OP isn't demanding the company become all remote. They aren't dictating how you work. They want everyone to have an option to work in the manner that is best for them.

And this creates a bad dichotomy. If half team is remote and other has is in office it creates a really unbalanced interaction pattern.

I agree with both perspectives and not sure what I prefer but do think the team should be consistent (all remote or all in person). I don't want to have standup with 8 engineers in person and 1 engineer remote on VC.

Can you imagine a football team half remote / half on the field? It can be only one or the other (when they all play it coop via a game console). And yes, the specifics of our work is different (software development happens in the mind) but the underlying principles of human communication are the same. Fully remote communication works but worse than on-site unless you are outsourced or one of the 1k employees where they measure your productivity by the lines of committed code. Seriously, this road of thinking popularised by the latter type of employees because they are the majority I am afraid.

>Can you imagine a football team half remote / half on the field?

On gameday several members of the coaching staff for football teams are in skyboxes in the stadium removed from the players and coaches on the field. That is because they prefer to have an aerial view that allows them to see the game better. It works better for them and therefore it works better for the team. Your analogy doesn't provide the obvious answer you think it does.

Yes, working for a remote-only environment is vastly different from mixed. I don't know how companies are going to handle this without committing significant effort to making sure remote workers are kept in the loop.

An interesting question that's still TBD is how well companies can operate with a significant in-office team and remote team. I think this past 18 months has proven that fully remote can work, but it may be the case that a 50/50 remote/office split is significantly harder to manage.

Anecdotally, my company had an office team and a remote team split about 50/50 before and unrelated to COVID, and it was tricky. We don't have a lot of meetings, but when we did, it was hard to have a physical group in a conference room with a remote group on a screen. We solved that by effectively going fully remote for meetings that involved remote employees - everyone who was physically in the office would connect to a video call at their individual desks. I was personally fine with it, but some people definitely prefer (and work better in) that physical conference room setting.

All of that to say, the way one person works might be a forcing factor for others, even if they don't intend for it to be. Tricky problem.

If I'm in a meeting of any size, I'm dealing with people spread over offices and remote across North America and Europe anyway.

>We solved that by effectively going fully remote for meetings that involved remote employees

Yes, this is the process that teams within my extended team mostly follow.

I've been in physical/remote meeting splits. It's not really that hard. The trick is having everyone sign into the meeting with their own PC.

Yes, thank you for clarifying this. Let everyone work in the way that's best for them.

What if your employer agreed to rent you an office space? Or converted your office to more of a WeWork style space where you can reserve a desk?

I'm thinking this is where companies will be headed. For employees who want to work remotely, let them. For everyone else, either rent them small offices or allow them to come to the office as they choose.

I'd rather be in a space with other coworkers at that point.

Let's be honest, most of us didn't have a problem with the office, most of us had a problem with the open office and the commute, both of which are solvable. This remote work trend will peak (I don't know when, but it will), and we will come full circle back to offices again, and the ones that offer an office with a door will reap the rewards. Hopefully by then America has also figured out the infrastructure issue.

I had an office with a door for 11 years at 2 different companies. It was great. Then I had to switch jobs where we had cubicles but we worked from home half the time. My current job is all cubicles even for managers. People are always talking on conference calls the entire day. I have been work from home since March 2020 and I get so much more done.

We are planning to start 2 days in the office in September. I'm hoping it gets delayed. I would love to have an office with a door again but I'm just happy we don't have a giant table with an open floorplan like some of my friends.

> Let's be honest, most of us didn't have a problem with the office, most of us had a problem with the open office and the commute, both of which are solvable.

I kinda agree with this. at least, I wouldn't mind going to the office if it was a pleasant ten minute walk from my home. but how is the commute a solvable problem? many offices are located in suburban office parks. no one wants to live there. and desirable neighborhoods within walking distance of good employers are, well, desirable. you can't pay everyone enough money to live in the same nice places where everyone else also wants to live.

> but how is the commute a solvable problem?

By holding politicians feet to the fire when they've acted like infrastructure is their number one priority for the past 30 years. We should have high speed rail connecting every major city at this point but for some godforsaken reason we don't. We should have light rails and cable cars, and other green forms of transportation lightening the car load, and down the road, heavier investment in driverless technology (as well as supporting infrastructure) can almost eliminate congestion.

Sounds like a lot, but America has done more in less time. We just have allowed cynicism and paralysis to take over.

> I'd like to get back into the office where I don't hear my dogs bark at every bird that lands in the back yard

I'm enjoying working from home along with the sights and sounds, except for leaf blowers. I can look out my window and watch squirrels play. Luckily I only have one neighbor with a dog and it doesn't bark much. But this comment makes me wonder why you bother having a dog if you don't even like the sounds they make.

Leaf blowers should be outright banned in cities as their main effect is to blow dirt onto everyone else. Maybe now that so many people are working from home, we'll get some pushback on such "affluenza" that otherwise went unnoticed by commuters.

it's great that you have a private office. But most of the tech world are in open office floorplans now where the distractions are vastly greater than any at home.

And I'm not ready for spending 3 hours in a car everyday. That's a slow suicide

Few people (some, but few) are asking for companies to eliminate the office for people who want to be there. From what I've read, there are even more people who prefer 2-3 days in the office to a fully remote lifestyle.

The real sticking point seems to be attendance requirements.

Having to go somewhere every day even if it takes 3 hours to get there and back, whether you're more productive there or not.

Having to be there certain hours, even if a slight shift in hours would save you thousands of dollars a year in childcare expenses.

Having to sit at the desk until 5 pm (or longer) for show, even if you're a salaried employee, are fried from numerous meetings or an intense thinking job, and spent other time -- not at the desk -- thinking about work problems.

Having to work all of your 8-10 hours in a row, even if you would be more productive if you broke it up into 1-4 hour bursts spread throughout the day.

I take it you do not work in an open office.

I'm not the person you replied to. But I do work in an open office for a small startup. My productive went straight down the drain when working from home. I much prefer working at the office. I guess people are just different.

Improve your home, you can control that. You have almost zero control at the office.