Why do companies insist employees return to the office??

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  • Опубликовано: 14 ноя 2024

Комментарии • 103

  • @jonathan6480
    @jonathan6480 Год назад +90

    I got fired for refusing to return to the office in September. I got a fully remote job that is $25k more in November. Hold the line!

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад +9

      I love this story! It really makes no sense to go back to an office in many cases

    • @jonathan6480
      @jonathan6480 Год назад +3

      @@RichGilbert Thank you! I'm debating moving to either TX/FL. The rents in FL are insane. I can't wait to leave Philly.

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад +2

      @@jonathan6480 Both are popular choices! I did my MBA in Philly - Nice for a few years. TX/FL would probably be the places I'd consider too. Or Idaho for skiing if I could work remote. :)

    • @jonathan6480
      @jonathan6480 Год назад +1

      @@RichGilbert Did you go to U Penn? You should look up videos of Kensington on here - there are literal zombies there now. I'm debating between Dallas and Jacksonville. Rent in Dallas seems more affordable.

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад +1

      @@jonathan6480 I did to to Penn. Good experience. Dallas vs Jacksonville. I've never been to Jacksonville, but they both sound nice! Friendly people in both places.

  • @KH-ct4zr
    @KH-ct4zr Год назад +53

    I feel that face-to-face meetings and conversations sometimes help, but working in the office is really distracting and unproductive when I try to focus, and commute is simply a waste of time and money.

    • @KH-ct4zr
      @KH-ct4zr Год назад +2

      However just as you mentioned, if a boss wants to monitor what the team members are doing, coming to office becomes compulsory.

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад +5

      Totally agree with your comments, K H. I often wonder, if people want to do face to face meetings or conversations, it's easy to meet at a cafe or a temp office somewhere to have the conversation.

    • @rickarnold7778
      @rickarnold7778 Год назад +1

      With skyrocketing gas prices, the costs for commuting are greater than ever. All the more reason to implement WFH or at the very least, some type of hybrid approach.

    • @JWZRD23
      @JWZRD23 3 месяца назад +2

      I purposefully strike up conversations with my manager that last 30+ minutes and aren’t productive for our current work and then take my 1 hour lunch bc this is what the company wanted 😁

  • @PabloTBrave
    @PabloTBrave Год назад +48

    If people can work from home then there is obviously no need for most of the managers and that upsets managers .

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад +14

      Thanks for the comment, Paul! There is clearly no need for most managers. I'd argue most people in most corporations are simply someone wanting to get headcount and justify their existence

    • @stormkat4936
      @stormkat4936 Год назад

      💯

    • @pujikristina2186
      @pujikristina2186 Месяц назад

      I agree. Many managers realize they have nothing to do at home and nobody to control so they feel bored and useless.

  • @jackcarraway4707
    @jackcarraway4707 Год назад +18

    It's all about control. We the people need to send a message that WFH is the future.

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад +5

      This is likely going to happen. If companies can figure out that they are getting good work from people at home, I'd suspect they'd be happy to remove the big office leases. I know I was when I started my company.

  • @jonathan6480
    @jonathan6480 Год назад +26

    If these companies cared about the environment as much as they say they do, they wouldn't make us commute.

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад +6

      Short answer. They don’t. Greenwashing is just to make you think they care about the environment. Paper straws anyone? 😃

    • @jonathan6480
      @jonathan6480 Год назад +3

      @@RichGilbert Bingo, just like how they take their pride flags down on July 1st.

  • @JasonTaylor-po5xc
    @JasonTaylor-po5xc Год назад +25

    Partly because of a legacy baby-sitter managerial mindset that is often spun as "office culture" - you can have a company culture with remote workers too - we've adapted already. Also, I think managers, which are often more extroverted, thinks everyone _wants_ to be in the office like they do. Let's be honest - the old office culture was often pretty toxic. Why revive that? I'm over giving up 2-3 hours of my life just so someone can justify having a pointless job? Nope. Not anymore. This isn't new - many tech companies have been remote-first since before the world ended - that's why we had tools like company VPNs, online video services, chat tools and remote IT support. It all existed before COVID and that's why many companies were successful in the remote-only model when forced to do so. The problem is that it reminded folks how much precious time was wasted for soul-crushing Dilbertopia. If employers are concerned about unproductive employees - fire the lazy bums and hire folks with a good work ethic that don't need baby-sitting services and pay them accordingly. Everyone wins (except lazy bums). I still get plenty of recruiters reaching out to me about remote positions - and I'm very blunt with the ones that want on-site.

