Tech workers consider escaping Silicon Valley’s sky-high rents

Re:Tech workers consider escaping Silicon Valley’s sky-high ... by dcolkitt on Thursday May 14, 2020 @01:43PM (#23182780)

I see it from the opposite side. This won't be employee-pulled, but company-pushed.

Many organizations are going to be significantly cash-strapped at the end of this recession. One of the juiciest targets will be cutting the high fixed cost of office leases. Especially in expensive areas like Silicon Valley. If a company can push the average employee to work from home 3 days a week, they can convert to floating desks and cut their real estate costs by 50% or more.

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Re:Tech workers consider escaping Silicon Valley’s sky-high ... by mikeryan on Thursday May 14, 2020 @01:53PM (#23182938)

I run a small tech company in the Bay Area, and while rents are not cheap, they end up being a very small percentage of costs - particularly compared to salaries.

I think you'll find some companies that your suggestion as workable but I don't see a lot of companies embracing it wholesale from a financial perspective.

Also most leases are fairly locked it's not an easy way to address short-term cash flow issues, especially compared to reducing headcount.

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Re:Tech workers consider escaping Silicon Valley’s sky-high ... by chris11 on Thursday May 14, 2020 @08:58PM (#23187658)

Floating desks sounds really unenjoyable. Plus I'd have health concerns about that before a vaccine is developed.

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