Google Slammed For Its Idea On How To Force Workers Back To The Office
A decade ago, the idea of working, constantly, from home seemed impossible for most people. Then, out of nowhere, Covid struck and we all kept on working from home. Now, many employees can’t even imagine going back to the office five times a week.
But this may change, as some tech giants want to draw workers back to their expensive offices. Google is a prime example, as it mulls measuring employee office attendance as part of its performance reviews. Whether this spells the end for working from home as the norm, time will tell.
Working from home seemed like it was becoming the new standard, but now some companies want people back in the office
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Google is considering keeping track of office attendance and bringing it up during performance meetings
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Image credits: Kai Wenzel
Image credits: Ling App (not the actual photo)
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Image credits: Arlington Research (not the actual photo)
Some companies maintain massive complexes full of benefits for employees
Large tech companies often set the bar pretty high for employee comfort in the office. Google’s campus, the Googleplex has facilities more reminiscent of a hotel, like free laundry rooms, two small swimming pools, multiple sand volleyball courts, a bowling alley, massage rooms, organic gardens, and eighteen cafeterias that serve a variety of cuisines. This is all situated in Mountain View, California, which, as one can imagine, is pretty prime real estate. Naturally, these companies might start to wonder why they are painting to run an office, theme park, and four-star hotel all at the same time if people are simply working from home anyway. As a result, Google is discussing plans to include attendance as part of a worker’s metrics, so it can be brought up during performance meetings.
Google isn’t alone, as Meta, aka Facebook, has also started to push for more workers to come in. It also boasts an impressive complex, with multiple offices around the world. Its main HQ is in Menlo Park, California, not too far from Google. The complex is large enough to warrant 40 restaurants and cafes, with a diverse selection of food on offer. Employees even eat for free, but if most of the workforce remains at home, these establishments just drain money. To counter the dreaded morning commute, Meta even organizes shuttle buses for its employees, though the parking lot at HQ is still massive and even has its own dedicated EV charging station. Despite this long list of benefits, work from home has still become the norm for many, so Meta has decided to take more drastic measures and mandate three days a week in the office, starting in September.
Image credits: Campaign Creators (not the actual photo)
Work from home still has its proponents and other companies have adjusted their policies accordingly
In contrast, Salesforce seems to prefer the carrot over the stick and is instead incentivizing workers to return to the office through a novel strategy that would see the company donate $10 per person per day to charity for each worker that comes in. A spokesperson has stated that “Giving back is deeply embedded in everything we do, and we’re proud to introduce Connect for Good to encourage employees to help us raise (over) $1 million for local nonprofits.” While the real goal might be to get workers used to coming in more often, it’s a commendable initiative. Other tech companies like Uber have attempted a more flexible approach, where workers just have to be in the office for half of the time. This allows for more accessible remote work, as employees can spend part of the year abroad, but the company still gets some use out of its office complex.
One common thread among all these companies is that they are based in San Francisco, which is one of the most expensive cities in the world, in eighth place globally. A return to the office, even for a few days a week, means that employees need to live nearby, paying significantly higher rent and utilities than elsewhere in the country or even abroad. 2022 housing costs in San Francisco are over 100% higher than the national average, and the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco was $3,020 just last year. Setting aside the costs, working from home has measurable psychological benefits. Research shows that staying at home removes a lot of general irritants and stress, like commuting, waking up early, and maintaining office attire, among other things. This ends up translating into better productivity and a feeling of well-being. Time will tell if working from home has a future or if the office will always be part of a job.
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Commenters thought it was a shortsighted idea that might drive workers away
Next up: Google complaining they can't find skilled workers because "nobody wants to work anymore"
No dear there are many hungry jobless skilled people out there
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Best job I ever had: boss came in once a month, gave me the work to be done and deadlines, we talked about it for a couple of hours and that was it. If I wanted to work from office, home, pub, a cave in Tibet, as long as the work was done to her standards and on time, it was 100% fine. And that was 25+ years ago when dial up internet was the pinnacle of tech! OBVIOUSLY I understand not all jobs can be fully remote or even hybrid, but that's a huge step back
The same issue was one of the reasons I quit my last job. My team did amazingly well adjusting at the beginning of the pandemic to work from home and we did so for about two years, solved every occurring problem and grew together as a team and personally. We had meetings when we needed them, could always call each other but only did so when it was necessary and had lots of time working in quiet and peace to actually get stuff done. We were forced back to the office because a) other teams screwed up and b) our bosses were ALWAYS late and unprepared for meetings. They said that was only because we didn't meet personally for meetings and every day during lunch break. ...yeah, because, you know, lunch breaks are not a break from work but there to discuss work. So because our management was overwhelmed, we were forced back to the office.
