[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

For most office jobs, there is little reason they need to be in-office.

I have worked remotely for most of the past 15 years (save for a horrific 4-year period where I was in-office). I am much more productive at home than on the random days when I go into the office.

My company, like many, is widely distributed across the United States. So when I'm having meetings, it is very, very rarely with people all in the same geographic location as me. And if one person is remote, everyone might as well be remote.

For people that say you can't coach or mentor or collaborate or build a team effectively online, I call b.s. on that. You have to do it DIFFERENTLY and it takes a different type of effort and approach, but good managers/leaders can do all of those things as well remotely as they can in person - again, for most office jobs.

There are obviously professions and careers that require being in-person. But most office gigs are not them.

Regarding working fewer hours, so many people work in corporate America now, I think that trend lines up with more people accepting the reality of how companies work these days. Especially if you work for a huge corporation... killing yourself for the company just doesn't pass a cost-benefit analysis.

Personal example:
In the early 10s, I was working for a huge company (top 10 Fortune company, and the division I worked for would have been in the Fortune 100 if it was its own entity). I worked from home, and worked a LOT. Like 55-60 hours a week a lot. I was the star performer on my team, received the top available review rating 5 years in a row... and my efforts were rewarded with "top of raise band" raises of 2.5-3%, and one year, a Christmas Bonus of... an Origami Christmas Ornament made from company cardstock.

I have shifted over time... some of those production hours now go to my family. Some more of them go into volunteering on the board of a local professional association I belong to.

I don't think that's uncommon or unhealthy.

For me, I’m very unproductive when working from home what little I did of it during the pandemic lockdown. I think if I ever got a job that was specifically advertised as a work from home position, I wouldn’t do well. If the job gave me the option, I’d take the office