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daveescaped t1_j9sz825 wrote

I work for a large corporation. Great place to work. Judged so by polls. Also checks out to me anecdotally.

My employer has asked for 3 days in the office. Most employees fully support this concept. Some who have personal reasons (child care, health) would prefer to be full time WFH. Fine, I can see that. But consider this: if you demonstrate to your employer that your job can be done fully remotely, how long before they then also decide, “Well if they can do it from anywhere successfully, then that job can also be done by someone in a low COL location. Possibly even a different country.

I don’t hear managers advocating for complete WFH. Maybe in some fields like IT or accounting. But most of us feel supportive of the notion that critical collaboration is lost with full WFH. When we returned to the office after Covid, problems that had lingered were solved by hallway discussions or water cooler talk. Do we need to be in an office 5 days a week to get that? No.

Personally I’d almost advocate for a 4 day work week over WFH but I’m fine with the current 3 days in the office.

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LeafyWolf t1_j9t4133 wrote

I would be in the office almost every day if it wasn't for the commute. My office downsized during COVID, doubling my commute time... And it's all I can do to go in 2 times a week now. Seriously considering a move to a competitor that is walking distance from my house.

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daveescaped t1_j9t68ia wrote

Oh man, I love 3-4 miles from work. It is bliss. I hate commuting. Not sure what I will do if my job gets moved back to our office that is 35 miles away through urban traffic.

5 more years and I am done.

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[deleted] OP t1_j9tkk4a wrote

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Mrsrightnyc t1_j9tux3e wrote

Also people are naive about offshoring - the labor that is as talented usually is able to get work/student visas. Fine for call centers or other less talented labor but those don’t even work that well.

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[deleted] OP t1_j9twayk wrote

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Mrsrightnyc t1_j9u2dk4 wrote

Not to mention time zone and cultural issues - I work with a company that has all their developers in Israel - I have not doubt that they have good talent but they the time zone and holiday scheduling meant that it took over a year to deliver a solution to their client (me). Even within the U.S. most high level talent live in clusters in similarly priced areas and Covid has really accelerated that issue.

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oldcreaker t1_j9u86z8 wrote

Depends on the company. Mine has entire departments , entire sites in India, and 3rd shift IT was fully deployed and managed from there for years. They actually got the meatier work because so much was done outside of US office hours. It was no brainer to have them cover 1st and 2nd shift as well.

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d5vour5r t1_j9thc4b wrote

Naive, while employer's may find someone from another part of the country to work cheaper (WFH) based on the cost of living; offshore resources rarely have the same output/competency as local resources.

I WFH 95% (rare customer site visit) and work a 4 day week (condensed hours). Several months ago I interviewed with a competitor (they sort me out) for a very senior role and after the first interview, I told them no thanks. 3 months later they called back wanting to tell me why I wasn't successful and see if I had given second thoughts to WFH! i told them I cancelled the application and their mandate of 5 days a week and 3 days min in the office was unacceptable.

WFH is here to stay for many and 4 day weeks will be the norm in 5 years. My current employer has mentioned my output and general happiness has increased since WFH and further increased with the move to 4 days.

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daveescaped t1_j9tislk wrote

I’m naive? You have a vested interest in the topic.

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Shoddy_Bus4679 t1_j9uajs4 wrote

I’m going to let you in on a little secret.

You working at the office does not prevent your employer IN ANY WAY from still trying to outsource your expensive ass.

Trust me I know, this was my line of work. We’d replace 7 local employees with some code and 2 people in Lithuania all the time. The fact that the 7 local employees worked in office changed absolutely nothing.

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daveescaped t1_j9ubbtw wrote

My job can’t be outsourced. It could be eliminated. But it can’t be outsourced. But I’m unconcerned. I only have 5 years until I retire at 55. And if they eliminated my job now I’d get a significant severance package.

How’s that for a little secret?

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Shoddy_Bus4679 t1_j9ucf1l wrote

I don’t really get what you’re trying to say?

I was responding to your idea that being remote means they’ll start outsourcing you. They’ll start outsourcing you regardless.

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SirFiletMignon t1_j9u6td5 wrote

Well, they should go right ahead and hire people at low COL locations if that works out. Most companies will not go outside the country for that, because if they could, they already would have.. A lot of contracts require US citizens working on it.

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daveescaped t1_j9ub23f wrote

My industry is actively moving these types of jobs overseas. By identifying that your job could be remote, I think you are self-selecting to have your job outsourced. My employer isn’t currently rly doubt this but that could change with a change in ownership and/or economic circumstances.

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SirFiletMignon t1_j9v6c5t wrote

Corporations have been moving any jobs they can overseas for a long time now. WFH if anything accelerated a process that's been ongoing for years. I don't think that WFH is to blame.

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daveescaped t1_j9vc2oo wrote

I’m telling you what I am currently seeing in my industry. Jobs had NEVER been outsourced in the past. And now those who self-identify as being able to WFH are the very careers that other competitors of mine are now outsourcing. Could it be a complete coincidence? Sure. Would I be volunteering that my job can be done anywhere? Heck no. Especially if I am a young person.

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