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President Joe Biden used part of his State of the Union address to urge employees to go back to offices, saying it was time to "fill our great downtowns again."

"We can end the shutdown of schools and businesses," the president claimed. "We have the tools we need."

However, people aren't feeling too psyched about it. With so many having successfully proved they can perform their tasks just as well (if not better) working remotely and gas prices continuing to rise due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it's no wonder some don't like the decision. To better understand the reasons why, we took a look at social media where users have been voicing their complaints.

#2

Remote Work

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ZAPanda
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

our offices in SA are gradually turning into flats. Not nationalised, but I did propose it to our government.

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Gallup's State of the Workforce study conducted in May/June with more than 9,000 American workers found that 91% of workers in the U.S. working at least some of their hours remotely were hoping their ability to work at home would persist after the pandemic.

Hybrid work was most preferred. Overall, 54% of respondents said they would ideally like to split their time between working at home and in the office. A little over a third (37%) would like to work from home exclusively, while just 9% wanted to return to the office full time.

#3

Remote Work

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June
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Noise, smells, bad coffee, waste of time, can't do chores during my break...

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#4

Employers: Get Right Or Get Left.

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Iifa A.
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's just smart. Especially these days where the employees don't want free pizza Friday and a 20cent raise. They will quit for better conditions, benefits and not being forced to chit chat with random colleagues is a huge massive bonus. I think it's unreasonable to discuss anything not work related in work. I work there, I don't need friends and I have my own family. To point out any company who mentions we are family, RUN. Most families are toxic and dysfunctional even if pleasant there's always some skeletons. I decline to have my own family or work family part of my daily activities. All i come to do is my job for the paid time and then leave, no drinks, no chit chat, no games, after work team building etc. No no no. CEO is right!

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Time preservation was the key reason for wanting to work remotely:

Not having to commute, needing the flexibility to balance work and personal obligations, and improved wellbeing (which likely results from having more time) were the top-cited reasons for preferring remote work.

3 in 10 employees working remotely said they are extremely likely to seek another job if their company eliminates remote work.

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#5

Remote Work

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LOttawa
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Where I work, they've divided the "work from the office crowd" in 3 groups. Group 1: those that have to work from the office (they never stopped going in), group 2: those that want to go in the office (they are planning their return) and group 3: those who don't want to go back (we may have to go in once every 2 weeks... maybe...)

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#6

Remote Work

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KJ
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nice to have such cheap fuel, its roughly $9.68 here currently and rising.

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#7

Tweet

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Lola
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Don’t forget public transportation in big cities. They want you to use those as well. Plus the restaurant businesses which survive with office personnel.

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While most workers didn't think remote work will improve their office culture, they didn't think it will hurt it either. Two-thirds of all full-time U.S. employees thought that having people work remotely long term will have either no effect or a positive effect on their workplace culture; the remaining third thought it will be negative.

"The data runs counter to the idea that always being in the office is the best way to foster culture," Brian Elliott, the Future Forum's executive leader and Slack senior vice president, said. "Using digital tools is really important to building a culture for people who aren't the average white male executive. Companies that invest in modern tools and in rethinking how they bring people together will do better than those insisting on full-time office work."

#8

Remote Work

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Lola
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Our governments supporting the oil industry? You don’t say!

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#9

Remote Work

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Jo Choto
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We should think of it as a way to screw Russia and support Ukraine. If we suddenly drop our fuel usage, we could at least temporarily ditch our dependency on Russian imports!

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The Future Forum, developed by workplace-messaging platform Slack, surveyed more than 10,000 workers globally in the summer of 2021 and found an "executive-employee disconnect" with regard to returning to work. Three-quarters of all executives reported they want to work from the office three to five days a week, compared with about one-third of employees. Among executives who have primarily worked completely remotely through the pandemic, 44% said they wanted to come back to the office every day. Just 17% of employees said the same.

Most executives (66%) also reported they were designing post-pandemic workforce policies with little to no direct input from employees. 

#11

Remote Work

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LH25
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've been working from home for 2.5 years now. I also am dealing with spinal issues that put me in the hospital last month. If I had to go in 5 days a week, I'd have to consider going out on disability. Working from home means I can keep working full-time. Even if some days that means taking more breaks and working later to make up the time. We have been called back into the office for 8 days a month next month, I'm working with my doctor's office to get FMLA paperwork allowing me to continue working from home.

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#13

Remote Work

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Nojman
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I agree. I have a friend who works case management and be occasionally has to go to the office for meetings or some paperwork.

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Bringing people back to the office for chance meetings in an elevator or by the water cooler, according to Elliott, is "mythology."

