[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by poloman

Not sure why you consider this as shifting goal post where I was talking about societal implications of WFH. If initial argument was on productivity, couldn't i make another point?

You obviously can. Nobody who's responded to you has objected to you highlighting social issues, they're all saying the issues you mention will need far more than doing away with WFH, the topic of this thread.

I can also quote many woman. But as you mentioned, due to miniscule woman members on this forum, we can only insinuate.

Again as I mentioned this is mostly a male perspective. You can search in internet how WFH has adversely affected woman. I have given example of a 15 year old girl ordered around by her father for food during WFH. Again this may be an one off incidence. But all I want to say that these things are happening in the society.

Again, we agree. Precisely why we should ask women (and men) in general what sort of professional setup works for their particular circumstances, instead of trying to extrapolate from limited personal anecdotes. The same situation is capable of creating different perspectives, that was the intention of my quoted example.

I know this argument on WFH is never going to end. So will desist from further posts on the subject.

Au contraire, more engagement is needed (not necessarily on this forum) if you want these issues addressed, because they definitely need addressing.

[sunbaj]

What I can make out from all the above discussions is that the Hybrid Model 2,3,2 OR 3,2,2 would be the best to go with, again that would be Organization/HIPPO decision.

Who have family/social issues can come to office all the 5 days and the others who can live peacefully at home and can do WFH can come to office either 2 or 3 days depending upon the model the organization takes.

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

I have also heard of people taking up multiple IT jobs.

Look at the article recommendation I got today These People Who Work From Home Have a Secret: They Have Two Jobs
More than my employer keeping an eye on me, I am worried about random companies tracking and learning about me. And they are doing it much better than my employer could ever do.

Originally Posted by Samurai

When I worked in USA in the 90s, I had some many colleagues who had second jobs, or even a tiny company of their own. They were open about it and the employer didn't care as long as work was done.

As per the article, WFH has enabled more people to do that undercover and a lot of them don't do justice to either jobs.

[smartindboy]

Work is not just productivity or the process. It is more than 1/3rd of our life and more than 50% of our awake life.
It helps when it is social and the work setup also helps in improving soft skills and also innovation.

[Latheesh]

Originally Posted by poloman

I have seen my daughter sadly explaining how her 15 year old friend is asked to prepare tea in between her classes and serve his father who is WFH in the next room.

Originally Posted by poloman

I make a point to serve my daughter snacks and drinks myself during her classes

But why one is correct and the other one is wrong?

[shikharmakkar]

The preference of working from home or office also depends on the role in my opinion.
Managers would prefer their employees to work from office while individual contributors may have a preference to work from home. In the last 1.5 years, I have been able to dedicate time to things which I couldn't before and I have seen many people doing that.
I could work on multiple patents and publications in this span of time which I had put on hold.
There are colleagues who have enrolled themselves in postgraduate courses, who have got themselves multiple patents, publications etc. Devoting time to such things while working from office may have been possible but I guess, the time devoted would be much less or such things would have been put on hold.

[pkk077]

I was totally loving WFH till a few months back but now it's taking a toll. I am feeling burnt out with each passing day and missing the face-to-face interactions and everything else that comes with attending office. I hope at least the schools open soon as this online schooling is beginning to worry us as parents of young kids.

[AZT]

WFH works if you make use of the additional time productively. Like going for a walk or working out or picking up a hobby you could not earlier.

If you move from one screen to the other it will be a slow burnout and you'll start craving the office vibe. I had a friend who was ready to leave his firm if they mandated daily office, he's negotiated permanent WFH for his team and staying put for now. I see this scenario playing out everywhere later. Traffic has become a pain and it's a monumental waste commuting 2 - 3 hrs everyday.

[gauravdgr8]

I for one am someone who is an example of all that is discussed in the previous posts.

My previous organization declared infinite WFH as productivity had improved. Primarily because we were in the Digital Marketing.

My new company (yes switched job couple of months ago ) and the new organization has declared WFH till end of Dec 2022.

