Remote Working News and Discussions

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caltrek
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The Number of People Working Remotely Tripled During COVID
by Erin Doherty
September 15, 2022

Introduction:
(Axios) The number of people primarily working from home tripled between 2019 and 2021, per survey results released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Why it matters: The new figures provide a fresh look into how the pandemic upended how Americans work, play and live.

By the numbers: 17.9% of people primarily worked from home in 2021, compared with 5.7% in 2019, per the survey results.
• Nearly half, 48.3%, of workers in Washington, D.C., worked from home in 2021, the highest percentage of remote workers in the country, per the Census Bureau.
• The states with the highest percentage of residents working from home were Washington, Maryland and Colorado, all around 24%.
• The average commuting time by private vehicle in 2021 was on average two minutes shorter than in 2019, per the data.
Read more here: https://www.axios.com/2022/09/15/censu ... mic-labor

The linked Axios article also features an interesting interactive map.
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Spain plans ‘digital nomad’ visa scheme to attract remote workers

Sun 25 Sep 2022 13.04 BST

Spain plans to issue “digital nomad” visas giving Britons and other non-EU citizens the chance to work in the sun and enjoy a lower cost of living with tax breaks thrown in for good measure.

The visas will be offered to people who work remotely for enterprises outside Spain and who derive a maximum of 20% of their income from Spanish firms.

As the law has yet to be passed there are still some details to be hammered out but it is expected that the visa – essentially a residency permit – will be initially valid for one year, renewable for up to five years depending on the applicant’s circumstances. Close relatives, such as a spouse or children, will be eligible to join the applicant.

Applicants must be from outside the European Economic Area and be able to demonstrate that they have been working remotely for at least a year. They must have a contract of employment or, if freelance, show that they have been regularly employed by a company outside Spain.

[...]

Excellent 4G cover almost everywhere in Spain is tempting some nomads to set themselves up in rural areas where rents are very low. Internet speed is among the fastest in Europe and, at 148Mbps, almost double the UK speed of 75Mbps.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... te-workers
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The Future of Work. New Report from Institute for Gender and the Economy Looks at Remote Work and the Pursuit of Equality.
November 8, 2022

Introduction:
(EurekAlert) Toronto – The shift to remote working in March 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has raised many questions on the future of work. A new report looks at who has benefited from remote and hybrid work models and what organizations and governments can do to ensure those currently disadvantaged by the current models can also benefit.

The report, from the Institute for Gender and the Economy (GATE) at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, says that remote work and hybrid models have improved many workers’ lives, but they have also been associated with career penalties, work-family conflict, higher stress, and other mental health challenges—particularly for those who already experience inequity. Many of these disadvantages come about not because of anything inherent about remote work but because of bias, stereotypes, and social norms surrounding paid and unpaid work.

The report found that the ability to work remotely disproportionately belongs to higher-income, white-collar workers who are predominantly white and male. Those with poor access to housing and high-speed internet or who experience unsafe situations such as domestic violence cannot readily work remotely. Primary caregivers, who tend to be women, may particularly experience an erosion of boundaries between work and care responsibilities while working from home, leading to an unsustainable amount of paid and unpaid work. For others the opportunity to work remotely increases economic opportunity by allowing caregivers to remain in the workforce and allowing workers to move to less expensive regions. However, women and racialized people tend to experience disproportionate stigma and bias for using them, resulting in significant career penalties such as wage reductions and fewer promotions.

Such issues with working remotely suggests the need for remote-work policies that support both equity and wellbeing and that aim to mitigate bias and other structural disadvantages for remote workers. Public policies such as affordable childcare, adequate paid family leave, and a range of options for flexible work can facilitate more egalitarian relationships and households. Both workers and organizations benefit from policies that remove stigma of remote work because it increases worker motivation and job performance. Flexible work stigma can also be reduced by ensuring information is accessible online, and creating team-building opportunities for hybrid- and remote-working employees.
Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/970716
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God I hate this prick so much.

Does he really expect to attract and retain talent by doing this?

-----

Musk tells Twitter staff remote working will end

12 minutes ago

Elon Musk has told Twitter staff that remote working will end and "difficult times" lie ahead, according to reports.

In an email to staff the owner of the social media firm said workers would be expected in the office for at least 40 hours a week, Bloomberg reported.

Mr Musk added that there was "no way to sugar coat the message" that the slowing global economy was going to hit Twitter's advertising revenues.

The BBC has contacted Twitter for comment.

Mr Musk, who also is the boss of Tesla, told staff at the electric car maker in June that working remotely was no longer acceptable.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63582273
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caltrek
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Here is a variation on the basic theme of this thread.

WeWork China’s Former Tech Head Introduces On-demand Work Pods for Mental Health
by Rita Liao
November 24, 2022

Introduction:
(TechCrunch) At a time when China’s zero-COVID policy continues to interrupt offline work and face-to-face interactions, Dominic Penaloza, the former head of innovation and technology at WeWork China, is introducing a bold idea — on-demand work booths placed in public locations — and has managed to quickly raise capital for the business.

Penaloza named his new venture Peace in hope of boosting mental health for those using the company’s quiet, privacy-first space to avoid crowded offices and noisy cafes. Peace announced this week that it has raised a seven-figure funding round from a group of business partners and entrepreneurs.

Peace is the latest iteration of Penaloza’s continuous experiment with flexible work. In 2019, the executive spearheaded an internal project to offer pay-as-you-go spaces at WeWork China. A year later, he moved on to found his own proptech-focused startup studio, which incubated a similar on-demand workspace service but tapping third-party landlords.

Seven-month-old Peace launched its first batch of portable pods last week at three high-end malls and two office buildings in the heart of Shanghai. It aims to deploy 1,000 of them across the metropolis in the coming year, Penaloza said on a video call from one of the pods in the mall.
Read more here: https://techcrunch.com/2022/11/24/wewo ... ork-pods/
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PwC to close offices at Christmas to save energy

2 hours ago

One of the UK's largest accountancy firms will close most of its offices over Christmas and New Year for the first time to save on energy bills.

PwC, which employs about 24,000 people, will shut its main London office from 23 December to 3 January, as well as some smaller sites.

Its chairman Kevin Ellis said having all offices open over the festive period "doesn't make sense at a time of energy scarcity".

PwC has 19 offices across the UK.

Most staff will be taking annual leave over Christmas, but the Covid pandemic has meant that working remotely from home is now common practice.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63857339
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Offices are more than 50% filled for the first time since the pandemic started

Updated 12:32 PM EST, Fri February 3, 2023

Nearly three years after the pandemic began, American offices are finally more than halfway filled again as workers have gradually returned to the office.

Office occupancy across 10 major US cities crossed 50.4% of pre-pandemic levels for the first time since early 2020, according to security swipe tracker Kastle Systems. That marks the first time occupancy has crossed the 50% mark since March 2020, when many offices sent workers home because of Covid.

Workers still aren’t coming back to the office consistently or every day: Last week’s data showed that Friday was the lowest day of occupancy and Tuesday was the highest. Kastle noted that all 10 cities that it tracks “have now reached occupancy rates above 40%.”

Major companies have begun to crack down on employees who are reluctant to return. Disney is ordering corporate employees to return to offices four days a week beginning March 1. Starbucks (SBUX) also recently instituted a three-days-a-week office schedule.

Apple (AAPL) has also called for its corporate workers to be in the office at least three days a week, sparking tensions with some of its staffers. Snapchat’s parent company recently asked workers to return to the office 80% of the time, or the equivalent of four days a week, beginning this month.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/03/busi ... index.html
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