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад

      Thanks for the comments, Jason! very true and I totally agree. There are so many jobs that are "marginal" in their effectiveness that seeing those people in the office is the only way they can figure they're doing ANYTHING. Most managers have no clue what their team does and just want a big team for their own career.

  • @ThrivingwithOneil
    @ThrivingwithOneil 2 месяца назад +9

    I’ve been remote for almost 20 years as a people leader and individual contributor. The cost in time and money traveling to and from work adds up. Living in states where you have to pay income taxes because of your employment. The list goes on and on.

  • @gennyjustdownthelane8967
    @gennyjustdownthelane8967 Год назад +9

    Absolutely makes no solid sense for most cubicle workers. At all.

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад +2

      Yeahhhhh…. Every time I hear “cubicle”, I think of the movie Office Space… soul-sucking environment.

  • @Meritumas
    @Meritumas 3 месяца назад +9

    Many of m friends agreed to start coming to office 1-2 a week. Most of workers visit the office purely for social reasons. Chat, 2h lunch with colleagues, coffee and tea breaks. Zero productivity. But that’s what mangers wanted: improved corporate culture!

    • @user-pf5xq3lq8i
      @user-pf5xq3lq8i 2 месяца назад +2

      They are refilling their asset, that big empty building, they need to sell. You're paying for doing it.

  • @tomtensecretlanguage9273
    @tomtensecretlanguage9273 17 дней назад +2

    For my corporation, buts-in-the-seats is to protect its commercial real estate investments and clients' investments!

  • @JasonTaylor-po5xc
    @JasonTaylor-po5xc Год назад +15

    Yeah, for the past 15 years - I would work out a day or so to work from home just so I could get my work done because being in the office is so unproductive - especially if you work in a field that requires high levels of attention and focus. As a software engineer - we have this concept known as "the zone" which means you are hyper-focused on your work and blissfully coding away. The moment someone walks up to your desk and asks you a question - you're out of the zone. It takes another 15-20 minutes to get back into the zone. Then factor in coffee breaks, lunch, bathroom breaks, and the worst - meetings - and most of your day is unproductive. While at home, I get very few interruptions to the point I have to set reminders to get up and stretch. Going from 1-2 days at home to fully remote was a game changer.

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад +5

      I've experienced that breaking out of the Zone many times. It's so difficult to get back in to where you were in your code. And the office is full of nonsense distractions

    • @rickr530
      @rickr530 3 месяца назад +2

      I love it when managers schedule 8 hours of back to back meeting to talk about work, and then the next morning there is a status update meeting to check on your progress. "Talking about work" is work for managers -- they don't always understand the concept of *doing* work.

  • @728huey
    @728huey Год назад +2

    Part of it has to do with micromanagement by middle managers, but the bigger factor has to do with justifying paying their long term office leases they signed before the pandemic. In fact, one of the reasons some people have been screaming about how the country is going into a recession as to do with the upcoming crash in commercial real estate; particularly office and retail space.

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад

      Yeah. I'm sure that's a big part of it. Companies don't like their investments going to waste. Thanks for the comment!

  • @simeonovs4443
    @simeonovs4443 Год назад +9

    Nice video man, and cheers, cuz I am not going back to office again. Remote working since 2018 babyyyyy ^^

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад +1

      Good to hear it! I've been remote more or less since 2002, and there is NOOOO reason to go back! Thanks for the comment!

  • @user-pf5xq3lq8i
    @user-pf5xq3lq8i 2 месяца назад +4

    So many angry people have been brought back to my giant office.
    They missed nothing! The water-cooler gossip, the office politics, the commute, the overpriced food at the deli nearby.
    The real reason:
    Real Estate.
    That giant building is worth nothing now. They will refill it then sell it, or crooked accountants will revalue it as a useful asset.

