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AsbestosIn0bstetrics t1_j8nycdw wrote

Reply to comment by MedicalSpecializer in Federal Government’s Return To Office Delayed By Union Disputes by Super_lobbyist

The pandemic really changed people, because before 2020, most people commuted to/from their jobs and never demanded the right to work at home.

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Nuntiak t1_j8o8687 wrote

People didn’t change. It’s not like people enjoyed their commute before the pandemic. We came in because it was the only option.

Now? We’ve seen that the technology and infrastructure is able to make it work. Everyone is seeing that they can do the exact same work, at equal or better efficiency, from the comfort of their home, without having to sit for an hour in their car, bus, train, whatever.

It means more time for sleeping, or to spend time with family, or for fitness, or hobbies. It means saving money on lunches (or time spent packing one, and healthier lunch too).

And now they’re being told to give that up and come back to the office, for vague indeterminate reasons like “we miss you” or “you have to be here for team building”.

There are three categories of people who seem to be pushing to kill telework:

  • Senior management who can afford to live close to their office and who have a dedicated parking space

  • extroverts who have no social life outside the office and rely on their coworkers to be their social life support

  • Real estate/business owners who rely on commuters/office workers to make income.

I have no sympathy for any of the above.

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ManiacalShen t1_j8p6ks7 wrote

>It means more time for sleeping, or to spend time with family, or for fitness, or hobbies. It means saving money on lunches (or time spent packing one, and healthier lunch too).

On that note, it would be nice if those of us who do have to work in person were allowed to work fewer hours. Not only do we still have to commute every day, but a bunch of lunch spots have gone out of business, and envy for WFH friends is through the roof.

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OneFunkyPlatypus t1_j8ozvun wrote

And the new hires who are faced with a laptop screen, limited artificial interactions with seniors and mentors, no sympathy for them either?

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Nuntiak t1_j8p4c34 wrote

We onboarded multiple people during the pandemic. They did just fine. One of them was a top performer and actually left when management started forcing return to office.

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Surefinewhatever1111 t1_j8pjyc1 wrote

You think you're getting "authentic" interactions with federal supervisors in the office? How many years have you been a fed? Zero?

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Surefinewhatever1111 t1_j8o6awx wrote

>never demanded the right to work at home.

You're not familiar with the several and many Telework acts passed by the federal government over the years? One of the most important factors for the ease with which a lot of agencies were able to go fully remote was years and years of regularly scheduled telework.

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MedicalSpecializer t1_j8nzpss wrote

We have reliably known, for at least a decade, that significant commuting is a net negative on individual and public health. With the cost of living in the DC being as extreme as it is, many people are forced into supercommuting practices, which has significant negative health consequences in the long-term. It’s fantastic that so many people can opt out of commuting, it’s an amazing development for individual and public health.

I would be completely fine in going to the office like I do now after my year probation is up if I could get an equivalent unit for the same price in a similar neighborhood in DC (absolutely no shot) or my pay was doubled so I could afford DC.

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puttinonthefoil t1_j8o9s2q wrote

It didn’t change people, it provided proof for the long held belief: “I could do this job just as easily at home.”

And for most email jobs, it is true, and the last 3 years bore this out. Now there’s concrete proof it’s true, so the argument is stronger.

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Agirlisarya01 t1_j8oeh23 wrote

No, the pandemic changed employers. Before the pandemic, they swore up and down that remote work wasn’t feasible. Employees have been proving them wrong since Day 1 of the lockdowns. Since it can be done, and we have been delivering results, there is no reason that we can’t keep doing it.

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