Still, it's possible those interactions are much more valuable to an executive than to an employee — further leading to the disconnect, said Amy Zimmerman, chief people officer at Relay Payments, which has worked with founders and executives to develop and nurture culture.

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#14

This Resonates Really Strongly With Me.

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Lola
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’m a teacher and I can’t work from home, but I do enjoy the lighter traffic for sure. You people continue to work from home because it makes our commutes so much easier 😁

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#15

Job Was Described As Work From Home Regularly But Must Be Able To Come In-Person As Needed. After Learning On Day #1 That "As Needed" Meant M-F 9-5, Had To Pull Teeth To Wfh T/Th. Expressed My Concerns A Couple Of Times To No Avail Before Putting My Foot Down. Felt Good.

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Jo Choto
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think I have FINALLY figured out what irks me so much about these interactions. (I'm autistic, it takes me longer). It's that the bosses talk to the employees like they are parents or something. There is no sense that the interactions or of two equal adults. These so-called managers think they just have the right to issue commands and the other person has to obey. That's just not how it works in the professional world. As indicated by the other person just quitting. Wish everyone who was treated this way had the same options.

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#16

Remote Work

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WilvanderHeijden
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

By the time you arrive at your work you could already have worked 2 hours. If everyone promised to work 5 hours per week extra for free if they could WFH, all the employers would stop pressuring people to come in.

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Zimmerman highlighted that older executives rely on face-to-face communication to get a better sense of what's going on throughout their organizations; they also may have more need for those chance conversations to keep tabs on a large number of employees.

"I've worked with a CEO who told me he just liked the energy of the office," Zimmerman recalled. "There was something about seeing the cars in the parking lot that brought him joy. The fact is, corporate America is likely changed forever. You're making a huge mistake if you're requiring folks back in office full time, because they see the progress most companies have made in the last two years, and they'll ask, 'why?' It feels like micromanagement."

#17

Office Culture

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Hawkmoon
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Depressing. And the vent isn't even strong enough to hang yourself, I bet.

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#18

Remote Work

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WilvanderHeijden
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The only pro of an office space is that the employer has better control over the employees. That's also the only reason why those employers don't want their staff to work from home. Has got nothing to do with "team play" or "short lines of communication", it's all about control.

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#19

Remote Work

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Tom Spade
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I so wish that I had the skills to work from home. I run a biofuel plant, and gotta be there. I like my job, but f**k I hate that place. Been out with a back injury for a week, and oddly enough it's still the best week I've had in years. Since my kids were little, at least.

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Over 90% of employers are planning to adopt a hybrid model this year, according to recent research from tech consulting firm Gartner – but researchers expect several high-profile companies to "change course" in the months ahead and demand that employees return to the office full-time, citing high turnover rates and a perceived loss of organizational culture.

#21

Remote Work

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#24

Remote Work

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DonS
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Exactly! Remote work is now a priority when looking at a job. If my current job force a return to the office, I'll quit in an instant since there's a lot of opening in my field. For now, my boss seems to want people back for "socializing" and "team building via socializing" purpose only. I call BS, they just don't want their nice office space to be wasted with nobody in it.

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“We’ve been learning to work remotely either part or all of the time on the fly during this crisis,” Peter Cappelli, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, said. “There’s a lot of moving parts that are difficult to manage, too, without being able to predict with full confidence what the consequences will be: What if employees don’t agree on what days to come in, or how do you equally measure the performance of people who are remote vs. in the office, avoiding proximity bias?”

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#25

Remote Work

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Mohammad Ammar
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think for most people the commute is the biggest con. It sets your routine but the traffic and cost isn't worth it.

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#27

Remote Work

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Peej Maybe
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This in a nutshell. In a lot of cases (mine included) it's more about the senior management team not trusting their employees to do their jobs at home unsupervised. I mean no one needs a manager who specialises in micromanagement if their workforce is working from home. Our place is also now trying to introduce timesheets / metrics, it's like living through the 90s all over again

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Naesil
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Before the pandemic there was no chance that us external workers would have been allowed to work remotely, because management didnt trust that anything gets done, now after couple of years I think they start to realize that actually even more gets done and seems like at least our own company is ready if you want to renew contract to make it official that you are remote worker, but our customer Im not so sure about, they have not yet demanded anyone to return to offices so probably we can decide ourselves how we wanna do it. Those who want to work from office can and those who want to work remotely probably can if they come in when needed.

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Bob Bobbins
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've worked from home for 10 years and used to have to sort of pretend I didn't, and "hide" it for this very reason. People used to think that if you worked from home you were a lazy slacker hanging around in sweatpants, doing nothing, as if physically being in the office prevented you from slacking off. Now that everyone's done it because of COVID, they know better. If you can work remotely, you should be able to do so. If you want to go into the office, go ahead. But don't act like working from home is any less productive.