  • @adriana77
    @adriana77 4 дня назад

    I was working from home for the last 5 years and absolutely hated it. The company was able to sneak away with more, and the isolation was too much. I need the culture. Everyone liked it better because some coworkers started drinking at home and losing their motivation. Someone like me who enjoys the face to face, it made me squirly.

  • @Ricocase
    @Ricocase Год назад +6

    No tax write off for building unless it's used.

  • @57ashdot
    @57ashdot 6 дней назад

    Very good & critical analysis sir. I agree with everything said, this is old people with old ideas clinging to an obsolete business model. RTO is objectively stupid for people that do knowledge work like design or research, finance, etc. This RTO is, as you said, just a ridiculous proxy of performative work. Not actual output. It's all bullshit.

  • @TonyZmex
    @TonyZmex Год назад +2

    They want to reduce cost by “forcing” people who have moved to another place to work remotely to quit their job

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад

      This is a change that will take a while to happen. Probably with newer companies - just like Google brought in "Free food"

  • @NDGOJericho580
    @NDGOJericho580 Год назад +5

    Sending people back to the office doesn't make since when they're pushing climate bills. If they want climate change policies, they need to keep in mind that forcing people to commute to and from work means more automobiles using fuel and resources(whether it be electric or gasoline there's always an expense). And you notice it's always CEOs that want people to show up. In my experience, the employees are being used. As long as the employees are doing their jobs, managers, supervisors and uppermanagement can sit back and chill.

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад

      @skyler Allison Very good points. Going back to the office does increase fossil fuel use and employees are indeed being used. I hope there is some alternative where companies put employees first. I hear some companies doing it but not many.

    • @user-pf5xq3lq8i
      @user-pf5xq3lq8i 2 месяца назад

      Who is lobbying the ceos to make this strange call?

  • @mikekay3313
    @mikekay3313 Год назад +4

    Companies don't like crashing commercial real estate values and empty leases on their bottom line..

    • @user-pf5xq3lq8i
      @user-pf5xq3lq8i 2 месяца назад

      Bingo. No surprise that people shouting loudest are the real estate owners, finance companies, Wall St, Goldman Sachs etc

  • @arthuslim
    @arthuslim Месяц назад +1

    Here, we are "punished" for efficiency. If i can complete a job in half a day instead of a given 8 hours, i need to stay till late, pretend to work, due to governement regulation and company's policy. I cannot leave early to be with my family or pursue my passion. Talk about work-life balance bs, which i never believe.

  • @rsls101
    @rsls101 Год назад +9

    As a middle manager I am pro-remote. But unfortunately I am 5 days a week on site. Last week our office was allowed to work remotely for the holiday week. We surpassed our quotas and productivity was way up. We’re back now as upper management mandated, productivity down. They said “it’s the eggnog hangover 😂 “. What does the customer want from us as a company? Us to have damn culture or get stuff done with high productivity? I’m a manager not a babysitter. We have slack, Activetrak, zoom, asana, Dialpad Salesforce to help us track productivity in a data perspective

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад

      I've heard this story by so many of my friends. Sales people, tech companies, etc. They are told they have to go back to the office for various reasons, but productivity and morale dumps. So do you have to stay in the office going forward?

    • @rsls101
      @rsls101 Год назад +1

      @@RichGilbert yes unfortunately and definitely morale dipped. To try to regulate morale they try to throw in “Free Bagels” or Themed Wednesdays like last week was “Flannel Wednesdays” 🤦‍♀️. It doesn’t help.

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад +2

      @@rsls101 Free Bagels. How tone deaf can you get? sigh....

    • @j01150126
      @j01150126 Год назад

      Before covid I only had to go on-site as needed. After covid an extra focus was put coming back to work. Our campus is hundreds of acres. We always met on Zoom before that by Skype.
      Now I am forced to come in 3 days a week, I lose 1 hrs of sleep and 2 hrs in commute time. At work, maybe a few people show up because of global offshift meetings. We are not financially independent. I see those mandates imploding for companies with Millenials and Zoomers. I am Gen X and it's ridiculous. We make them rich, they don't make us rich.

