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Old 14th March 2022, 06:57   #331
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Re: Work From Home (WFH): Is this the future for many?

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Originally Posted by CliffHanger View Post

Going back to full WFO from WFH, will be like going back to Nokia mobile from smartphones. I don't think it is going to happen unless the companies form a cartel again with government's aid.

But one thing for sure, the productivity from WFH cannot be matched from WFO.

If I run an IT company, I will leave the decision to the engineer on where he wants to work. Have strong management process and your work will get done.
Well, it is not just about the company and its employees. There are a lot of businesses that rely on people who go to work. Here in Sydney the Government wants people to return to offices and understandably so. A lot of businesses in the cities struggled to stay afloat during the pandemic and subsequent lock downs. Right now, we have a green signal to get back to offices however, it is our managers decision whether to enforce it or not. Luckily for us, we are free to WFH as long as we want. Having said that I prefer to work from office as I get a chance to ride to work, talk and meet my colleagues, people from different teams, go out for a drink, have a good time etc. I have been WFH since last 8 years now - in India I WFH for 5 straight years before I came here in 2019. I landed a job and then pandemic began and I have been WFH since mid-2020.

Last edited by Mr.Ogre : 14th March 2022 at 06:59.
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Old 14th March 2022, 09:05   #332
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Re: Work From Home (WFH): Is this the future for many?

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Well, it is not just about the company and its employees. There are a lot of businesses that rely on people who go to work. Here in Sydney the Government wants people to return to offices and understandably so. A lot of businesses in the cities struggled to stay afloat during the pandemic and subsequent lock downs. Right now, we have a green signal to get back to offices however, it is our managers decision whether to enforce it or not. Luckily for us, we are free to WFH as long as we want. Having said that I prefer to work from office as I get a chance to ride to work, talk and meet my colleagues, people from different teams, go out for a drink, have a good time etc. I have been WFH since last 8 years now - in India I WFH for 5 straight years before I came here in 2019. I landed a job and then pandemic began and I have been WFH since mid-2020.
It's been close to a decade since I last went to a bank for any transaction, can we stop internet banking and ask everyone to go back to banks?

It's been more than a decade since I last went in a train, can we ask everyone to stop using the beautiful highways in Tamil Nadu and go back to trains?

Uber and Ola singlehandedly killed all the local travel operators, can we ban them?

People sitting at home are consuming more OTT through platforms like Netflix, YouTube, etc. creating a lot of jobs for people in the entertainment industry. I was personally blown away by couple of videos yesterday from new entrants who were able to showcase their talents and earn through these platforms.

Like I said in my earlier post, going back to full WFO from WFH, will be like going back to Nokia phone days from Smartphones. Will you go back?

I don't believe in Team building, team lunch, bonding, etc. Most Work friendships quickly fade away with time. Thoughts are powerful and when it can be united with minds sitting across the globe, it is enough. BTW, I currently lead a big account with engineers, Architects, senior Managers, etc, for one of the oldest organizations in India, and what I mentioned is what I follow.

Last edited by CliffHanger : 14th March 2022 at 09:20.
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Old 14th March 2022, 11:03   #333
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Re: Work From Home (WFH): Is this the future for many?

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Originally Posted by CliffHanger View Post
It's been close to a decade since I last went to a bank for any transaction, can we stop internet banking and ask everyone to go back to banks?

It's been more than a decade since I last went in a train, can we ask everyone to stop using the beautiful highways in Tamil Nadu and go back to trains?
I guess going to a bank and going to work are different things. Like comparing apples to oranges. Same goes for your other analogies. I am glad that you run a big ship, however my post was in no way an attack on you or your ego. Apologies if it did.

Having said that, its not going to be complete WFH or WFO. It will be a hybrid system, and will depend on organisation to organisation. I just reported what I see in my surroundings here and I agree with it.
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Old 14th March 2022, 12:58   #334
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Re: Work From Home (WFH): Is this the future for many?

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I guess going to a bank and going to work are different things. Like comparing apples to oranges. Same goes for your other analogies. I am glad that you run a big ship, however my post was in no way an attack on you or your ego. Apologies if it did.

Having said that, its not going to be complete WFH or WFO. It will be a hybrid system, and will depend on organisation to organisation. I just reported what I see in my surroundings here and I agree with it.
Hey first up, no egos here, in fact most of us here who have been in this forum for long understand we are just too insignificant a spec in the grand scheme of this universe. I'm just propagating that each engineer is well educated, they are on their own, and they don't have to be at office like they have to be at school. In fact I don't even believe in the term Leader, I think the term Leader itself is archaic.

