Vermont Skier Visits Down Significantly Due to COVID-19

[BenedictGomez]

I think there are going to be a lot of "disagreements" about this topic for a bit while the dust settles between people that want WFH to continue permanently vs those that want everyone back in the office. A lot depends on your specific role and type of company, but there are many areas that should be able to do just fine with a more flexible WFH/Hybrid arrangement. Companies would be wise to embrace this if at all possible as it will be a significant part of the future of work in many cases. Companies that fail to embrace this and push back too much are going to have more issues with turnover and attracting talent in the long run (there was an article on this topic in Bloomberg a few weeks ago).

That's 100% my belief. It may take a little while, but the companies run by the gray-hairs demanding stricker returns & less WFH are going to have talent-acquisition problems. The genie is out of the bottle.

 

[BenedictGomez]

the company my wife works for sold 4 of the 5 buildings they own in the Denver area since they will be going to a hotel concept where some employees will return 2-3 days per week and some others will be completely WFH such as my wife. The buildings they sold are being renovated into apartments.

And this is the other part of my belief. A commercial real estate crisis is coming, and tons of office buildings are going to be turned into apartment buildings, and now is doubly the perfect time for it due to rising housing prices & demographic trends. The first floor will be restaurants, services, and retail. If there's a publicly traded company tooling up to focus on this, I'd invest in them.

 

[deadheadskier]

Morgan Stanley CEO taking a hard line on folks returning to the office. Sounds like a real prick

'Be back by Labor Day' — Morgan Stanley CEO issues sternest warning yet for employees delaying a return to work

“If you can go to a restaurant in New York City, you can come in to the office,” James Gorman said.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[cdskier]

Morgan Stanley CEO taking a hard line on folks returning to the office. Sounds like a real prick

'Be back by Labor Day' — Morgan Stanley CEO issues sternest warning yet for employees delaying a return to work

“If you can go to a restaurant in New York City, you can come in to the office,” James Gorman said.

www.nbcnews.com

Sounds really pleasant to work for...

I see a lot of the major public finance companies being some of the most adamant about wanting their employees back in the office. There was a recent survey that said something like 39% of people would be willing to quit their jobs if they were forced back to the office. Personally I'd love to see what some of these companies would do if even half of those people followed through.

 

[Edd]

Morgan Stanley CEO taking a hard line on folks returning to the office. Sounds like a real prick

'Be back by Labor Day' — Morgan Stanley CEO issues sternest warning yet for employees delaying a return to work

“If you can go to a restaurant in New York City, you can come in to the office,” James Gorman said.

www.nbcnews.com

Kinda seems like BS but it’s hard for me to say being unfamiliar with that industry. That face to face collaboration thing seems a bit more Silicon Valley and less old school Wall Street. Is he just being a dick?

 

[thebigo]

Had a buddy that worked in the investment industry. They on board people out of college, expect massive hours and then replace people with another grad when they burn out. Effectively treating people as a consumable good; nothing remotely similar to the traditional career paths in most industries. He made his money in his 20's, took a number off years when his kids were young and then found a remote consulting job.

 

[dblskifanatic]

Kinda seems like BS but it’s hard for me to say being unfamiliar with that industry. That face to face collaboration thing seems a bit more Silicon Valley and less old school Wall Street. Is he just being a dick?

Is "The Great Resignation" really coming? Many think that there will be about 30% turn over if people finding new jobs.

 

[2Planker]

Wife's college and our Med. Cntr. are both done w/ WFH on July 1.
Masks req. for the unvacc.
There have definitely been a good number of resignations so far, w/ more to come.....

 

[drjeff]

Guessing that many folks who want to stay 100% WFH and think that they aren't replaceable at their jobs, and that their bosses who they think are dicks for wanting them to be in the office for some period of time, are about to find out that yes, their sh$t does stink regardless of what they think, and that some will move on to bigger and better things, while others, whom are less motivated, will struggle and make excuses rather than admit their own inadequacies

 

[Andrew B.]

Morgan Stanley CEO taking a hard line on folks returning to the office. Sounds like a real prick

'Be back by Labor Day' — Morgan Stanley CEO issues sternest warning yet for employees delaying a return to work

“If you can go to a restaurant in New York City, you can come in to the office,” James Gorman said.

www.nbcnews.com

When you talk about working for a New York salary and living in a less expensive place he has a point.
There are only so many WFH opportunities out there and I expect that market will get real competitive (<$) real quick.

 

[kingslug]

Plus these companies have to justify spending money on office buildings that they have to pay for regardless of how many people are in it.

 

[Harvey]

It is going to be interesting to see how this all plays out. As an owner I'm one of the assholes who'd like to see employees come back. I've been mostly in the office, alone a lot of the time, and personally I do like working from home.

Plus these companies have to justify spending money on office buildings that they have to pay for regardless of how many people are in it.

I'm not exactly objective on the whole WFH thing. Our building isn't really a traditional office building, but it is being used for that. I'm hoping it retains it's value, selling my share of it is/was and important part of my retirement plan.

