Sure. He would keep conversations confidential if you requested.
His door was always open and he listened with an empathetic ear.
He would clearly state if there was something that we would have to tell management or something that he wouldn't be able to do.
Example: I walked into his office (I had been working there for the better part of a decade at that point) and stated that I had received an annual review from my boss (A Senior Leader). The review was overall was good but had some criticism that didn't sit well with me. He listened and gave me advice on how to handle it (talk to these people, ask these types of questions). He kept it confidential. Over time, he was the trusted figure. I think the trust is what made him such an "employee advocate".
Sure, but if it was a bad review, and the company wanted you gone, you bet your ass he wouldn't be Mr "employee advocate"
HR's job is to prevent the company from getting sued. They are NEVER on anybody but the company's side. Period.
They aren’t supposed to be on your side. They protect the interests of the company against litigation. It’s human resource management. And you’re the resource.
The only way to win is to play the game of thrones with them. Con the con man. Study your labor laws, and be always one step ahead.
Only met 1 person in about 7 years that was able to actually “advise” on how to navigate the company’s short term leave policy. Gave a balanced view of the pros/cons and asks questions to understand your personal situation rather than regurgitating something canned.
Only met 1 person in about 7 years that was able to actually “advise” on how to navigate the company’s short term leave policy. Gave a balanced view of the pros/cons and asks questions to understand your personal situation rather than regurgitating something canned.
That seems like a major over-generalization in my opinion. There are definitely incompetent HR professionals out there, but to say that at every organization in every industry they rank the lowest seems… unrealistic
She posted a seemingly opposite opinion less than a year ago… https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6922139177174097920?updateEntityUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_feedUpdate%3A%28V2%2Curn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A6922139177174097920%29
They've so much assets tied up in real estate, companies are forcing back to office so the commercial real estate market doesn't crash causing all these companies huge reductions in capital assets. It's complete bullshit manipulation of a market, all for control and inflated balance sheets.
Land and buildings are recorded at historical cost, so how much it cost to buy and build. If they inflate the value to account for the market that's against GAAP and illegal. I think that's part of what Trump is in trouble for on the financial front.
Sincerely, an accounting major
You forget the working class that takes care of these buildings as well. For every office building there are teams of people that clean, provide security and manage the building.
I have been working remotely the last three years. Best decision in my whole life. I have saved so much in commute, office lunches, coffees, bottle water, treating colleagues and so much more that I started saving 10% of my income without an issue.
The cost of all of that surpassed my 20% of income without calculating the expenses in make up, new clothes and new shoes because they would wear out and expensive dinners with your team.
All in all I have saved more than I could spend. Productivity through the roof. I have worked more on my skills as a content writer by having enough time to take the necessary courses without being rude or not spending time with my team.
Let's not mention what I gained, better food, better weight, more time with my family and daughter, non linear work (which means I do my work after my daughter it's asleep 8pm - 11pm).
Electricity doesn't cost me more. I have also saved in phone bills because I have wireless and if there is an important call I use zoom or slack videos.
Like I can't begin to mention all the benefits because they're so much.
So this b*tch here its just a stupid hypocritical self absorbed "HR inventor". She can f*CK off.
I automatically hate anyone who wants other people besides themselves to get back to the office. Fucking hell, if you want to go and live a 20th century existence, then go. Everyone else prefers WFH tyvm.
>Electricity costs have gone through the ROOF.
I've been fully work-from-home since 2021. I haven't noticed a significant spike in my power bill. What I have noticed is that I only fill up my gas tank like 2 times a month instead of 4+ times a month, and since filling up the tank costs around $40, that's at least $80 saved each month = $960 saved each year.
I generally don't eat out during weekdays, whereas I would eat out for lunch whenever I worked in an office, so that's more money saved there.
And most importantly, I'm saving around 2 hours a day / 10 hours a week / over 500 hours a year by not having a daily commute. The amount of time that's saved by being WFH is invaluable.
Anybody who argues against work-from-home from the standpoint of "Working in an office saves workers money!" is arguing from a losing, bad faith position.
My car's gas tank holds about 11 gallons. I live in New Jersey, where gas is currently around $3.30 / gallon. One full tank of gas is around $36.30.
Do you live in California or someplace else where gas is like $5-6 a gallon?
>Do you live in California or someplace else where gas is like $5-6 a gallon?
Europe, where in some point we reached more than 2 euros per liter, around 7.5 usd per gallon.
The Netherlands as well. As per January 2023 the prices for public transit got increased (once again) and they reduced the number of trains, buses etc.
Gas is not too much cheaper in Canada than in Europe. My parents were recently visiting me in TX, and were blown away that I could fill up my Civic for around $30-35 (USD). It would cost me at least about $60 CAD, or $45 USD to do the same in Canada.
Yes, but they are becoming very expensive.
I am in Germany. I calculated that a public transport subscription would cost me as much as filling the tank and paying for the car.
Luckily they are enabling a reduced price from next April. But still, it takes me less than 30 minutes commute with the car and more than one hour with bus and train.
I live in the bay area(California) about 25 minutes from San Francisco and gas is mid 3's-mid4's a gallon for me.. Anyone paying $6 a gallon still is getting ripped off
When russia invaded Ukraine and started to cut all pipelines to Europe, energy and gas companies lost their minds, even the diesel price went through the roof. Now for regular fuel we are back to what amounts to 6,50 dollar per gallon. The cost for heating with natural gas has still quadrupled, I feel the thermostat thing from the post if that is what she meant. I set my thermostat to 60 degree F and nothing more. We have been aided by the warmest winter since 1881.
Your company also [saved a bunch of money](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-how-much-your-company-pays-to-rent-office-space-2015-05-27). Depending on where you work (NYC = high rent, Atlanta = low rent) your company saved 4k to 14k+ on your office space per year.
I find it pretty funny that Goldman Sachs is [cutting 3,200 jobs](https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/09/business/goldman-sachs-job-cuts/index.html) but [Goldman is also pushing for all employees in office](https://youtu.be/64kcd4gQ_Zo?t=325). Goldman has ~40k employees (after the cut). I am going to assume that 50% are in NYC and 50% are at a similar market to Atlanta. Office space costs Goldman ~360m (20k * 14k +20k * 4k). I'm pretty sure that Goldman could get basically all of the monetary savings that they are getting from job cuts if they encouraged WFH.
Goldman, if you read this I charge 1k/hr for consulting ;p
That depends greatly where you live. I live in Montreal. You'd think heating would be a fortune, but it's not cuz electricity is dirt cheap here. Even if it is more expensive where you are, unless you live somewhere really fucking cold, you don't need heat all that much, and as you pointed out, it's still a lot cheaper than gas or public transport.
The only reason I have seen a rise in my electricity price is because Duke Energy was granted a 40% rate increase. It's not because I am working at home.
Whilst I completely agree with what you are saying, a lot of your argument is very US-centric.
In Europe electricity has gone through the roof. Many people only had short commutes anyway, so the time savings are less. Especially if you walked or biked to work then you’re not getting a cost saving on travel either. Then it’s much cheaper to work in an office than it is to run the heating during the day.