    • @user-pf5xq3lq8i
      @user-pf5xq3lq8i 2 месяца назад

      @@j01150126 leave

  • @radavisjr41
    @radavisjr41 3 месяца назад +1

    This message right here is the new red pill.

  • @gusvonstupen1897
    @gusvonstupen1897 Год назад +5

    To justify their office rental expenses.

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад

      I think that's part of it - at least in the short term...

  • @Goodmedalist
    @Goodmedalist Месяц назад

    Property - the law allows corporate wealth to be secured in real estate, and it cannot stand empty. That's mostly why. Then there are some individuals abusing work from home at their colleagues and supervisors' expense.

  • @rickr530
    @rickr530 3 месяца назад +1

    The sad thing is that many of us quietly worked remote and hybrid for years before the pandemic but that is now harder to float because of the massive return to office battle. Remote work has been a part of my life since 1999 and was never a problem before, but now I'm treated like I just joined the rebel alliance. HR also invented new rules and job classifications to try to punish us for working and living more efficiently. Corporations hire people for their creativity and intellect and then immediately force them to regress to the mean.

    • @user-pf5xq3lq8i
      @user-pf5xq3lq8i 2 месяца назад

      someone "owns" those buildings..they are powerful lobbyists.

    • @MemoryDealer
      @MemoryDealer Месяц назад

      Maybe it was the plan all along.

  • @groundhog-plays
    @groundhog-plays 14 дней назад

    Because share holders and how intertwined corporate real estate is into corporations. Either from them owning it directly, owning REITs, corproate real estate investors also invest in companies. Look at Blackrock/Vanguard who own massive voting shares and would want a return to office.

  • @brandonfouts4074
    @brandonfouts4074 Год назад +4

    I feel like the pandemic has empowered employees and owners do not like the power shift

  • @IMPULSOESTATICO
    @IMPULSOESTATICO Год назад +2

    Amen!!!

  • @NorCalDudeBJJ
    @NorCalDudeBJJ 2 месяца назад +5

    Be careful what you wish for. If you believe your position can be completely done remotely, then your compensation will need to be competitive with highly educated people in developing countries that are willing to work for $5/hr.

    • @ianhart356
      @ianhart356 2 месяца назад +1

      I work at a manufacturing facility. I need to be there to do the work. It is one real benefit of my otherwise low level job.
      Anyone who proves they can get the job done without coming to the workplace will eventually be replaced by someone physically located in a lower cost environment. Don't be surprised when it happens. There are many clever, hardworking, cheap workers around the world.

    • @NorCalDudeBJJ
      @NorCalDudeBJJ 2 месяца назад

      ​@@ianhart356Exactly

    • @alexsdb9712
      @alexsdb9712 24 дня назад

      Not true, and you mustn't support that side or argument but instead by on the side of the people/citizens and progess. It's all about legality. Companies must have a legit base (address, residency, filing), and that's why it's linked with taxes. A company will not have that if outsourcing these remote jobs. The other factor is security and privacy.

    • @NorCalDudeBJJ
      @NorCalDudeBJJ 24 дня назад

      ​@@alexsdb9712You can say you're against it, but saying it's not true is ignoring reality and burying your head in the sand.

    • @alexsdb9712
      @alexsdb9712 24 дня назад

      @NorCalDudeBJJ My statement never said it's not true or that it is true. It's about the act, the principal, the laws and the consequences. Best of luck. A word to the wise.

  • @scrapbrainsinc
    @scrapbrainsinc Год назад +4

    I agree. Last week my co-worker was traveling to another state for a software integration event. Since I work remote I didn't really have a problem getting up early to support him, or getting on later to deal with issues. If I worked in an office, there is no way I could of have been easily available. Plus knowing Skype/Zoom or whatever makes sharing something so much more easier than having to find an office in the building. Why is every conference room booked to 2 years in advance and you always had to play plug in the HDMI, and get the tv to work game for 20 minutes. I don't get why more people aren't fighting for more guaranteed rights for remote work (Yes if the job can be done that way)

