The rest of the time I'm going through emails, filling out endless bureaucratic forms/documents, doing mandatory training, and every now and again I get to actually write some code (more likely: reviewing PRs), LOL! My performance reviews are always spectacular and I'm the only one in our (much) larger team that's actually 100% in compliance/up-to-date with everything and completing all my work on time.
The one thing all those tasks have in common? They can wait five minutes while I take care of something and if I'm on the phone I can do something else entirely while I'm listening. Just the other day I did--the horror!--laundry while I was on a call discussing how we should move forward to solve a problem. And I was the one speaking most of the time while I folded my laundry and put it away!
I could easily watch a 6yo and do my job at the same time. Based on how much real "work" comes out of your average corporate office employee I'm certain they could do the same.
Employers should give zero fucks about what their employees are doing while they're at work as long as they get all their work done on time and don't cause the company any problems (and no conflicts of interest). We hire people to get things done not to dress a certain way or keep a chair warm in a very specific place all day!
But no.. you want 110% and everyone looking busy, because.. manamagement does not know how to manage..
No offense, but to me it shows severe lack of skill in management class.
I have a pretty chill WFH tech job at the staff level, and a pretty easygoing child, and this sounds like the kind of thing no one who has been a parent would say. My daughter was six during the pandemic when she and her mother and I were all stuck at home, the two of us trying to split our time between watching her and working our jobs, and it was hell.
Assuming a 5 day week, and an 8 hour day, thats a 10% salary bump. In practice it’s much more, since thats time you get back to spend on a variety of things, that just getting more money wont provide. Being at home, means breaks or down time help you get stuff done, and save even more time.
WFH allows for many virtuous cycles to be set up, IT moves wealth away from down town areas, and into lower cost of living regions, letting people save more money, and invigorating local commerce.
MY guess is that WFH is what society needs as a whole, wherever it can get it. Cities and municipalities should plan and compete to get the largest number of people working from home within their boundaries. Get reliable and safe mass transit up and running, and you can even cut down on short hop fuel consumption.
Money concentration is great when it helps generate more wealth for humanity at large. If it’s only going to a small group, then distributing it amongst the broader populace will (should) drive up demand, resulting in more economic activity, and therefore a stronger economy.
Heck, extend that logic to a global scale, and you’ve basically created a reflection of outsourcing. Do WFH instead.
Being there to pickup the kid from school is important.
Getting lunch with your SO is important.
Being in your neighborhood is important.
Those two hours of sleep is important.
What nonsense perks can a company can offer me compared to things like that. I don't even know if you can pay me enough to go without that (If I have the means to get that, that's what I'll do).