Again, I get that the arguments don’t stack up for you, or a lot of people especially in America. But for others the cost saving argument is real.
However it doesn’t negate the fact that I just prefer being at home, and the benefits of not seeing coworkers daily are significant.
I'm in the UK and my last office job had a 3hr/day round commute. It cost me about £100/month financially and both of us quite a bit mentally. Partner was quite often at home anyway so negligible higher heating costs now I'm fully remote, only real added expense for WFH is running the work laptop and 4 monitors for 8hr/day. TBH I'd take a financial hit for the flexibility, sanity and free time I've gained. No fucking around buying stupid office clothes I never wear anywhere else, either.
Plus I can just go to the local village whenever I'm free, and we can confidently order bulk deliveries now we can guarantee one of us will be in whenever they turn up.
I’m not saying that everyone in Europe is better in an office. I am in Europe and very happy to work from home.
I’m saying that where the parent comment says about bad faith arguments, this may not be true in Europe.
What exactly are the increased electricity costs of working from home?
You still heat your house/apartment even if you're not there. In fact, by being there you lower the heating cost (assuming you're a warm-blooded creature, of course. some of the LIL's probably aren't). Your laptop & screen eats what, 50 watts, so that's like maybe 8 kWh per month. You obviously do eat your lunch at home, but since your fridge would be cooling your food anyways, that just adds the energy for cooking. Lights are LED, so what 20 watts? And that's pretty much it.
On the savings side you skip the commute (and the gas&maintenance, or public transport fare), you don't have to 'dress-up' for the office so you need to wash far fewer clothes and spend far less on make-up. Hell, you can easily even skip the shower every now and then. Or just do a quick post-workout rinse.
Simply put, there's no calculation in which going to the office somehow saves you anything.
They do in Finland, Sweden and Germany at least. Some especially eco-conscious people might lower the thermostat to 18 or 16, but a normal house doesn't get that cold from 22 degres in 9 hours anyways. Unless it's reeaaally cold out. Or the house is built like shit.
>You still heat your house/apartment even if you're not there.
Excuse me but do you really do that? Why?? It's basically throwing money away, on top of being environmentally irresponsible.
A sizeable portion of houses and apartments in Northern Europe have separate thermostats in each room. No one is going to walk around their house to turn every single knob down every time they leave and do the same in a cold home when they get back.
Also, the houses are properly insulated, so even if you were to turn it off during the workday, you'd maybe save like 5-10% in heating costs (& CO2).
Modern smart zigbee thermostats are changing this for the better, but it won't have the impact you think it does. Also you can't let a modern house get too cold, because it'll start to get damaged.
She’s right. I would much rather spend 2 hours each day commuting through Boston’s extreme weather conditions, walking through snow, sleet and rain, waiting for unreliable trains and busses - just to be able to bask in the warmth of an office set at a crispy 65 degrees.
Regarding the experience of recent grads - I have thought a lot about this. The reason why office culture is “so important” is that it becomes the foundation of your social life and circle post graduation. We have normalized the consumption of work to the point where it infiltrates our friendships. Consequently, I remember talking far more about work and feeling significantly more embroiled in the daily dramas in my 20s - because my social life was partially an extension of my work life. Moreover, friendships can sometimes last only as long as the job, because you realize your entire friendship was founded on work and nothing else. The unspoken reality is that companies depend on coworker friendships to breed workplace loyalties and retention - ironically, they also actually sow the seeds of discontent.
What if the social experience post college could be defined by real interests and the ability to be near family, or in a location that better suited your interests and hobbies? What if recent grads had a choice for the foundation of their social circles that extended beyond the workplace? No one “needs” the office - that is a myth.
On the point of recent grads, I have a few friends whose talking points post college pivoted entirely to their employer and what they do in the office. No hobbies outside, besides buying an absurd amount of alcohol. (Last time I visited one, they had an entire closet full of wine.) They derive fulfillment from the workplace, which is fine. And I can’t blame them, ‘cause the majority of our lives revolve around work. But that’s not what everyone wants. I wish they wouldn’t force people into the office when it’s unnecessary
That's because you're less likely to get bullied by your boss or sexually harassed by your co-workers in the comfort of your own home, must be difficult for the people whose whole careers are based on victim blaming in the name of defending their precious company. That is the office culture they NEED you to experience.
>Fortunately - if you chose to work remotely you are going to be be replaced by much lower cost workers from far flung areas who will harder, for longer hours and for less pay
I truly hate this argument against WFH, because it's such utter bullshit. Outsourcing work to other countries is not some new concept, it's been around for quite some time and, to be quite frank, if it could be done then it has been done. It's also not *much* cheaper when you factor in all the extra costs, such as transfer pricing, transaction costs, etc.
Maybe good for some back-office stuff, but not the bulk of someone's work. It's also quite telling that a lot of companies have been scaling it back as it hasn't worked as well as they wanted.
Lmao what a shit argument
Surely they’d be more likely to replace me with some cheap workers from the other side of the world if I worked in the office right?
Cause they’ll have far more overhead expenses renting office space, hiring cleaning and security staff, and paying for office maintenance just for me to show up at my desk. The fact our staff force WFH is saving them a fortune.
They’ve been offshoring staff for decades. And for some industries it turns out hiring staff with a large cultural, language and time zone difference isn’t good for productivity and can become far more expensive in the long run.
Working for an hour, then going to the kitchen to get some coffee and spending the next half an hour talking about random stuff with the coworkers.
One of the reasons why I prefer working from home because I can just do my job and then leave. Many of my friends think the same way, because they still have a certain amount of work they should complete. Being around at the office has so many distractions that they would need extra hours to complete everything.
And if there’s one thing that the younger workforce LOVES, it’s happy hours/dinners with older generations, like many Gen X and Boomers, who just shit on you and your generation the whole time.
“Whaddya mean you’re leaving after one drink? New kid at home? That’s your wife’s problem! Me and Johnson here avoided our newborns like the plague.” - Twice divorced boomer on what sounded like absolutely lovely family dynamics.
Last time I worked in an office, which was hybrid already, this was pretty close to something that happened, only that my daughter hadn’t been born yet. Went out to dinner with coworkers because we had quarterly account reviews and about an hour in, I only got a soda and an appetizer, I wanted to leave because it was already going to be like 7-7:30 when I got home and caught crap because I see my wife all the time and only see them a couple times a year. Like yeah, that’s one of the reasons I like being here. I don’t have to see everyone regularly.
I despise people that think raising children is a woman's "problem". Not only is it horrible toward women, its also suggesting men can't be parents. Fuck people like that.
"working on teams with people" can easily be done with zoom and whatsaspp
I am a young person from a poor country, so I guess it is alright
You do have a good point about relationships and networking, ig
What you're reading is that people don't care about office "culture", no matter how you define it (with or without vague race baiting about Foreigner's taking our jobs). Team work is absolutely possible without being face to face in a corporate environment. Ask people what works for them instead of telling them next time.
Point 3 sounds suspiciously like religion : "if you don't indoctrinate your kids from a young age they'll never be religious !" Why I wonder why that is.
