Work Reform

When the lockdowns happened due to COVID, it was just incredible at the sheer number of jobs that could have been done at home.

Some people, like Sam Seder from The Majority Report, speculated that people will use this in the future to leverage their power as employees for added privacy and flexibility in working.

The other thing is that businesses could save on massive costs by simply not, as others have mentioned here, leasing/building/renting/whatever large office spaces, and those former office spaces can be made into something else, like more afforable housing.

But everyone just kinda forgot, or seriously underestimated, at the desire for businesses to have control over their employees. This is one major reason why so many businesses want private healthcare. It allows them to fuck over their employees more than they would otherwise, even if it is much more expensive for them to do so than just paying a tax for public healthcare.

I work in commercial real estate. Two years before the start of the pandemic, my company considered downsizing our office to have most employees work from home and just come in when needed. We also discussed how we expected the office building market to struggle in the future. (Thinking in 10 years, not two).

Anyways, we got a deal from the property owners to sign another lease, so we stayed put. And now, big surprise, they forced RTO. Someone asked our president about it in a quarterly call. He basically said “we’re never ever going back to WFH and you can quit if you don’t like it”.

So, naturally, we’re struggling with turn over and our headcount is down about around 10% so far.

For many of us, our teams are split up amongst multiple offices so there is no difference from working in the office and working from home. It’s all about that empty lease.

That's so, so stupid... They really are the dumbest of morons. They lost money, so they waste even more money and make their best workers flee.

Bunch of real Einstein's running these places, huh? Fucking morons, just don't waste the money leasing large offices.

Sell the desks, save money on the office, utilities, and office supplies?

Why do we have to preface this with “Like Elon Musk…”?

Who cares what that nonce thinks? Surely not anyone who would read this article or be receptive to its content.

Unless they signed long leases with “commercial real estate” the company can just you know save a load of money not renting those spaces and just liquidate the office for quick cash.

Or if they own, they can always sell unless “it’s an investment” so we can sell it in the future for more.

If you want to open your eyes even more, check out the neat overlap between commercial real estate and large businesses that require an office. Often, it's one and the same, so it's easy to see why they wouldn't want their buildings nearly empty.

Ah, RTO = return to office. That took me a while ..

One of the only aspects of my previous employer that was smart and well-run was the attitude about RTO. Before the pan, the owner was planning to rent a second space in the same building to expand. Post-pan, we did a six week experiment where everyone came back two days per week. The metrics didn't meaningfully change and we downsized. Everyone became fully remote unless they needed supplies from the office for a client.

They managed everything terribly, but at least got that right.

Empty desks is an opportunity to expand, including shared desks from work sharing or WFH some of the week.

Commercial real estate/rental spaces are also an opportunity to downsize and get out of leases at better per square foot rates. If not getting out of lease, then opportunity to sublet desk areas.

The great reset is coming, it's nipping at their heals, soaking into the top of their eyelids like exhaustion, the darkness is creeping in from all the edges, making them wonder how close it will get, if it will truly envelope them as they've been warned

I used to work 10-15 hours a day, weekends included, in a small lab. I did not mind it, I felt seen, my boss was happy with my efforts, and I thrived in that atmosphere.

I now work completely remote for significantly more money, spending 10-16 hours indoors interacting with nobody. It's hell. My extra hours are unseen. I barely see the sun. My weight is ballooning.

My point: WFH is great for people with families or partners, or anyone who has essentially a settled home life. But for single people, WFH is torture.

I do 100% agree that it should be a choice, and not a mandate to RTO. I'd take it in a heartbeat if it was an option

Anyone who does not understand the sunk cost fallacy should not be in management.

You've spent $x on office space. You can:

A. Use it, and make your employees hate working for you or

B. Let it go unused, and your employees are happier to continue working for you.

The money is spent either way. The only difference is morale, which does in fact directly contribute to your bottom line.

We had some slight pushing into going into the office more, but instead of firing people, it was decided to switch to a smaller office space, so the people who like to work in an office can do so, and less money is wasted on a mostly empty office

Understandable that this is not an option for all companies, but insane that people are happier losing talent than at least trying to work something out

You would think that of all people, rich CEOs would understand the concept of the sunk cost fallacy.

The money on desks, rent, insurance, etc. is already spent. You're not getting it back. Asking people to come back to the office "so that it doesn't go to waste" assumes that you aren't taking on additional costs for people coming to the office.

You now have worn carpet, doors, pens, paper, etc...money you could have saved if you weren't such a knob.

Early in the pandemic, our CEO asked why we paid so much for real estate if everyone could work from home. They've been trimming leases as quickly as they can.

We've been hiring people who live out of state. They only come onsite very rarely, maybe only once a year.