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад

      The 20 minute work with the tv. Yessss I remember those days. You bring up another point in separation between work and homelife which was a big challenge for many people the past few years. I think the occasional shift is fine but if you’re expected to be on call for 18 hours a day you should be compensated

  • @JohnTube2K
    @JohnTube2K Месяц назад

    this video true even today in 2024

  • @JasonTaylor-po5xc
    @JasonTaylor-po5xc Год назад +2

    Write more lines of code - fine - I can write a Python script to generate millions of lines of code per day. Now, give me a raise! LOL

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад

      Exactly! LOC (Lines of Code) is NOT a good proxy for ANYTHING meaningful

  • @cgmakery9650
    @cgmakery9650 Год назад +1

    Small er towns want businesses back in down town so the city has people in these areas.

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад

      It could be a great boom for smaller towns!

  • @enigma7080
    @enigma7080 4 дня назад

    Micromanagment is missing that is why they want you back.

  • @didafm
    @didafm Месяц назад

    Yeah i know what you mean. But you gotta understand people want you to he physically present.
    Would you be willing to take a 30% paycut for work from home? Cuz you could argue you already pay rent and they no longer need office space

  • @enigma7080
    @enigma7080 4 дня назад

    Fuck this work culture. Thid id absurd.

  • @joshuakaeble7810
    @joshuakaeble7810 9 месяцев назад +2

    You don't have to go back. You could start your own business right? If you did that, you could work remotely as much as you want, right?

  • @sunnyboi1221
    @sunnyboi1221 Год назад +4

    I want return to office because I know people in India and China can do a far better job than Americans for little pay.

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад

      They work hard for sure. But Americans have a lot going for them - both in an office and at home. Also we are likely witnessing the end of the huge globalization that was so key in the latter half of the 20th century. More work is coming back to the US instead of going abroad.

    • @NikosKatsikanis
      @NikosKatsikanis Год назад

      lol

    • @panjacek6674
      @panjacek6674 28 дней назад

      Have you worked with Indians? If they were so great, everything would have gotten outsourced there.

  • @brianclark5583
    @brianclark5583 Год назад +1

    They need to be in the office with a manager cracking the whip. That is how you get shit done. Just like the rest of us that aren't in the tech industry. Remote workers aren't working. They're doing everything but that. Being in the tourism business i can't wait until they go back to work so I can get my life back.

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад +1

      With knowledge / tech work it's different. I've been a carpenter, ambulance driver, programmer, consultant, and manager. Working more or less remotely since 2002. And I can say definitely that it is very possible to be more effective at your job without a proper office. Also, there's a lot of time wasted just being in the office environment, commute, etc.

    • @greglyons2526
      @greglyons2526 Год назад

      But they are not going back. Things have changed

  • @davefischer2344
    @davefischer2344 Год назад

    2:27 no one cares XD lol

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад +2

      Cares about office culture? It agree. 😀

  • @erikstonesifer7326
    @erikstonesifer7326 Год назад +3

    RESIST! Laptop? Tick. Internet? Tick. Phone? Tick. 120v available? Work from Anywhere!

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад +1

      Haha. I couldn’t have said it better myself! :)

  • @THEPOSSUMNUTS
    @THEPOSSUMNUTS Год назад +1

    People forget that they are employees of these companies. It’s their business and their rules. The entitlement is unbelievable. The layoffs are an effective way of removing the noncompliant employees. Employers need to have immediate access to employees for efficient information dissemination. Each layoff is entertaining

    • @RichGilbert
      @RichGilbert  Год назад

      Fair comment. On the other hand, with technology today employers have more instant access to employees than they ever have - whether at a desk or at home. Can't information dissemination be done by a video call?

    • @THEPOSSUMNUTS
      @THEPOSSUMNUTS Год назад

      @@RichGilbert that’s assuming the employee doesn’t deliberately avoid contact and is disciplined enough to conduct work for the amount of hours they are being paid for. I have seen many excuses why meetings couldn’t be conducted via VTC. The work environment provides the resources where work can be accomplished without those excuses.

    • @panjacek6674
      @panjacek6674 28 дней назад

      ​@@THEPOSSUMNUTSif an employee is avoiding contact then he should be removed from organisation, it's simple really.