People are scared to turn the heating on? The fuck does that mean? Also, everyone is saving way more in gas money than they're losing in electricity bills. This post is bullshit and if I saw this I'd lose all confidence in her knowledge as an HR expert.
If she’s from the UK, we have staggeringly high energy bills right now and so many genuinely are scared to put the heating on and be left with a bill they can’t afford. Even if you have a decent salary, people are trying their best not to have the heating on too much.
They are implying that you should work like 18 hours per day. Naturally if you spend those hours at the office, you don’t need to keep heating on at your house. You can just come home to sleep and get under a thick blanket.
But if you work at home, you need heating most of the time.
This is the best explanation I can come up with.
And obviously if someone is at work all day, the various NPCs in their life (eg, stay at home spouse and small children, a roommate who also WFH, a parent or retired relative, pets, etc) also stop existing and needing heat in the home.
Well, those NPCs are not providing any *economical value* to the household, where’s *the hustle?* Where’s *the grind?* Where’s *the passion?*
One has to *earn* the heating!
Agree?
[link in comments]
That may have been true but I know in California they just announced electric bills have doubled as of January 1. So if your electric bill was $300/mo last year, it’s going to be $600 this year. My parents are definitely trying to find as many ways as possible to reduce the cost including turning off lights, adjusting thermostat, my dad is obsessively tracking which appliances use the most energy. I don’t agree with what this woman is saying, but electric bills are a huge stressor for some people right now.
I mean, that's fine, that's an issue unto itself. Zero humans are going "you know how I could save on this electricity? Commuting to an office everyday and having to pay for gas and lunch". Lmao
These are all reasons for companies to encourage work from home. Why do you want to pay higher electric and heating bills you weirdo? I can literally pay all those bills from what I saved on commute and be more comfortable and save hours every week.
The management and HR people keep trying to Jedi mind trick us like
*waves hand* "work from home is not what you want, you love office culture, the long commute, having to dress up in uncomfortable clothes and put on makeup every morning, making shitty small talk, tiny cubicles, and the smell of Kyle from another department using your microwave to nuke his fish"
and then they write tantrum articles when everyone is like lol nah
People who are against WFH are usually HR and stupid middle managers who realized that they’re actually useless and are afraid that WFH will expose that. That, and also CEOs and investors who are salty that all the money spent on office space rent is going into nothing
Yes, but in my experience it’s also:
1. Micromanagers. If they can’t literally see you working, they freak out. It doesn’t matter if they see evidence of your work and/or your output, they need to actually see you to be satisfied that you’re working
2. People who hate being at home. Some people just can’t bear the thought of being “stuck” in their own house.
At my current workplace 2 of the bosses love WFH, one hates it and the other pretends to be okay with it but will passively aggressively insult you if you ever do it.
Previous one was about 50/50 in support of it.
I'm definitely no. 2. Call me crazy but I will not apply for any WFH or hybrid jobs. I can't BEAR working from home 
Electricity prices are through the roof, so the solution is to have people go back to the office…a place where the electricity costs are significantly higher?
“Everyone is scared to turn the heating on” shees Kelly, it’s not like, you know, in Canada, we need to have the heat on regardless we’re or not at home to avoid pipes freezing. Ever thought of that? Don’t think so
If the job can easily be done from a home office - it should be done from a home office. If it can’t then it shouldn’t. The vast majority of jobs you would go to an office park for can easily be done from home. And they should.
I don't understand the obsession of having employees at the office.
I don't see how you are more efective by squashing tens to hundred people in a building being productive.
My heating is on 24/7, all electric, solar panels 5kWp for 10k€ and I only pay 25€ per month. I work from home.
If I don’t work from home, I’d spend my money on useless transportation costs and waste time commuting. My time is valuable too.
Car depreciation and maintenance is likely also more expensive than just paying for utility bills.
There are legit reasons why wfh doesn't work as well as wfo. These are not those reasons, these sound like she made them up on the spot and there's no data cited anywhere.
She was close with the grads line, except it’s not a need and more of a want. Grads want to be in the office both for learning and meeting your new coworkers. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
Yes #3 is close, I'll give it that. Nothing can beat in person interaction, which can lead to increasing your relationship with your boss and team, a critical factor for career and organizational success.
Writing’s on the wall - not for WFH, but for recruiters. Enjoy more and more of your routine admin duties being automated away, I’ll be happily plugging away in my remote work bubble
Here is why 100% remote will work for much longer:
1. Rent, no, scratch that; the mortgage is affordable.
2. I'm not sacred about commuting on train or driving; less stress for this cow.
3. Grads coming into the workforce aren't imbued with silly cultural cues that serve none other than their employer.
Finally, fuck you for standing in my way of happiness, you fucking asshole.
Time to update my CV, turns out I have tons of valuable experience working in an office culture. Who knew that was such a difficult skill to master?
If anything, working remote or from home makes you a better communicator, and forces you to be better at managing your time. I think 12+ years of school has provided all you need to work in an office culture. By the time you graduate school, you have already learned how to deal with all the worthless c\*nts you've been forced to share a space with for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
The Dunning-Kruger effect, personified.
Working from home costs me about $50/month in additional electricity and heating costs. But I save $160-200/month in gas costs, and my car insurance went down by $15/month because I drive so few miles. Plus making lunch every day, having time to work out, the extra hour of sleep because I don’t need to commute in, reduced wear and tear on my car, it all adds up to me never wanting to have a non-WFH job again.
My biggest takeaway from the rabid “WFH is terrible”crowd is it’s 10% managers/CEO’s that really need people back in for some financial reason or other, 10% people who are just upset the old way of things is going and it’s making them long for the past, and 80% people who need to justify their fucking job to stay in it.
Lolz, I love this point about new grads. I literally have two juniors on my team. I have better access to them and their work and vice versa for me and my work. They know when I am available, and they can pull my previous works as reference if they need it.
I also find it easy to help, teach, and train them remotely vs in an office setting. It's more private to do a teams call, so I find they're way more open to asking for help, without the worry about being judge by those around them. I also have instant access to examples, whether it be my own or examples I find on the internet. Whereas before, if I didn't have my computer with me, I'd be either using theirs (which is awkward) or we'd be going back and forth between my computer and theirs.
Even if my power costs tripled it would still be less than what I’d spend commuting. And that’s not even factoring in the time saved.
All to sit in a desk and chat with people on slack or video call anyway.
It's funny because the people who say these things are the ones who always have an excuse to work at home.
The "office culture" is just putting on a whole fake personality to be there in fear of losing your job if you dare even look like you aren't apart of the hive mind.
I WFH four days a week and in office one day and it is perfect. Im more productive on my WFH days (and I save 3 hours in commuting time), but then I get to experience that all-important OfFiCe CuLtUrE on Thursdays (to be fair it’s nice to see my team and grab lunch or drinks after work, but it’s also completely unnecessary to our actual work performance.
Funny how she’s talking about “office culture” yet she is in denial about how drastically it has changed for good.
Working from home is a big part of the office culture at many workplaces these days.
I simply desire some tranquillity while working from home. However, there is always some lunatic out there on LinkedIn whining about WFH. Maybe a hybrid setup, but a full return to the office is a no-no unless I have other reasons for it.