It's about nothing other than control. Not buildings, not technology, not rent. Control.
I don't remember any employer ever showing any interest in whether I could afford my living space. Why would their wasted office building be of any interest to me, a worker? Also, the "we bought this so you have to use it" attitude is irrational. Rent the space to other companies. Convert it to housing, then rent it. Not my problem.
if a job can be done remote, and the employee is doing the job successfully, there is no reason for that person to have to come to the office. if a person is missing deadlines or making a lot of mistakes, they need to come in to the office. the issue is, companies want the independent workers to come in and mentor the struggling employees. i'm all for teamwork, but at some point you have to be able to do your job without someone holding your hand!
I see no problem with this. If you weren't working 100% remote, before the pandemic, what is the issue with a hybrid schedule?
Maybe, after a few years of remote work, people have adjusted their life accordingly. Maybe since they were at home 24/7 they took a pet and now leaving it by itself for hours and hours is not possible. Maybe they moved to a suburban area or across the sea, since their job could have been done remotely, and the commute now would be terrible or even impossible. Maybe they have children that are responsible enough to be left alone while you're working in the other room but not responsible enough to be left alone when you are miles away in your office for the whole day. Maybe they got a chronic illness which makes them perfectly capable of doing their job from the comfort of their own home but going out everyday, sitting in an office chair is not that doable...
Load More Replies...
You can be present without being in an office building. I work 100% from home. I'm there much more often than if I had to go into an office. For example, I injured my back this week. I was able to see pt's from my bed. Not the most professional but super important when you have to book your doc 2 months in advance. WFH is the future.
Load More Replies...
Businesses are so stupid. Want to save money? WFH is a great opportunity to see which managers are unnecessary. Who are the ones doing nothing but delegating and micro-managing? Who is saying "how do we know they are actually working?" - get rid of those people - they are projecting. If THEY worked from home they would be on X-box the whole day. It's not the employees' fault that you signed a 25 year rental agreement for office space you no longer need. Start by laying off one whole management layer.
Employers: well, you delivered excellent work and fulfilled all your tasks but we pay big buck for this building and to pretend we did so for your workers so you have to come in, otherwise we'll mess up your review with nonsense that says nothing about the quality of your actual work. Also companies: No OnE WaNtS tO WoRk AnYmOrE!1!
Tell me you've spent too much money on an elaborate office building without telling me...
Using Toronto as an example. My wife works for one of the big Canadian banks. Pre-Covid she had a deal that she only needed to be there once a week and for important face to face sessions. Post-Covid, 3 days a week and it's monitored. Guaranteed the city is giving a kickback because the city council was front and centre stating they need employees back to recover economically before these new mandates came in from the work places.
I actually enjoy working from the office in our hybrid schedule because our servers are very slow when remote, but I can see the benefit of working from home and don't mind others doing that at all.
I mean y were for Google not the other way.They must have seen some productivity issues that's why they are calling for the benefit of the company.Anyway who doesn't want to work at Google.. I would go even on Sundays if I get the opportunity..It is a brand ,the pay is good,the company looks good inside,has free food..what else? They are entitled to call y becos they pay y .
Google owns Googleplex. They have a massive sunk cost in office work. They even have a massive interest in influencing other corporations to go back to work because that sunk cost affects their asset sheet.
Because during the height of covid businesses still needed work doing so the employees got let off the leash a little but they also knew it was opening the eyes of the employees to maybe a better balance in future - and that kind of presumption of permanent change needed to be stamped out by the businesses so the message of 'we can soon get back to usual ' was sold to everyone as the goal. However, the 'usual' was basically an employer holding ALL the cards, and employees are now unsurprisingly reluctant to give back the few they were given during the height of covid.
