Technology

And they are smart enough to put us at the very bottom of the management ladder, even though we're not actually management. That way we can't legally unionize. In the U.S. at least.

I agree. I'm in pre-sales working at an AWS partner and honestly our whole team is treated as dispensable.

That's the intention behind that back to work decision.

Ironically I've found it's harder for people to run away in remote, people don't disappear from their desks and you don't have to chase them down. If they don't message back and it's urgent, you call and if they don't pick up a call and haven't marked themselves as such something's up. People are extremely dilligent about making sure they use status' due to the knowledge that people will assume that way.

It's tripping me up you had to point out you're not a boomer instead of just saying you're from Gen X.

I think you might be surprised. There’s literally dozens of us gen-x’ers on here. (I’m 53).

Luckily I work for a university and the hybrid thing is still going strong. Honestly I tend to get more done when I’m at home because the social aspect of being at work is very distracting for someone with ADHD like me.

And I hope they do regret it. The only managers I’ve seen that push for the RTO thing are the micromanagers who think they are necessary for productivity. News flash, they aren’t. The best managers set expectations, shield their employees from the bullshit above them, give them the appropriate tools and work environments to be successful, and trust them to do what is necessary.

And yes I’d never work for a Google or an Amazon. You’re a cog, a disposable piece of machinery.

These people aren't interested in hearing dissenting opinions. I'm sure they've already heard arguments for it. They just don't care. They'd rather cut costs by doing something many people won't tolerate so that they leave and then figuring it out after the fact.

They are going to regret this?

A company doesn't remember, and the people who are actually responsible don't have regrets cuz the other option was to hand over control to someone else (hopefully more qualified).

They are going to regret this.

I really hope they do. But now is a good time to put the squeeze on devs. Lots of people are having a hard time finding a software job and they'll be extra reluctant to do a mass exodus.

Yup. We recently had a complaint that a collaborative meeting was difficult for people on call, so our solution was to make it 100% remote. The meeting is still collaborative, but now everyone has an equal opportunity to participate.

We do 2x in office, 3x WFH, and it's the perfect ratio IMO. Value of in-person time:

• questions get answered quickly - easy to tell if someone is available for a quick question, and faster response than Slack
• in-person collaboration - screen sharing works, but actually being able to point and type has a ton of value
• casual discussions - chat about upcoming projects over lunch or a coffee break long before they're actually important, which can make future meetings smoother

All of that can be done remotely, and we certainly do a fair amount of that, but it's nice to have a little in-person time. That said, my WFH days are sacred because that's when I actually get work done.

Probably. But this way you have no control on who quit, with a good probability that are the better ones.

Layoffs are not bad press. Not to the shareholders, the only ones who matter to these types. I used to think "oh, layoffs mean the company isn't doing so good," but shareholders see "they reduced cost but lost no customers, thus increasing value of the company should it be sold."

Go into the office and waste every resource you can.

Plug in a fan + heater + aquarium + massage pad at your desk and leave everything on constantly even when you leave

Print every email and throw it in the trash.

Make coffee 50x a day and pour it down the sink

Flush a whole roll of TP every hour

Leave sinks on in the bathroom

Use entire tubs of soap to wash your hands

Turn on the microwave for hours at a time

Heat/cool office thermometer to force HVAC into overdrive

Open new browser windows until your computer crashes and repeat until the network goes down

Company wide meme emails that everyone participates in (team building) that crash servers and dominate inboxes

Pour sugar/crumbs everywhere so there's pest problems

FORM A UNION

(nuclear option) introduce bedbugs to all your bosses offices

negative press

pretty fucked up that quiet firing via RTO bullshit is less negative press than just laying people off

Don't clog the toilets. It's not the c-suites who have to clean that up.

There are two ways to quit: How management wants you to or because you're forming a union.

That's stupid. Don't get fired for cause, that only hurts you. Spend your time looking for a new job, then quit and leave ASAP.

This is the part not being reported in the news.

Many of us are simply working half as much as we did when we were remote. It's not worth trying to impress these people. They hate us.