My husband and I love working from home - I don't think we're about to "burst" anytime soon. :/ Also our electricity bill from both of us working from home is pretty much the same as it would be otherwise
Jesus lady maybe you need someone to come look at your hearing/air
Point 1. Not everyone who WFH works from home. Not using extra of your own electricity or heating if you go to an open workspace, a library, a coffee shop, etc. + flexibility and freedom involved in where to go each day rather than the same office, same potentially very long commute, etc.
Point 2. See above. Also some offices have started to cut heating to save their own costs, so people don’t always benefit from going in in that sense anyway.
Point 3. Is… that not the point? She’s essentially saying ‘grads must not work remotely, otherwise, they’ll never NOT work remotely!’ ok? sounds like if someone is looking for a 100% WFH job right off the bat, that’s what they’re banking on doing long-term. Also, it’s not like you really need ‘office experience’. Is this woman envisioning a world where someone could work 100% remote for, say, 5+ years, then decide to apply to a hybrid or office job and all of their actually job-relevant skills would be ignored, that they’d be turned down simply because they’ve never had water cooler chit-chat and taken part in an office sweepstake? Bffr.
It’s a ridiculous argument to make anyway, but these points are like she didn’t even try.
I do know 1 great HR person. He ended up leaving the company I affiliated with (not an employee), worked to make the the contract work for my employees. Only one, ever. We often discussed employees as assets, not a cost. He understood my wanting to uplift, reward,, and retain good employees. I knew to disaffiliate with the company when he was pushed out by a new CEO. Only beans mattered.
I'm one of those on the opposite side to most, in that i don't really enjoy working from home and prefer the office.
Why would i heat my entire house for just me? (In the UK utility costs have gone through the roof) Although my commute is only 10 minutes via bike or 30 minute walk. But i guess in a family setting i wouldn't be doing the same.
She definitely reemphasized HR’s lame reputation…
1) people are still going to pay for electricity. Commutes aren’t free.
2) I dunno, working from home generates heat. Sure beats leaving a house empty and cold only to come back and having to turn the heat back on. Also the commute is cold too…
3) Not everybody needs to experience toxic office culture. A balance is fine but mandating all staff to work in the office only benefits the micromanagers and commercial real estate property managers/owners.
The bubble won’t pop. People will just leave for better work arrangements and pay.
Ah, yes. I forgot you just don't use any electricity at all when you go into work in a 40,000 sq ft office with hundreds more lights on than is necessary 20 hours a day.
Pretty sure my electricity and heating costs are less than the $16 in transit it would take. Plus the 3 hours daily roundtrip costs.
I could drop the transit cost to about $6 but would add at least an hour to the round-trip.
Because electricity cost and volatile electric grid become less expensive and less volatile when energizing and heating an entire giant office building? What the fuck is she saying here?
When I used to commute, my commuting cost was £250/mo in fuel alone, plus extra maintenance and depreciation on my car
My gas/electricity bill is up £100
My electricity and heat stays on regardless of whether or not I go into the office. Does Kelly assume everyone lives alone? I save way more not having commute costs. Oh, what about the healthcare costs I save from being sick less because I’m not crammed in an office with sick people that should have stayed home?
Here’s where I’m at: there genuinely ARE some professional situations that are better for in-person work. I’m a copywriter and content strategist and brainstorms are simply better when everyone’s in the same room. I could see a company saying “We need everyone who lives within 90 minutes of the office to be in here the first Monday of every month, no exceptions outside of PTO, sick days, or emergencies.”
That makes sense. But “we’re going to eventually go back to the office and you all need to suck it up bc I said so” is so… what? What are you doing? You sound like the mean spoiled kid who’s forcing everyone at the sleepover to share their crushes. Shut up.
Fuel costs and costs of transport have also gone up. Besides, I think a huge chunk of workers would be happy to pay an extra £1k or so on energy costs to keep working from home since time is money.
God I’m glad I can WFH, in my area the trains are shut down until February. Imagine having to catch a packed replacement bus in Australian summer Told my boss I’m not coming in and he’s like ok.
Just let people work where they want to work. Sometimes I do better at home and sometimes I do better in the office. I get my work done on time, every time though.
I like { thing}. But it would be very arrogant on my part to demand others do the same.
If everyone adopted this mindset, we would be so much better off. Kudos.
Yeah but, if there’s “no office culture” then why do the grads need to work in an office? I’m confused.
This sounds like someone justifying making their workforce go back into the office. That, or they’re failing (and venting) to recruit candidates because no one in their right minds wants to go back to 365/24/7 starbucks-pret a manger everything, dressing up like a penguin to spend most of their life sitting in a random building staring at a screen.
Remote working worked very well during the pandemic while we were all locked up like prisoners in our own homes.
Reinventing HRs lame reputation....looks like she's killing what's remaining of the reputation rather than reinventing
I’ve never met someone in HR that was on the employees side
I actually worked with one HR director that was absolutely the employee advocate. Once you experience that, most other HR folk fall rather short.
May I ask what made them an “employee advocate” so I can learn?
Sure. He would keep conversations confidential if you requested. His door was always open and he listened with an empathetic ear. He would clearly state if there was something that we would have to tell management or something that he wouldn't be able to do. Example: I walked into his office (I had been working there for the better part of a decade at that point) and stated that I had received an annual review from my boss (A Senior Leader). The review was overall was good but had some criticism that didn't sit well with me. He listened and gave me advice on how to handle it (talk to these people, ask these types of questions). He kept it confidential. Over time, he was the trusted figure. I think the trust is what made him such an "employee advocate".
Sure, but if it was a bad review, and the company wanted you gone, you bet your ass he wouldn't be Mr "employee advocate" HR's job is to prevent the company from getting sued. They are NEVER on anybody but the company's side. Period.
They aren’t supposed to be on your side. They protect the interests of the company against litigation. It’s human resource management. And you’re the resource. The only way to win is to play the game of thrones with them. Con the con man. Study your labor laws, and be always one step ahead.
Exactly like that. Never forget
Only met 1 person in about 7 years that was able to actually “advise” on how to navigate the company’s short term leave policy. Gave a balanced view of the pros/cons and asks questions to understand your personal situation rather than regurgitating something canned.
They are the companys lawyer just cheaper.
I've met very, very few who were even remotely competent at the basics of their job, let alone being able to advocate for or manage actual change.
I worked at a major company who hired HR people exclusively from Ivy League schools. The joke was that they wanted the best morons they could find.
"What kind of idiots do you employ here?" "The very finest in New York sir!"
Only met 1 person in about 7 years that was able to actually “advise” on how to navigate the company’s short term leave policy. Gave a balanced view of the pros/cons and asks questions to understand your personal situation rather than regurgitating something canned.
Least competent people in an organization
That seems like a major over-generalization in my opinion. There are definitely incompetent HR professionals out there, but to say that at every organization in every industry they rank the lowest seems… unrealistic
I suppose going from bad to worse could be an innovation.
Amazing
No she is right, reinventing from lame to straight-out batshit insane and anti-employee. Congrats!
I'm surprised by the fact she's even aware everyone despises HR, a lot of them are actually PROUD of what they do lmao.