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DuchessDegu
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm old, I don't have any employees atm, but I'd delegate tasks and deadlines. As long as it's done correctly and to the deadline, I don't give a toss if you're working from your high spec home office, Tesco car park, or a strip club. Just get the job done!

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Kathryn Baylis
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’m 61, so one of those “old people” too. I have ALWAYS hated micromanagers—-I actually work worse and slower with someone breathing down my neck—-whether in person or remote. You know, demanding way too many “check ins” by Zoom, email or phone, which eat up too many hours per day. They don’t realize it takes time to compose those f*****g ridiculous check in reports. You have to wait until management logs off to actually put your head down and do your work. Therefore, I would never pressure anyone and waste their time “checking in” more than once a week, or every couple days if a deadline is close. Like you, as long as everything’s getting done well and on time, I prefer to leave people TF alone. I would also be an advocate for my people and not hesitate to tell the suits they’re f*****g dreaming when their time and workload demands are impossible and inhumane. I would tell them I’d get back to them with a realistic deadline after consulting with my team.

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James016
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

100% this. I have seen a lot of comments along the lines of: “if your job can be done at home then it can be outsourced to another country” and “if you want to work from home then your pay should be reduced” THAT’s NOT HOW IT WORKS

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Oopsydaisy
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The whole 'it can be done from another country' argument really annoys me. If a company honestly thought that they would have done it ages ago. The majority of office based jobs that are done locally are there because they need to be done locally. In Australia our biggest Telco is running an ad campaign about how they are bringing call centres back to Australia because they have realised local knowledge is needed. It's such a nonsensical argument.

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Kathleen King
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

<<Old person here and I prefer the work from home. Some can't help but label others they know nothing about.

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Beachbum
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I fel the same way. At my office we all pulled together, no deadlines missed, no filings missed. We took turns coming in when we had to get exhibit binders made or had a huge fling it was definitely the definition of team work!! WE said we can still do it, but they said no....s**t we did it for almost 2 years!

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Maripat Webber
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hey, I’m OLD and I’ve been pushing for remote work all. my. professional. life. The push to in person is coming from concern for rich real estate developers and incompetent managers who like to lord it over competent staff IN PERSON. They miss ostentatiously glancing at the clock whenever the minions arrive or leave.

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Seth Marsh
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They couldn't fathom it before the pandemic, but now they've seen people actually perform better. Middle managers have seen hard evidence that their jobs are nothing more than a financial drain on the company, and they're desperate to bury that evidence and return to the old status quo where they can feel important.

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L.a. Williams
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes you are children that need watching. I wonder if one of the biggest reasons is people in management positions aren't needed if you work at home.

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Jonathan Panda
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm a trucker. I work much better if I'm left alone, it makes me anxious constantly watching over my shoulder for someone telling me that I'm not working hard enough.

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China Nolan
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Bosses should be honest. Bottom line is they don't trust workers, they got ripped off for the office rent and they can't sexually harass people at home and there's no one to power trip on at home. All the other "rationales" are smoke and mirrors.

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Jo Iverson
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Bosses hired this people because they were qualified for the position. Give them the autonomy to do their f**king job.

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Jaybird3939
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The managers are upset because they have no one to follow around, drinking coffee/whatever, subtly intimidating employees, complaining to other managers, etc. That's usually the total extent of their jobs, unless they are actually working on a project.

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GPZ
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Please don't down-vote me for this but, to a certain degree I can understand the concern about work not being done (and there are a few people who will take advantage of this situation to bludge and risk fouling it up for everyone else), HOWEVER, there are ways to quantify the work being completed/performed in a WFH environment without needing to drag people back into the office.

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Beenie Cat
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Then get a job that's not office space. Get a job building the office space for others to use.

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Mattie
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

maybe they haven't figured out how to export documents as pdf's, haven't got anyone to do it for them anymore, and are too lazy or stupid to learn

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Companies might consider, he added, either transitioning to be remote or in-office full-time to avoid such spots. "Moving toward a hybrid workforce is pretty complicated to figure out, and nobody knows quite how well it works for an organization because it’s still so new for most employers."

As we can see, people working from home have said it's helped them maintain a better work-life balance, manage childcare responsibilities and be more productive, among other benefits, but sadly, such praises might not be enough to prevent companies from pushing a return to the office.

#29

Nothing Beats A Passive Aggressive Guilt Trip To Welcome Workers Back - Spotted In Toronto.

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Lola
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Everyone should attach their resignation letter to that flyer.

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#30

Remote Work

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Joran Quinten
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

To be fair, presidents of the USA have all been working from home, yes? Or how does the gig with the White House work?

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