

https://www.greatplacetowork.com/resources/blog/remote-work-productivity-study-finds-surprising-reality-2-year-study

though the site is sus to me :)

I have WfH for about twenty five years now and I will say the same thing I always say when this type of comment pops up, if people do not want to talk to you for some reason they will not respond as its a lot easier to hide on email/IM than an office situation. If you finding that people are hiding from you, then that's as much a you problem as anything else for not directly addressing it.

I actually find it considerably easier to get hold of someone via IM than any other method short of direct dialing them as I can reach them in meetings or away from their desk or even in another country entirely, its only if they are intentionally ignoring you it does not work. If the person is presenting in a meeting or otherwise legitimately incommunicado then they aren't going to respond F2F or IM anyway.

Not measuring output volume or quality consistently is a widespread problem for businesses, regardless of location of the employee. Consistent and accurate measurement is the only way to be sure you are getting the results you are expecting, for coding that means code reviews not commit counts, 360 feedback, and so on. If you are feeding back, and someones ignoring that, guess what, its also a you problem for not building in consequences and follow ups. It also applies just as much in an office situation as it does remote.

The article does have this caveat.

"Context still matters. Job type, home setting, and leadership quality vary. Yet the direction remains positive. Even with modest differences by role, the health and satisfaction curves point upward. Inside those curves, remote work behaves as a flexible option that organizations can calibrate rather than a rigid rule."

Though I will say your argument is still centered around being productive and effective for the company (make money for the company), the article specifically centers around an individual's well-being (sleep, family life etc.). So not the same metrics.

Other articles and research I've seen that did center on productivity did conclude that yes, it depends.

How about the workers' wellbeing? Is that ever considered?

Out of curiosity, can you describe, with a bit more detail, the kind of work that was repetitive and became worse?

In the field of organizational psychology (which research like this is typically done by), the phrase "it depends" is used so often among scientists that it's a running gag at this point

If you're working at home on weekends, it doesn't sound like you're leaving work at work.

You... uh... exist I guess? I'm not sure what you're getting at here.

Well, if you get to work out there in nature then you're already winning! 🤪