Next up: Google complaining they can't find skilled workers because "nobody wants to work anymore"
No dear there are many hungry jobless skilled people out there
Load More Replies... Best job I ever had: boss came in once a month, gave me the work to be done and deadlines, we talked about it for a couple of hours and that was it. If I wanted to work from office, home, pub, a cave in Tibet, as long as the work was done to her standards and on time, it was 100% fine. And that was 25+ years ago when dial up internet was the pinnacle of tech! OBVIOUSLY I understand not all jobs can be fully remote or even hybrid, but that's a huge step back
The same issue was one of the reasons I quit my last job. My team did amazingly well adjusting at the beginning of the pandemic to work from home and we did so for about two years, solved every occurring problem and grew together as a team and personally. We had meetings when we needed them, could always call each other but only did so when it was necessary and had lots of time working in quiet and peace to actually get stuff done. We were forced back to the office because a) other teams screwed up and b) our bosses were ALWAYS late and unprepared for meetings. They said that was only because we didn't meet personally for meetings and every day during lunch break. ...yeah, because, you know, lunch breaks are not a break from work but there to discuss work. So because our management was overwhelmed, we were forced back to the office.
It's about nothing other than control. Not buildings, not technology, not rent. Control.
I don't remember any employer ever showing any interest in whether I could afford my living space. Why would their wasted office building be of any interest to me, a worker? Also, the "we bought this so you have to use it" attitude is irrational. Rent the space to other companies. Convert it to housing, then rent it. Not my problem.
if a job can be done remote, and the employee is doing the job successfully, there is no reason for that person to have to come to the office. if a person is missing deadlines or making a lot of mistakes, they need to come in to the office. the issue is, companies want the independent workers to come in and mentor the struggling employees. i'm all for teamwork, but at some point you have to be able to do your job without someone holding your hand!
I see no problem with this. If you weren't working 100% remote, before the pandemic, what is the issue with a hybrid schedule?
Maybe, after a few years of remote work, people have adjusted their life accordingly. Maybe since they were at home 24/7 they took a pet and now leaving it by itself for hours and hours is not possible. Maybe they moved to a suburban area or across the sea, since their job could have been done remotely, and the commute now would be terrible or even impossible. Maybe they have children that are responsible enough to be left alone while you're working in the other room but not responsible enough to be left alone when you are miles away in your office for the whole day. Maybe they got a chronic illness which makes them perfectly capable of doing their job from the comfort of their own home but going out everyday, sitting in an office chair is not that doable...
Load More Replies... You can be present without being in an office building. I work 100% from home. I'm there much more often than if I had to go into an office. For example, I injured my back this week. I was able to see pt's from my bed. Not the most professional but super important when you have to book your doc 2 months in advance. WFH is the future.
Load More Replies... Businesses are so stupid. Want to save money? WFH is a great opportunity to see which managers are unnecessary. Who are the ones doing nothing but delegating and micro-managing? Who is saying "how do we know they are actually working?" - get rid of those people - they are projecting. If THEY worked from home they would be on X-box the whole day. It's not the employees' fault that you signed a 25 year rental agreement for office space you no longer need. Start by laying off one whole management layer.
Employers: well, you delivered excellent work and fulfilled all your tasks but we pay big buck for this building and to pretend we did so for your workers so you have to come in, otherwise we'll mess up your review with nonsense that says nothing about the quality of your actual work. Also companies: No OnE WaNtS tO WoRk AnYmOrE!1!
Tell me you've spent too much money on an elaborate office building without telling me...
Using Toronto as an example. My wife works for one of the big Canadian banks. Pre-Covid she had a deal that she only needed to be there once a week and for important face to face sessions. Post-Covid, 3 days a week and it's monitored. Guaranteed the city is giving a kickback because the city council was front and centre stating they need employees back to recover economically before these new mandates came in from the work places.
I actually enjoy working from the office in our hybrid schedule because our servers are very slow when remote, but I can see the benefit of working from home and don't mind others doing that at all.
I mean y were for Google not the other way.They must have seen some productivity issues that's why they are calling for the benefit of the company.Anyway who doesn't want to work at Google.. I would go even on Sundays if I get the opportunity..It is a brand ,the pay is good,the company looks good inside,has free food..what else? They are entitled to call y becos they pay y .
Google owns Googleplex. They have a massive sunk cost in office work. They even have a massive interest in influencing other corporations to go back to work because that sunk cost affects their asset sheet.
Because during the height of covid businesses still needed work doing so the employees got let off the leash a little but they also knew it was opening the eyes of the employees to maybe a better balance in future - and that kind of presumption of permanent change needed to be stamped out by the businesses so the message of 'we can soon get back to usual ' was sold to everyone as the goal. However, the 'usual' was basically an employer holding ALL the cards, and employees are now unsurprisingly reluctant to give back the few they were given during the height of covid.
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