She posted a seemingly opposite opinion less than a year ago… https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6922139177174097920?updateEntityUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_feedUpdate%3A%28V2%2Curn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A6922139177174097920%29
Andie P, kraftheinz
Businesses shooting themselves in the foot at the best way to reduce costs and improve efficiency.
Let HR people like this go immediately if they truly care about the bottom line
They've so much assets tied up in real estate, companies are forcing back to office so the commercial real estate market doesn't crash causing all these companies huge reductions in capital assets. It's complete bullshit manipulation of a market, all for control and inflated balance sheets.
Land and buildings are recorded at historical cost, so how much it cost to buy and build. If they inflate the value to account for the market that's against GAAP and illegal. I think that's part of what Trump is in trouble for on the financial front. Sincerely, an accounting major
You can still sell the asset for a capital gain no?
And these same people spout on about how “creative destruction” should be embraced. Apparently not when it’s their assets being destroyed creatively.
You forget the working class that takes care of these buildings as well. For every office building there are teams of people that clean, provide security and manage the building.
I'd rather have my commute money and pay those people to clean MY dwelling.
Me, me, me.
Okay, troll.
I have been working remotely the last three years. Best decision in my whole life. I have saved so much in commute, office lunches, coffees, bottle water, treating colleagues and so much more that I started saving 10% of my income without an issue. The cost of all of that surpassed my 20% of income without calculating the expenses in make up, new clothes and new shoes because they would wear out and expensive dinners with your team. All in all I have saved more than I could spend. Productivity through the roof. I have worked more on my skills as a content writer by having enough time to take the necessary courses without being rude or not spending time with my team. Let's not mention what I gained, better food, better weight, more time with my family and daughter, non linear work (which means I do my work after my daughter it's asleep 8pm - 11pm). Electricity doesn't cost me more. I have also saved in phone bills because I have wireless and if there is an important call I use zoom or slack videos. Like I can't begin to mention all the benefits because they're so much. So this b*tch here its just a stupid hypocritical self absorbed "HR inventor". She can f*CK off.
I automatically hate anyone who wants other people besides themselves to get back to the office. Fucking hell, if you want to go and live a 20th century existence, then go. Everyone else prefers WFH tyvm.
well said. Couldn't agree more And I am really scared of HR's like the one above forcing me to go back to the office 😔
>Electricity costs have gone through the ROOF. I've been fully work-from-home since 2021. I haven't noticed a significant spike in my power bill. What I have noticed is that I only fill up my gas tank like 2 times a month instead of 4+ times a month, and since filling up the tank costs around $40, that's at least $80 saved each month = $960 saved each year. I generally don't eat out during weekdays, whereas I would eat out for lunch whenever I worked in an office, so that's more money saved there. And most importantly, I'm saving around 2 hours a day / 10 hours a week / over 500 hours a year by not having a daily commute. The amount of time that's saved by being WFH is invaluable. Anybody who argues against work-from-home from the standpoint of "Working in an office saves workers money!" is arguing from a losing, bad faith position.
>filling up the tank costs around $40 Excuse me sir, does your car run on water?
My car's gas tank holds about 11 gallons. I live in New Jersey, where gas is currently around $3.30 / gallon. One full tank of gas is around $36.30. Do you live in California or someplace else where gas is like $5-6 a gallon?
>Do you live in California or someplace else where gas is like $5-6 a gallon? Europe, where in some point we reached more than 2 euros per liter, around 7.5 usd per gallon.
At least yall have trains and buses, I suppose
The price of trains is also extortionate. At least in the UK.
The Netherlands as well. As per January 2023 the prices for public transit got increased (once again) and they reduced the number of trains, buses etc.
They did exactly the same in the UK every year
Gas is not too much cheaper in Canada than in Europe. My parents were recently visiting me in TX, and were blown away that I could fill up my Civic for around $30-35 (USD). It would cost me at least about $60 CAD, or $45 USD to do the same in Canada.
Yes, but they are becoming very expensive. I am in Germany. I calculated that a public transport subscription would cost me as much as filling the tank and paying for the car. Luckily they are enabling a reduced price from next April. But still, it takes me less than 30 minutes commute with the car and more than one hour with bus and train.
Cries in German*
Holy shit. All the more reason to work from home.
I live in the bay area(California) about 25 minutes from San Francisco and gas is mid 3's-mid4's a gallon for me.. Anyone paying $6 a gallon still is getting ripped off
When russia invaded Ukraine and started to cut all pipelines to Europe, energy and gas companies lost their minds, even the diesel price went through the roof. Now for regular fuel we are back to what amounts to 6,50 dollar per gallon. The cost for heating with natural gas has still quadrupled, I feel the thermostat thing from the post if that is what she meant. I set my thermostat to 60 degree F and nothing more. We have been aided by the warmest winter since 1881.
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I live in Minnesota and it's in the low $3, mid to low $2 if your car takes the higher ethanol mixes.
Your company also [saved a bunch of money](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-how-much-your-company-pays-to-rent-office-space-2015-05-27). Depending on where you work (NYC = high rent, Atlanta = low rent) your company saved 4k to 14k+ on your office space per year. I find it pretty funny that Goldman Sachs is [cutting 3,200 jobs](https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/09/business/goldman-sachs-job-cuts/index.html) but [Goldman is also pushing for all employees in office](https://youtu.be/64kcd4gQ_Zo?t=325). Goldman has ~40k employees (after the cut). I am going to assume that 50% are in NYC and 50% are at a similar market to Atlanta. Office space costs Goldman ~360m (20k * 14k +20k * 4k). I'm pretty sure that Goldman could get basically all of the monetary savings that they are getting from job cuts if they encouraged WFH. Goldman, if you read this I charge 1k/hr for consulting ;p
That depends greatly where you live. I live in Montreal. You'd think heating would be a fortune, but it's not cuz electricity is dirt cheap here. Even if it is more expensive where you are, unless you live somewhere really fucking cold, you don't need heat all that much, and as you pointed out, it's still a lot cheaper than gas or public transport.
I think she is talking about Europe....
The only reason I have seen a rise in my electricity price is because Duke Energy was granted a 40% rate increase. It's not because I am working at home.
Whilst I completely agree with what you are saying, a lot of your argument is very US-centric. In Europe electricity has gone through the roof. Many people only had short commutes anyway, so the time savings are less. Especially if you walked or biked to work then you’re not getting a cost saving on travel either. Then it’s much cheaper to work in an office than it is to run the heating during the day. Again, I get that the arguments don’t stack up for you, or a lot of people especially in America. But for others the cost saving argument is real. However it doesn’t negate the fact that I just prefer being at home, and the benefits of not seeing coworkers daily are significant.
I'm in the UK and my last office job had a 3hr/day round commute. It cost me about £100/month financially and both of us quite a bit mentally. Partner was quite often at home anyway so negligible higher heating costs now I'm fully remote, only real added expense for WFH is running the work laptop and 4 monitors for 8hr/day. TBH I'd take a financial hit for the flexibility, sanity and free time I've gained. No fucking around buying stupid office clothes I never wear anywhere else, either. Plus I can just go to the local village whenever I'm free, and we can confidently order bulk deliveries now we can guarantee one of us will be in whenever they turn up.