One thing is clear. During WFH for our type of work, surely the productivity hit the roof as there was flexibility for all the employees. Earlier, if you would reach office by 2pm, you would be questioned, however in WFH situation, everyone was very flexible as all went through these type of situations.

Shortly it was acceptable to be travelling and taking calls till the time you are productive and answerable on client calls.

All this was much needed and simply improves work life balance.

A typical day in our office started at 11:30 am with a tea break till noon. Lunch at 1:30 which got extended till 2:30 with the bosses around and all topics flowing freely.

This followed by a tea break at 5 for another 30 mins. Then it was packing time at 7:30 if there were no planned or unplanned calls.

Now, inadvertently, one logs in at 11am to get a brief on how the day spans and is casually online till 8/9 pm, finishing all work coming till then.

[Samurai]

https://inshorts.com/en/news/250-of-...-1638796594452

250 of them were working just 2 hours a day: Better.com CEO who fired 900 staff

I wonder where the responsibility lies? It appears these were all WFH employees, in that case how did they lose control this badly? I am surprised all this being done so publicly.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by Samurai

https://inshorts.com/en/news/250-of-...-1638796594452

250 of them were working just 2 hours a day: Better.com CEO who fired 900 staff

I wonder where the responsibility lies? It appears these were all WFH employees, in that case how did they lose control this badly? I am surprised all this being done so publicly.

The Youtube video of this 'Firing of 900 employees over Zoom Call' is doing the rounds on WhatsApp now. This claim is new though. On the video, he was just 'sad to do this', ' I have no choice etc...'

[DDIS_RE650]

Originally Posted by Samurai

https://inshorts.com/en/news/250-of-...-1638796594452

250 of them were working just 2 hours a day: Better.com CEO who fired 900 staff

I wonder where the responsibility lies? It appears these were all WFH employees, in that case how did they lose control this badly? I am surprised all this being done so publicly.

If it is true then problem is with management not employees. As per talent normalization exercise 95% population definitely meet or exceed the expectations only 5% are below average who are required to show the exit door or put into PIP.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

This claim is new though. On the video, he was just 'sad to do this', ' I have no choice etc...'

This was last week's news, it is on Fortune magazine.

https://fortune.com/2021/12/03/bette...message-board/

[IamNikhil]

I work with a media conglomerate. As per intimation from HR in November, office was slated to reopen from 1st December. With the current Omicron scare, WFH has been extended till mid-January atleast. Our shoots and location visits are however continuing unabated. Also, since it's not mandatory anymore, RTPCR tests are not a requirement during shooting schedules. That just sucks, IMHO!

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by Samurai

250 of them were working just 2 hours a day: Better.com CEO who fired 900 staff
..
I am surprised all this being done so publicly.

I find it hard to believe. “Performance not upto the mark” is a favourite catchall for corporates, and is easy to communicate. I didn’t hear him say anything to that effect on the video even once.

If he had the proof (of under-performance), I reckon he would not have used words like “I cried last time”. I mean, why would an executive cry while terminating non-performers? This looks like a damage control exercise, nothing more. Since the video came out first, he has no other option but to also put his “defence” out there.

The founder or the company do not have a particularly great track record. There are multiple lawsuits (some including former investors) against them.

At one point, he wanted to set one of his business partners on fire.

Sample this internal note he sent to employees -

HELLO — WAKE UP BETTER TEAM,” writes Vishal Garg, the CEO of Better.com, in an email to employees obtained by Forbes. “You are TOO DAMN SLOW. You are a bunch of DUMB DOLPHINS and…DUMB DOLPHINS get caught in nets and eaten by sharks. SO STOP IT. STOP IT. STOP IT RIGHT NOW. YOU ARE EMBARRASSING ME.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidje...o-vishal-garg/

Some of the financial misconduct is also explained here in addition to the general working culture of the company - https://www.forbes.com/sites/noahkir...h=6b7462df6976