@mac I really feel the open offices and getting sick parts. I have an awful immune system and only go outside the house once a week in fear of getting sick, so both the concepts of an open floor plan and sitting in a (usually very uncomfortable) office during flu season never appealed to me.

I get so much done when I work from home. I have my lab environment. I can eat healthily on a budget, I can be around my family and my animals. I focus more, do more, and stress less.

@mac @SQLAllFather As someone that worked successfully and productively from home for 3 years and now spends 18 hours commuting for only 5 office visits every 2 weeks, it really sucks the life out of you.

I did like being in the office previously and working with my team. But context on “where” you work in an office is key. Before COVID we all had offices and a door to close. Now I have to work in a new office farther away in a cube farm with low walls, and the noise is sometimes overwhelming.

@mac Also, "my disability means sometimes I can work, but physically getting to work might be unpleasant or difficult" people.

If I feel like I might have a seizure, I shouldn't go into the office that day. But sometimes it's a false alarm, and being able to work from home is a great compromise in those situations.

There are a lot of people who are disabled by any casual use of the word, but not in a way that is visibly obvious enough for people to really stop and think about what they need.

@mac I would like to find whoever said "open offices are the future, we should use the model everywhere" and give them a good swift kick in the ass.

For all the space to think an open office offers, I might as well be in a bar, and at least there I could get a drink to go with my continually shattered concentration.

@mac Ive been full time WFH since 2013

I almost never need a sick day (when I do it's usually a migraine - not something communicable)

I also don't mind nearly so much the occasional "long running thing" that means I keep working late- I'm already home - no need to worry about traffic etc...

@mac I know people who really thrive on being in the office. I... Am not one of them. To them I say "You do you boo"

My favourite excuse for forcing people in is "high quality conversations with people you just run into". So stochastic knowledge management then? This is a very bad thing. If person X needs to know, make it a meeting. Which can be remote.

I now go in to run workshops when needed. Nothing I've tried yet beats a real post-it note. Believe me I've tried!

@mac i've had two really great experiences working in person against a sea of atomized individual task assignments. there's no reason for 7 plus or minus 2 people to sit together just to put on their headphones and individually despair about different individual goals.

imo most places can't stomach the feeling of being less than fully in control that leads to actual in person collaboration (slack time, less than 100% planned utilization, self direction etc).

@mac Covered that here.

Most companies are on a path trying to get key employees back to the office. Return to work is the beating drum.

The problem is that many of those key employees – highly skilled, in huge demand – have tasted freedom, and don’t want to go back. And in the context of trend #8 – Knowledge Velocity – they are in the ‘driver’s seat.’

https://jimcarroll.com/2022/12/23-trends-for-2023-9-entrenched-workback-pushback/

@mac
My job is public facing, (librarian) so I need* to be here. but if I ever got a job that wasn't? Fuck going to an office. I'm immunocompromised and dislike driving.

*While we absolutely could have just a screen people could talk to, admin's desire to cut jobs sounds FAR too strong for me to consider it.

@mac

I'll add another. I just had emergency surgery and because I work from home, I"ll be back working a full 3 days earlier. This is entirely my choice, but if I had to drive or even bus/train to an office I'd be taking at least a couple more days off.

@mac don't forget the people with food allergies who couldn't eat the catered lunches, bagel days, or at pizza parties anyways.

...or the IBS people who had to suffer the atrocious panopticon of American office toilets.

@mac I hated, hated the open office. If you want to make me sit in a chair and drive a keyboard for 8 hours a day, give me a damn door.

But that's all behind me now. I traded the keyboard for a semi truck and I'm much happier.

@mac My job is something that physically can't be done remotely, and I wish all the people who wanted to WFH could, so y'all could get out of my way on my commute!! 🤣

Also my partner works from home and it's been a huge benefit to us both, they can be there when the repair person comes, they can watch/walk the dogs while I'm at work, they can answer important phone calls when I can't.

Not to mention WFH is so much better for many people with disabilities, including people like me who are high risk for Covid (it's not over, folx). Going back to the office should be voluntary for roles that don't absolutely require in-person to function. Let the extroverts who want to sit next to their friends go to the office if they want. Let other people determine what works best for them too, whether that's at home, at the office, hybrid, or whatever.