I’m not saying that everyone in Europe is better in an office. I am in Europe and very happy to work from home. I’m saying that where the parent comment says about bad faith arguments, this may not be true in Europe.
Fair enough, yeah, doesn't apply to everyone either way
What exactly are the increased electricity costs of working from home? You still heat your house/apartment even if you're not there. In fact, by being there you lower the heating cost (assuming you're a warm-blooded creature, of course. some of the LIL's probably aren't). Your laptop & screen eats what, 50 watts, so that's like maybe 8 kWh per month. You obviously do eat your lunch at home, but since your fridge would be cooling your food anyways, that just adds the energy for cooking. Lights are LED, so what 20 watts? And that's pretty much it. On the savings side you skip the commute (and the gas&maintenance, or public transport fare), you don't have to 'dress-up' for the office so you need to wash far fewer clothes and spend far less on make-up. Hell, you can easily even skip the shower every now and then. Or just do a quick post-workout rinse. Simply put, there's no calculation in which going to the office somehow saves you anything.
Erm most people don’t run their heating when they’re not home here.
They do in Finland, Sweden and Germany at least. Some especially eco-conscious people might lower the thermostat to 18 or 16, but a normal house doesn't get that cold from 22 degres in 9 hours anyways. Unless it's reeaaally cold out. Or the house is built like shit.
>You still heat your house/apartment even if you're not there. Excuse me but do you really do that? Why?? It's basically throwing money away, on top of being environmentally irresponsible.
A sizeable portion of houses and apartments in Northern Europe have separate thermostats in each room. No one is going to walk around their house to turn every single knob down every time they leave and do the same in a cold home when they get back. Also, the houses are properly insulated, so even if you were to turn it off during the workday, you'd maybe save like 5-10% in heating costs (& CO2). Modern smart zigbee thermostats are changing this for the better, but it won't have the impact you think it does. Also you can't let a modern house get too cold, because it'll start to get damaged.
we NEED to be stuck in cubicles from 9/5, or else face FOMO! -Billy Gnosis
She’s right. I would much rather spend 2 hours each day commuting through Boston’s extreme weather conditions, walking through snow, sleet and rain, waiting for unreliable trains and busses - just to be able to bask in the warmth of an office set at a crispy 65 degrees. Regarding the experience of recent grads - I have thought a lot about this. The reason why office culture is “so important” is that it becomes the foundation of your social life and circle post graduation. We have normalized the consumption of work to the point where it infiltrates our friendships. Consequently, I remember talking far more about work and feeling significantly more embroiled in the daily dramas in my 20s - because my social life was partially an extension of my work life. Moreover, friendships can sometimes last only as long as the job, because you realize your entire friendship was founded on work and nothing else. The unspoken reality is that companies depend on coworker friendships to breed workplace loyalties and retention - ironically, they also actually sow the seeds of discontent. What if the social experience post college could be defined by real interests and the ability to be near family, or in a location that better suited your interests and hobbies? What if recent grads had a choice for the foundation of their social circles that extended beyond the workplace? No one “needs” the office - that is a myth.
On the point of recent grads, I have a few friends whose talking points post college pivoted entirely to their employer and what they do in the office. No hobbies outside, besides buying an absurd amount of alcohol. (Last time I visited one, they had an entire closet full of wine.) They derive fulfillment from the workplace, which is fine. And I can’t blame them, ‘cause the majority of our lives revolve around work. But that’s not what everyone wants. I wish they wouldn’t force people into the office when it’s unnecessary
But where are all these supposed extroverts going to find people to hang out with if they can’t go into the office everyday?
HR knows that without offices half of their team is obsolete
That's because you're less likely to get bullied by your boss or sexually harassed by your co-workers in the comfort of your own home, must be difficult for the people whose whole careers are based on victim blaming in the name of defending their precious company. That is the office culture they NEED you to experience.
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>Fortunately - if you chose to work remotely you are going to be be replaced by much lower cost workers from far flung areas who will harder, for longer hours and for less pay I truly hate this argument against WFH, because it's such utter bullshit. Outsourcing work to other countries is not some new concept, it's been around for quite some time and, to be quite frank, if it could be done then it has been done. It's also not *much* cheaper when you factor in all the extra costs, such as transfer pricing, transaction costs, etc. Maybe good for some back-office stuff, but not the bulk of someone's work. It's also quite telling that a lot of companies have been scaling it back as it hasn't worked as well as they wanted.
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Lmao what a shit argument Surely they’d be more likely to replace me with some cheap workers from the other side of the world if I worked in the office right? Cause they’ll have far more overhead expenses renting office space, hiring cleaning and security staff, and paying for office maintenance just for me to show up at my desk. The fact our staff force WFH is saving them a fortune. They’ve been offshoring staff for decades. And for some industries it turns out hiring staff with a large cultural, language and time zone difference isn’t good for productivity and can become far more expensive in the long run.
“Reinventing HR” with a proposal to work in an office 🤔
Wait until she finds out she’s being replaced by ChatGPT.
What exactly is "office culture?"
Working for an hour, then going to the kitchen to get some coffee and spending the next half an hour talking about random stuff with the coworkers. One of the reasons why I prefer working from home because I can just do my job and then leave. Many of my friends think the same way, because they still have a certain amount of work they should complete. Being around at the office has so many distractions that they would need extra hours to complete everything.
Don’t forget happy hours with a bunch of people that you already spend 40 hours per week with.
And if there’s one thing that the younger workforce LOVES, it’s happy hours/dinners with older generations, like many Gen X and Boomers, who just shit on you and your generation the whole time.
“Whaddya mean you’re leaving after one drink? New kid at home? That’s your wife’s problem! Me and Johnson here avoided our newborns like the plague.” - Twice divorced boomer on what sounded like absolutely lovely family dynamics.
Last time I worked in an office, which was hybrid already, this was pretty close to something that happened, only that my daughter hadn’t been born yet. Went out to dinner with coworkers because we had quarterly account reviews and about an hour in, I only got a soda and an appetizer, I wanted to leave because it was already going to be like 7-7:30 when I got home and caught crap because I see my wife all the time and only see them a couple times a year. Like yeah, that’s one of the reasons I like being here. I don’t have to see everyone regularly.
I despise people that think raising children is a woman's "problem". Not only is it horrible toward women, its also suggesting men can't be parents. Fuck people like that.
Presumably bullying and discrimination and all that… To justify her actual job.
Don't forget executives being surrounded by their underlings to help feed that over-inflated sense of self importance.
Basically mean girl social hierarchy shit. If they don't have people to abuse and gossip about then how will they fill the void?
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"working on teams with people" can easily be done with zoom and whatsaspp I am a young person from a poor country, so I guess it is alright You do have a good point about relationships and networking, ig
What you're reading is that people don't care about office "culture", no matter how you define it (with or without vague race baiting about Foreigner's taking our jobs). Team work is absolutely possible without being face to face in a corporate environment. Ask people what works for them instead of telling them next time.
