There are a lot of news articles about “back to the office”, but they recirculate the same bad ideas. Let’s provide some new ideas for the media to circulate. It may also have the effect of making the office less terrible.
I would like my work computer to do Windows updates lightning quick in the office. It currently takes weeks, in or out of the office. Stopping in for a day makes no difference, so there is no point. Now, if there was a point, I would go in.
What would get you in the office?
Short answer: Nothing
Long answer: Actually, nothing
Before the pandemic, I was already remote working because all I did was connect my computer to servers in a warehouse 20 kilometers away from the office I had to be at.
Now, every person in my department is literally hundreds of kilometers away from each other, and we MUST go to each office to do the same things we could do staying at home. I lose 3 hours daily (waking up early, preparing meals, going to the office, and returning…) because of this nonsense.
Also, the building I have to go to doesn’t belong to my employer. The contract ends this year and, instead of sending us home again, my employer has rented another building that’s FARTHER than the current one. We’re pretty sure this is just money laundering or the building belongs to a friend.
People are leaving for remote jobs, and our bosses are still wondering why.
Agh, people I’ve talked to seem so reticent to understand that even outside the commute time I’m giving up my time to my employer. I don’t want to wake up at 5 to rush out the door to sit in traffic until 7:30 and do the same on the way home then still have to spend my own “free” time meal prepping and doing house chores that I can hopefully cram in before I have to go to bed and do it all again tomorrow.
All of that is no longer “my” time because I would definitely be spending it differently if it weren’t for the expectations imposed on me by my employer. Try to tell people that and they look at me like I’ve sprouted a third eye