Remote Working News and Discussions

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[weatheriscool]

LAT: Why remote work is becoming a blue-state privilege

The much-hyped remote-work revolution hasn’t landed in all places with equal force. The five states where employers offer the most flexible policies are liberal, wealthy and mostly coastal — California, Oregon, Colorado, Washington and Massachusetts — according to a survey of companies nationwide by Scoop Technologies, which specializes in flexible work software and data collection.

Workers in Southern states with below-average union representation, minimal education and more traditional definitions of hard work are showing up to their offices, factories and other job sites. Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky and Tennessee have the highest percentages of in-person jobs in the country.
...
The state you live in dictates not only whether you can carry a gun or have an abortion but what books your children read at the school library. Now, geography can determine whether you have to show up to the workplace.

Employers in states won by President Biden in 2020 were more likely to allow employees to work from home than those that were carried by former President Trump, according to polls and research by Matthew Kahn, a USC economics professor and author of “Going Remote.” He also found that businesses based in pricier housing markets were more amenable to remote work.

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/ ... lue-states

[Nanotechandmorefuture]

LAT: Why remote work is becoming a blue-state privilege

The much-hyped remote-work revolution hasn’t landed in all places with equal force. The five states where employers offer the most flexible policies are liberal, wealthy and mostly coastal — California, Oregon, Colorado, Washington and Massachusetts — according to a survey of companies nationwide by Scoop Technologies, which specializes in flexible work software and data collection.

Workers in Southern states with below-average union representation, minimal education and more traditional definitions of hard work are showing up to their offices, factories and other job sites. Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky and Tennessee have the highest percentages of in-person jobs in the country.
...
The state you live in dictates not only whether you can carry a gun or have an abortion but what books your children read at the school library. Now, geography can determine whether you have to show up to the workplace.

Employers in states won by President Biden in 2020 were more likely to allow employees to work from home than those that were carried by former President Trump, according to polls and research by Matthew Kahn, a USC economics professor and author of “Going Remote.” He also found that businesses based in pricier housing markets were more amenable to remote work.

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/ ... lue-states

Guess it started making the right wing in red states far right immediately no doubt. And they say politics is not important yet most people have trouble in jobs and other places getting along. And that is with established relationships on the small scale!

[weatheriscool]

LAT: Why remote work is becoming a blue-state privilege

The much-hyped remote-work revolution hasn’t landed in all places with equal force. The five states where employers offer the most flexible policies are liberal, wealthy and mostly coastal — California, Oregon, Colorado, Washington and Massachusetts — according to a survey of companies nationwide by Scoop Technologies, which specializes in flexible work software and data collection.

Workers in Southern states with below-average union representation, minimal education and more traditional definitions of hard work are showing up to their offices, factories and other job sites. Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky and Tennessee have the highest percentages of in-person jobs in the country.
...
The state you live in dictates not only whether you can carry a gun or have an abortion but what books your children read at the school library. Now, geography can determine whether you have to show up to the workplace.

Employers in states won by President Biden in 2020 were more likely to allow employees to work from home than those that were carried by former President Trump, according to polls and research by Matthew Kahn, a USC economics professor and author of “Going Remote.” He also found that businesses based in pricier housing markets were more amenable to remote work.

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/ ... lue-states

Guess it started making the right wing in red states far right immediately no doubt. And they say politics is not important yet most people have trouble in jobs and other places getting along. And that is with established relationships on the small scale!

Damn straight, with the right it is a matter of a biblical mindset that demands back breaking work for anyone that isn't part of the elite and they literally don't give a damn about little matters about getting along or conditions of the work place. I wouldn't be shocked in 10 years if most of these red states are like africa or China for work conditions with full blown child labor and piss poor workers rights.

[Nanotechandmorefuture]

LAT: Why remote work is becoming a blue-state privilege


https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/ ... lue-states

Guess it started making the right wing in red states far right immediately no doubt. And they say politics is not important yet most people have trouble in jobs and other places getting along. And that is with established relationships on the small scale!

Damn straight, with the right it is a matter of a biblical mindset that demands back breaking work for anyone that isn't part of the elite and they literally don't give a damn about little matters about getting along or conditions of the work place. I wouldn't be shocked in 10 years if most of these red states are like africa or China for work conditions with full blown child labor and piss poor workers rights.

The worst part about it is that at least where I am at you would not need much digital control or other things if at all as has been with legitimate concern thought about. A little bit of the right wording and there will be people supporting the things you say unfortunately enough. Being uneducated really does make a difference

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

Amazon employees stage walkout over return-to-office mandate, climate goals, and layoffs

June 1, 2023

What just happened? Hundreds of Amazon's corporate workers staged a walkout yesterday over the company's return-to-office mandate and the impact the tech giant is having on the environment. The protest took place in front of Amazon's Seattle headquarters and was streamed live on Twitter.

Like every company introducing similar mandates, Amazon's call for employees to return to the office has been met with plenty of pushback, including a petition signed by more than 20,000 workers back in February that listed the benefits of working from home.

But the complaints failed to have an effect, and the policy requiring workers to come into the office three days per week went into effect last month. It led to two employee groups staging yesterday's corporate walkout, which they streamed on Twitter.

"I'm not suited for in-office work," said Church Hindley, a quality assurance engineer (via The Guardian). "I deal with depression and anxiety and I was able to get off my anxiety medication and start living my life."

In addition to returning to the office, employees also expressed their displeasure at Amazon's impact on the environment, stating that it is failing to meet its self-imposed goals of reaching zero emissions by 2040. Amazon's global fleet of transportation vehicles, which includes planes, has a huge carbon footprint.

https://www.techspot.com/news/98907-ama ... ndate.html

[weatheriscool]

The only reason they're mandating such is power and meanness. The rich loves to hurt people. Sick bastards.