When internet banking was introduced, the whole banking industry could have created ruckus because it killed many a jobs in their industry, but they didn't. Likewise for other examples, not just the direct implications but the indirect ones as well.

You cannot hold one industry hostage for other industries to survive. What if the US and the west outsource their jobs to other countries like Philippines, China, where they start training their engineers in programming and English. Will you ask the US to not do that?
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Old 14th March 2022, 13:03   #335
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Re: Work From Home (WFH): Is this the future for many?

Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffHanger View Post
It's been close to a decade since I last went to a bank for any transaction, can we stop internet banking and ask everyone to go back to banks?

It's been more than a decade since I last went in a train, can we ask everyone to stop using the beautiful highways in Tamil Nadu and go back to trains?

Uber and Ola singlehandedly killed all the local travel operators, can we ban them?

People sitting at home are consuming more OTT through platforms like Netflix, YouTube, etc. creating a lot of jobs for people in the entertainment industry. I was personally blown away by couple of videos yesterday from new entrants who were able to showcase their talents and earn through these platforms.

Like I said in my earlier post, going back to full WFO from WFH, will be like going back to Nokia phone days from Smartphones. Will you go back?

I don't believe in Team building, team lunch, bonding, etc. Most Work friendships quickly fade away with time. Thoughts are powerful and when it can be united with minds sitting across the globe, it is enough. BTW, I currently lead a big account with engineers, Architects, senior Managers, etc, for one of the oldest organizations in India, and what I mentioned is what I follow.
I dont know what a train travel/Uber has got to do with WFH. In fact, even Uber drivers are hit by WFH.

Since you did not visit a bank, did you move your accounts from a brick and mortar bank to an online bank? Your kids did online schooling for 2 years...so did you move them away to an online only school from a regular one? By your definition, even bankers and teachers should be more productive WFH right?

In the last 2 years, people (customers) have been accommodating because of the pandemic. Any lapse in deliverables/performance has been ignored but I dont think that will remain for long.

Most companies will start in hybrid mode and gradually only increase the time in office provided there are no more waves.
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Old 14th March 2022, 13:19   #336
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Re: Work From Home (WFH): Is this the future for many?

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Originally Posted by CliffHanger View Post
When internet banking was introduced, the whole banking industry could have created ruckus because it killed many a jobs in their industry, but they didn't.
That is because they didn't want to look like fools once again. About 30 years ago when computers were introduced, the banking industry employees went to war using their Union powers. They firmly believed that computers will kill jobs in the banking industry. My family was full of bankers, and many were active in bank unions. Heavy restrictions were placed in how computers will be used. Unions ensured that none of rural branches will have computers. And then some silly procedures like human officers checking if computers did additions correctly , printing all the transactions into tons of papers and shoving it into old time ledgers, etc.

After a decade of that, number of jobs in banks actually increased making the unions look like fools. Computers allowed the banks to increase the number of services which increased jobs too. When core banking (interconnecting branches) was introduced, everyone kept their mouth shut, and earlier rural area restrictions were removed.
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Old 14th March 2022, 13:19   #337
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Re: Work From Home (WFH): Is this the future for many?

First of all, I'm not sure why people posting on both sides of the argument keep bringing up other industries and other job roles that obviously can't be done effectively remote, into the argument. No one is suggesting that widespread online schooling is going to be better for children in the long run. Or that surgeons can perform appendectomies sitting in another state (well, perhaps one day in the distant future with robotic instruments...) I think it's a given that this is about certain job functions that can actually be done as effectively remotely. We can probably move the topic along more usefully if it makes sense to establish that?

Quote:
Originally Posted by m8002? View Post
Any lapse in deliverables/performance has been ignored but I dont think that will remain for long.
Have there been widespread productivity losses because of WFH for IT roles? (Am asking, not challenging the assertion.)

The reason I ask is because personally, I haven't seen that across 2 companies and the teams that I've worked with during the past 2 years. Plus, again from personal experience, more than in-person management, I've worked with remote managers sitting in the US for most of my career, more than a few of them who lived far away from their nearest office and probably visited their nearest office in the US once a year. All this has been much before the pandemic and it's worked out just fine. I've also had a couple of in-person managers in the office and that has worked out just fine too. But not dramatically better than working with a remote manager. And (this is the big thing, at least for me!) certainly not better enough to warrant or offset the horrible traffic I've negotiated in Bangalore for most of my career getting in to work! That itself is a productivity and time drainer and for me the biggest reason to push WFH where possible.

Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffHanger View Post
You cannot hold one industry hostage for other industries to survive.
Well said! I've seen how happy most of the freshers at the org I used to work at were to get out of their PG accommodation and head back home! The way those places are run and the stupid rates those guys charge just because they offered proximity to the IT corridors on the ORR were crazy. Another example is of the thug cab drivers that most transport companies employ and are unleashed on Bangalore roads everyday to transport thousands of IT employees. If that sort of unregulated and extortionate secondary industry is impacted, then personally, I'm not going to shed too many tears.

Last edited by am1m : 14th March 2022 at 13:28.
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Old 14th April 2022, 18:49   #338
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Re: Work From Home (WFH): Is this the future for many?

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The same guy 3 years ago (at a different company) was dead against hiring from outside the city where the company was based because of the whole "in-person interactions are better" thing. But now he simply can't afford to care where people are based.
Another instance- I got contacted last week by a recruiter who was looking for people in my role. Funny thing is I had applied to them almost exactly a year ago for the same role, but at that point they said they were not open to remote work. Looks like things certainly have changed.

So for those of you who have had enough of the office commute, there are certainly more IT companies who seem to have (finally) made up their minds that this can work after all.

Last edited by am1m : 14th April 2022 at 18:52.
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Old 14th April 2022, 19:05   #339
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Re: Work From Home (WFH): Is this the future for many?

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Originally Posted by am1m View Post
Another instance- I got contacted last week by a recruiter who was looking for people in my role. Funny thing is I had applied to them almost exactly a year ago for the same role, but at that point they said they were not open to remote work. Looks like things certainly have changed.

So for those of you who have had enough of the office commute, there are certainly more IT companies who seem to have (finally) made up their minds that this can work after all.
I hope more IT companies allow more WFH. Those who want to go office, more power to them but not everyone wants that. My office is minimum 1.5 Hours away from home and I would rather be at home. Also, since there needs to be overlap with US client, majority of our calls are in evening which means if I go to office, I cannot attend most of the calls as I would in office bus (I don't like to drive to work). So for that reason alone, I need to be WFH.
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Old 1st June 2022, 18:06   #340
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Re: Work From Home (WFH): Is this the future for many?

Turns out WFH is not the future in the futuristic company Tesla, and may be even Twitter in time.

Elon Musk’s Ultimatum to Tesla Execs: Return to the Office or Get Out

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/techn...out/ar-AAXX7HA

Last edited by Samurai : 1st June 2022 at 19:33.
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Old 1st June 2022, 20:09   #341
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Re: Work From Home (WFH): Is this the future for many?

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Turns out WFH is not the future in the futuristic company Tesla, and may be even Twitter in time.

Elon Musk’s Ultimatum to Tesla Execs: Return to the Office or Get Out

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/techn...out/ar-AAXX7HA
Got These via Whatsapp!
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Old 2nd June 2022, 06:28   #342
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Re: Work From Home (WFH): Is this the future for many?

Yikes I hope not many employers follow his lead
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Old 2nd June 2022, 06:59   #343
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Re: Work From Home (WFH): Is this the future for many?

I doubt if this email is genuine, the content of the email shows more frustration rather than being an ultimatum.
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Old 11th June 2022, 15:57   #344
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Re: Work From Home (WFH): Is this the future for many?

Rising house rents in Bengaluru hints at return-to-office trend

Source: Deccan Herald

Quote:
10 per cent hike is reported by South Bengaluru realtors, while those in the core areas said landlords are hiking rents by as much as 30 per cent
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Old 13th June 2022, 09:38   #345
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Re: Work From Home (WFH): Is this the future for many?

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Originally Posted by adisan View Post
Rising house rents in Bengaluru hints at return-to-office trend
Could also be because schools have opened, so parents had to return to Bangalore anyway.

Have most IT company offices started mandating a return? (asking on the thread) Most of the people I know seem to be still in an optional/hybrid mode, with most of them opting to not go in, or at most once in a while. None of those places have even revealed a fixed date in the next few months. Some smaller companies (like mine) have made it official- no mandatory return to office, or even Bangalore ever (as of now at least! ).

Curious to know what most people are experiencing.

Last edited by am1m : 13th June 2022 at 09:40.
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