Google rating for hr star was 4.3 it is now 3.9 in a matter of hours. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Point 3 sounds suspiciously like religion : "if you don't indoctrinate your kids from a young age they'll never be religious !" Why I wonder why that is.
People are scared to turn the heating on? The fuck does that mean? Also, everyone is saving way more in gas money than they're losing in electricity bills. This post is bullshit and if I saw this I'd lose all confidence in her knowledge as an HR expert.
If she’s from the UK, we have staggeringly high energy bills right now and so many genuinely are scared to put the heating on and be left with a bill they can’t afford. Even if you have a decent salary, people are trying their best not to have the heating on too much.
Right but is the solution to add commuting costs to your life? That's what she's suggesting.
They are implying that you should work like 18 hours per day. Naturally if you spend those hours at the office, you don’t need to keep heating on at your house. You can just come home to sleep and get under a thick blanket. But if you work at home, you need heating most of the time. This is the best explanation I can come up with.
And obviously if someone is at work all day, the various NPCs in their life (eg, stay at home spouse and small children, a roommate who also WFH, a parent or retired relative, pets, etc) also stop existing and needing heat in the home.
Well, those NPCs are not providing any *economical value* to the household, where’s *the hustle?* Where’s *the grind?* Where’s *the passion?* One has to *earn* the heating! Agree? [link in comments]
That may have been true but I know in California they just announced electric bills have doubled as of January 1. So if your electric bill was $300/mo last year, it’s going to be $600 this year. My parents are definitely trying to find as many ways as possible to reduce the cost including turning off lights, adjusting thermostat, my dad is obsessively tracking which appliances use the most energy. I don’t agree with what this woman is saying, but electric bills are a huge stressor for some people right now.
I mean, that's fine, that's an issue unto itself. Zero humans are going "you know how I could save on this electricity? Commuting to an office everyday and having to pay for gas and lunch". Lmao
So why would a business want to take that cost?
Beats me. I’m not arguing for return to office, was just explaining what they might’ve meant by that comment
These are all reasons for companies to encourage work from home. Why do you want to pay higher electric and heating bills you weirdo? I can literally pay all those bills from what I saved on commute and be more comfortable and save hours every week.
Baffled by her argument
The management and HR people keep trying to Jedi mind trick us like *waves hand* "work from home is not what you want, you love office culture, the long commute, having to dress up in uncomfortable clothes and put on makeup every morning, making shitty small talk, tiny cubicles, and the smell of Kyle from another department using your microwave to nuke his fish" and then they write tantrum articles when everyone is like lol nah
Hahaha, when HR realised their job is pointless.
People who are against WFH are usually HR and stupid middle managers who realized that they’re actually useless and are afraid that WFH will expose that. That, and also CEOs and investors who are salty that all the money spent on office space rent is going into nothing
Yes, but in my experience it’s also: 1. Micromanagers. If they can’t literally see you working, they freak out. It doesn’t matter if they see evidence of your work and/or your output, they need to actually see you to be satisfied that you’re working 2. People who hate being at home. Some people just can’t bear the thought of being “stuck” in their own house.
And just bear in mind that while there are a lot of categories mentioned above they are each tiny in size.
At my current workplace 2 of the bosses love WFH, one hates it and the other pretends to be okay with it but will passively aggressively insult you if you ever do it. Previous one was about 50/50 in support of it.
I'm definitely no. 2. Call me crazy but I will not apply for any WFH or hybrid jobs. I can't BEAR working from home 
Electricity prices are through the roof, so the solution is to have people go back to the office…a place where the electricity costs are significantly higher?
fine, have fun finding talent then, to wfo
“Everyone is scared to turn the heating on” shees Kelly, it’s not like, you know, in Canada, we need to have the heat on regardless we’re or not at home to avoid pipes freezing. Ever thought of that? Don’t think so
If I spend an extra $100 a month on utilities to work from home, I'll take that deal.
If the job can easily be done from a home office - it should be done from a home office. If it can’t then it shouldn’t. The vast majority of jobs you would go to an office park for can easily be done from home. And they should.
I don't understand the obsession of having employees at the office. I don't see how you are more efective by squashing tens to hundred people in a building being productive.
My heating is on 24/7, all electric, solar panels 5kWp for 10k€ and I only pay 25€ per month. I work from home. If I don’t work from home, I’d spend my money on useless transportation costs and waste time commuting. My time is valuable too. Car depreciation and maintenance is likely also more expensive than just paying for utility bills.
>work from home bubbles are about to burst No, they’re not lmao
lol at point 1 and 2
It’s sad that someone in HR who should know that everyone works differently is trying to push one method of work onto everyone.
My company is doing better since remote. Remote has its downsides, but i don't get the hate.
The good news is most of Kelly's functions have been replaced by software.
There are legit reasons why wfh doesn't work as well as wfo. These are not those reasons, these sound like she made them up on the spot and there's no data cited anywhere.
She was close with the grads line, except it’s not a need and more of a want. Grads want to be in the office both for learning and meeting your new coworkers. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
Yes #3 is close, I'll give it that. Nothing can beat in person interaction, which can lead to increasing your relationship with your boss and team, a critical factor for career and organizational success.
Writing’s on the wall - not for WFH, but for recruiters. Enjoy more and more of your routine admin duties being automated away, I’ll be happily plugging away in my remote work bubble
Here is why 100% remote will work for much longer: 1. Rent, no, scratch that; the mortgage is affordable. 2. I'm not sacred about commuting on train or driving; less stress for this cow. 3. Grads coming into the workforce aren't imbued with silly cultural cues that serve none other than their employer. Finally, fuck you for standing in my way of happiness, you fucking asshole.
Time to update my CV, turns out I have tons of valuable experience working in an office culture. Who knew that was such a difficult skill to master? If anything, working remote or from home makes you a better communicator, and forces you to be better at managing your time. I think 12+ years of school has provided all you need to work in an office culture. By the time you graduate school, you have already learned how to deal with all the worthless c\*nts you've been forced to share a space with for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. The Dunning-Kruger effect, personified.
She’s not entirely wrong that the majority of companies are about to take a position on remote work - and those companies will be wrong as well.
Working from home costs me about $50/month in additional electricity and heating costs. But I save $160-200/month in gas costs, and my car insurance went down by $15/month because I drive so few miles. Plus making lunch every day, having time to work out, the extra hour of sleep because I don’t need to commute in, reduced wear and tear on my car, it all adds up to me never wanting to have a non-WFH job again.
My biggest takeaway from the rabid “WFH is terrible”crowd is it’s 10% managers/CEO’s that really need people back in for some financial reason or other, 10% people who are just upset the old way of things is going and it’s making them long for the past, and 80% people who need to justify their fucking job to stay in it.
Why does everyone named Kelly work in HR?
Lolz, I love this point about new grads. I literally have two juniors on my team. I have better access to them and their work and vice versa for me and my work. They know when I am available, and they can pull my previous works as reference if they need it. I also find it easy to help, teach, and train them remotely vs in an office setting. It's more private to do a teams call, so I find they're way more open to asking for help, without the worry about being judge by those around them. I also have instant access to examples, whether it be my own or examples I find on the internet. Whereas before, if I didn't have my computer with me, I'd be either using theirs (which is awkward) or we'd be going back and forth between my computer and theirs.