[wjfox]

One of London's biggest office towers, being vacated by a major bank...

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-66019180

... due to an increase in remote work.

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[Powers]

[caltrek]

Australian Labour Laws Need Updating Now that Remote Work is Here to Stay
September 7, 2023

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) Australia’s employment laws and regulations must be updated to reflect the changing nature of work, with many people continuing to work from home long after the COVID-19 pandemic.

That’s according to University of South Australia Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour Dr Ruchi Sinha who says labour laws and protections should be updated to clarify issues related to work hours, overtime, and breaks in a remote work context, now that almost half of all employees are working from home at least once a week.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) report on the welfare and wellbeing of Australians launched yesterday found that prior to the pandemic, 13% of people aged 18 and over with a job reported working from home most days, according to the ABS Household Impacts of COVID-19 Survey.

By April 2022, 46% of people had worked from home at least once per week in the previous four weeks.

Conclusion

“It’s important too to balance remote and in-office work by considering hybrid work models that meet the needs of both employees and employers. Things like face-to-face events and meetings arranged at cafes and restaurants can help with loneliness as well as culture building.

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1000936

[40lightyears]

One big effect of the Covid-19 pandemic situation is remote work. A lot of employees are still working remotely, and of course, it's convenient for them, but a side effect is that they are less productive.

I own a logistics company that works with trucks from the USA and EU. I've sent a lot of dispatchers working remotely from home, and 60% are still at home, and I've observed a lot of delays and mistakes, or they are not making the monthly plan.

As a solution, I've integrated this employee productivity measurement tool related to the KPI system where they earn their bonuses. It sends me automated reports of their efficiency and productivity, and in this way, I refine the workflow process. Also, based on these results, I give them bonuses.

[raklian]

One big effect of the Covid-19 pandemic situation is remote work. A lot of employees are still working remotely, and of course, it's convenient for them, but a side effect is that they are less productive.

I own a logistics company that works with trucks from the USA and EU. I've sent a lot of dispatchers working remotely from home, and 60% are still at home, and I've observed a lot of delays and mistakes, or they are not making the monthly plan.

I'll have to disagree with the broad brush remote workers are less productive. The agency I work for have praised shifting to remote work has increased productivity and employee satisfaction based on studies it conducted.

The real issue is how companies manage their remote workers. If they are less productive, it is likely because the company has not adopted the best practices for remote working. You can't expect to engage with the workers in the same way you have pre-Covid without certain fundamental changes and expect better results right off the bat. A company with in-office workers and one with at least half are remote workers are very different animals in terms of management styles, technology infrastructure, onboarding practices, training, etc. Basically, you'll have to almost reinvent your business.

[weatheriscool]

[wjfox]

Downtown Tech Office Shuts Down Its Free Cocktail Bar For Employees, CEO Says 'The Office Is Dead'

27 October 2023

An experiment in 2020s incentivizing the workplace as a dot-com-era adult playground where work also occurs has ended with a whimper in downtown SF. Tech company Expensify is shutting down its bar, which it opened earlier this year, after six months.

The bar, and the non-office-like office dubbed Expensify Lounge, was from the beginning "an experiment," as CEO David Barrett told the Chronicle in April. The company purchased a legit liquor license for a quarter million dollars, installed a proper U-shaped bar where laptops were welcome, and hired a full-time concierge/barista/mixologist to man the bar. And in a theatrical flourish, every workday ended with the sabering of a Champagne bottle, and bubbles all around for anyone who wanted some.

But now, as Barrett told employees in a Thursday blog post, they're nixing the lounge thing and just hoping people will still drop by the office to interact where they can. The focus, when it comes to team building, will be on trips that the company takes and encourages — like an all-hands trip to Spain last year, and its much-ballyhooed Offshore program, which the Chronicle wrote about in 2022, in which employees can take expenses-paid trips together to wherever they want, just to get work done.

Barrett makes some bold statements this week about the general push to repopulate offices, after noting that even a free cocktail bar and drinks and cappuccinos delivered to desks wasn't really enough to lure people back in any significant way.

"I think it's safe to say that anyone going to the office every day is likely going because they feel pressured to (either by their boss or their peers), not because it's actually their preferred place to be," Barrett writes. Which isn't to say there's no place for offices going forward... we're just never going back to a regular 9-5 office culture, a staple of not just our modern culture, but also the foundation of most urban planning."

https://sfist.com/2023/10/27/downtown-t ... e-is-dead/

[wjfox]

California tech company films bizarre video pushing return-to-office plan

Jan 12, 2024

Internet Brands, an El Segundo-based tech company with subsidiaries like WebMD and CarsDirect, has what may be the return-to-office fight’s most bizarre corporate messaging yet.

The company made a video titled “Internet Brands Return To Office - a Message From Company Leadership,” that is still on the company’s public Vimeo page despite spirited roasting on social media. Executives from Internet Brands’ internet brands are so wide-eyed and declarative, they appear to be at their breaking point in wanting more workers at the office. “Too big of a group hasn’t returned,” CEO Bob Brisco complains, near the video’s opening.

The vehicle to deliver that message has it all: rapid jump cuts, odd sound mixing and executives clearly reading their lines from teleprompters. There’s plainly faked office b-roll and the obvious use of green screens. There’s even some enthusiastic (and awkward) sashaying to the New Orleans classic “Iko Iko” — one wonders if participating employees received compensation.

https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/int ... 605785.php

[wjfox]

Great thread.