 

[thebigo]

One of the buzz words around the manufacturing world is hoteling. Office space is no longer dedicated but booked via outlook on in person days. This is necessary for two reasons:

- Manufacturing has simply spread out over the last year and a half. Either moved from factory floor benches to vacant offices or in some cases converted old cubes to production floor space.

- The manner in which the support functions communicate with users has seen a sea change. The old approach was email drawing/code/spec on monday, review for a few days, set a conference call later in the week. Struggle mightily to understand the problem, give up and get on a plane. If lucky, the issue would be resolved within a couple weeks. The new approach is email the inquiry Monday morning, set a teams meeting Monday afternoon, spend several hours on Teams and have the issue resolved on Tuesday.

The tools were available a couple years ago but not adapted because older engineers tend to be set in their ways. At many organizations nobody below the director or SME level have offices with an actual door. The staff engineers are in a cubicle farm not suitable for spending several hours a day on Teams.

Also of note, in my experience, the Americas have led on the WFH transition. LATAM/US/CAN have largely transitioned; EUROPE got everyone back in the office as as soon as possible - to the point of spreader events among PHD level developers that should have been WFH.

 

[Hawk]

I am on the other end of this. I see no issues with coming back to work. I never left. It actually has been great the last year. My commute went from 2-3 hours a day to 1 hr a day. My favorite lunch spots stay open in one form or another. So I wore a mask and distanced myself. it was fine and I saved a ton of money not eating and drinking out all the time. just looking on the bright side I guess. Now everything is opening up here in Boston and things are close to normal around here. I find it really odd that the people that don't want to come back to work are the same people that can't get me what I need and are always late to meetings and deliverables. They are also posting pictures about dinner with friends and at restaurants. Sorry, time for all you soft cream puffs to get back to work. I don't really care about your pissing about achieving work life balance. I worked my ass off so why should not you.

 

[Hawk]

Sounds really pleasant to work for...

I see a lot of the major public finance companies being some of the most adamant about wanting their employees back in the office. There was a recent survey that said something like 39% of people would be willing to quit their jobs if they were forced back to the office. Personally I'd love to see what some of these companies would do if even half of those people followed through.

There is all this talk about the great rebellion. I hear this all the time. But if that amount of people quit, there is certainly not enough jobs to re-employ all of those people. So that coupled with all the newcomers from the college ranks, I think finding a place is going to be very competitive. No? and with all the unemployment benefits ending and at some point evictions will start, and you will find that back to work will have more urgency to people even going back to the office. On a side note, I have several young relatives looking for work and they are saying that the WFH options are not what the business are selling so this revolution is not in full swing yet.

 

[thebigo]

I am on the other end of this. I see no issues with coming back to work. I never left. It actually has been great the last year. My commute went from 2-3 hours a day to 1 hr a day. My favorite lunch spots stay open in one form or another. So I wore a mask and distanced myself. it was fine and I saved a ton of money not eating and drinking out all the time. just looking on the bright side I guess. Now everything is opening up here in Boston and things are close to normal around here. I find it really odd that the people that don't want to come back to work are the same people that can't get me what I need and are always late to meetings and deliverables. They are also posting pictures about dinner with friends and at restaurants. Sorry, time for all you soft cream puffs to get back to work. I don't really care about your pissing about achieving work life balance. I worked my ass off so why should not you.

I am sure you are a cool dude to ski with but I am really glad I do not work with you.

 

[Hawk]

What you don't get frustrated when people fall down, impact your project and you get blamed for it? That is what is happening to me. I have no problem with people that follow through but I have no sympathy for people that don't. Most of the people I work with are great and are actually friends. I have been with most for over 15 years. All of us think alike. Work is serious in my position and I don't get a pass when things fail. Sorry if I seam harsh.

 

[cdskier]

What you don't get frustrated when people fall down, impact your project and you get blamed for it? That is what is happening to me. I have no problem with people that follow through but I have no sympathy for people that don't. Most of the people I work with are great and are actually friends. I have been with most for over 15 years. All of us think alike. Work is serious in my position and I don't get a pass when things fail. Sorry if I seam harsh.

For me and the people I work with, if the work gets done, I don't care where someone is doing it from. If someone slacks though (either when doing WFH or in the office), then I have a problem with it too. But at least for me in my company, I haven't seen any drop in productivity with people WFH. The key is managers need to hold the people that work for them accountable. The same people that slacked in the office (and had managers that didn't care back then) are still the same people slacking while working from home. The people that got stuff done when in the office are the same people still getting stuff done working from home.

 

[kingslug]

The problem is not having face to face meetings so things are just not getting done? approved ,etc. Its very easy to cut a meeting short and not do anything when we are all online or on the phone. Plus there are just some things you have to be there to see..not just see photos sent to you. Its getting frustrating.

 

[NYDB]

I think there was a certain momentum when WFH was forced on everyone due to covid. Projects were already underway, people knew each other from the office, etc. so projects were still getting done and productivity remained relatively high. We coasted a while on that but the harsh reality is most people are more productive at the office.

Also, you are starting to read stories about people having 2-3 different WFH jobs because why not?

It is time for everyone to get back to the office so that I may have less crowded beaches, trails and ski slopes during the week.