These always have the energy of people in the past insisting cars are just a fad
It's almost like without office minions to rule over your job ceases to be relevant.
Even if my power costs tripled it would still be less than what I’d spend commuting. And that’s not even factoring in the time saved. All to sit in a desk and chat with people on slack or video call anyway.
It's funny because the people who say these things are the ones who always have an excuse to work at home. The "office culture" is just putting on a whole fake personality to be there in fear of losing your job if you dare even look like you aren't apart of the hive mind.
That has to be one of the worst fucking takes I’ve ever seen
I’ve been working remotely since before my graduation and I’m ok, thanks
Why does it have to be one or the other? I work home 2 days a week, office 3 days a week. Gives me a perfect balance.
I WFH four days a week and in office one day and it is perfect. Im more productive on my WFH days (and I save 3 hours in commuting time), but then I get to experience that all-important OfFiCe CuLtUrE on Thursdays (to be fair it’s nice to see my team and grab lunch or drinks after work, but it’s also completely unnecessary to our actual work performance.
Funny how she’s talking about “office culture” yet she is in denial about how drastically it has changed for good. Working from home is a big part of the office culture at many workplaces these days.
My TA ass loves WFH, thank you Kelly. My electricity is normal, I already pay for my internet.
And what will happen if grads don’t experience office culture?
-sent from my couch
I simply desire some tranquillity while working from home. However, there is always some lunatic out there on LinkedIn whining about WFH. Maybe a hybrid setup, but a full return to the office is a no-no unless I have other reasons for it.
My husband and I love working from home - I don't think we're about to "burst" anytime soon. :/ Also our electricity bill from both of us working from home is pretty much the same as it would be otherwise Jesus lady maybe you need someone to come look at your hearing/air
The HR people and the CEO of vitamins and supplements people are the biggest maniacs on LinkedIn
She sounds really fucking lame
Point 1. Not everyone who WFH works from home. Not using extra of your own electricity or heating if you go to an open workspace, a library, a coffee shop, etc. + flexibility and freedom involved in where to go each day rather than the same office, same potentially very long commute, etc. Point 2. See above. Also some offices have started to cut heating to save their own costs, so people don’t always benefit from going in in that sense anyway. Point 3. Is… that not the point? She’s essentially saying ‘grads must not work remotely, otherwise, they’ll never NOT work remotely!’ ok? sounds like if someone is looking for a 100% WFH job right off the bat, that’s what they’re banking on doing long-term. Also, it’s not like you really need ‘office experience’. Is this woman envisioning a world where someone could work 100% remote for, say, 5+ years, then decide to apply to a hybrid or office job and all of their actually job-relevant skills would be ignored, that they’d be turned down simply because they’ve never had water cooler chit-chat and taken part in an office sweepstake? Bffr. It’s a ridiculous argument to make anyway, but these points are like she didn’t even try.
I do know 1 great HR person. He ended up leaving the company I affiliated with (not an employee), worked to make the the contract work for my employees. Only one, ever. We often discussed employees as assets, not a cost. He understood my wanting to uplift, reward,, and retain good employees. I knew to disaffiliate with the company when he was pushed out by a new CEO. Only beans mattered.
I'm one of those on the opposite side to most, in that i don't really enjoy working from home and prefer the office. Why would i heat my entire house for just me? (In the UK utility costs have gone through the roof) Although my commute is only 10 minutes via bike or 30 minute walk. But i guess in a family setting i wouldn't be doing the same.
She definitely reemphasized HR’s lame reputation… 1) people are still going to pay for electricity. Commutes aren’t free. 2) I dunno, working from home generates heat. Sure beats leaving a house empty and cold only to come back and having to turn the heat back on. Also the commute is cold too… 3) Not everybody needs to experience toxic office culture. A balance is fine but mandating all staff to work in the office only benefits the micromanagers and commercial real estate property managers/owners. The bubble won’t pop. People will just leave for better work arrangements and pay.
my furnace is too spooky
Not a big risk to “miss out on” IMO
I've been working from home for almost 3 years & no one is forcing me to go back.
What an idiot. 3. Might have some traction with me but she worded it wrong
Ah, yes. I forgot you just don't use any electricity at all when you go into work in a 40,000 sq ft office with hundreds more lights on than is necessary 20 hours a day.
Extreme cringe alert
Lol can you imagine how shitty the company is if they hired this boulder to be its director of HR
Some people want to work remote, some hybrid, some don't and some don't care. It's a free market, deal with it.
As someone who works remote 100%, I don’t think you could ever get me back in an office setting. The pay would need to be astronomical.
Yeah, energy costs are high. Why is that an incentive to end WFH? I imagine a lot of companies would rather push that cost on the employee.
Pretty sure my electricity and heating costs are less than the $16 in transit it would take. Plus the 3 hours daily roundtrip costs. I could drop the transit cost to about $6 but would add at least an hour to the round-trip.
Because electricity cost and volatile electric grid become less expensive and less volatile when energizing and heating an entire giant office building? What the fuck is she saying here?
When I used to commute, my commuting cost was £250/mo in fuel alone, plus extra maintenance and depreciation on my car My gas/electricity bill is up £100
Just get a social life outside work. Or meet people you work with remotely in real life.
My electricity and heat stays on regardless of whether or not I go into the office. Does Kelly assume everyone lives alone? I save way more not having commute costs. Oh, what about the healthcare costs I save from being sick less because I’m not crammed in an office with sick people that should have stayed home?
Here’s where I’m at: there genuinely ARE some professional situations that are better for in-person work. I’m a copywriter and content strategist and brainstorms are simply better when everyone’s in the same room. I could see a company saying “We need everyone who lives within 90 minutes of the office to be in here the first Monday of every month, no exceptions outside of PTO, sick days, or emergencies.” That makes sense. But “we’re going to eventually go back to the office and you all need to suck it up bc I said so” is so… what? What are you doing? You sound like the mean spoiled kid who’s forcing everyone at the sleepover to share their crushes. Shut up.
Fuel costs and costs of transport have also gone up. Besides, I think a huge chunk of workers would be happy to pay an extra £1k or so on energy costs to keep working from home since time is money.
I absolutely hate HR and this post has increased it even more
Same here. At least she's aware no one takes them seriously lol.
Confirming HRs lame reputation
Reinforcing HR's lame reputation.
I absolutely despise HR with all the fibers of my very being.
More like adding mockery to the HR profession.
Reinventing HRs lame reputation by being as lame as all the other HR people
Reinventing HR’s reputation by celebrating ableist slurs 😎
“reinforcing HR’s lame reputation” here i fixed it. always keep in mind HR is not objective and will always side with the C levels
I agree but this is just a really lame way to say it.
God I’m glad I can WFH, in my area the trains are shut down until February. Imagine having to catch a packed replacement bus in Australian summer Told my boss I’m not coming in and he’s like ok.
Working from home is obsolete because I might get cold while working, and not know how to turn up the thermostat?
"need" to experience and office culture that sucks ass. Yeah, I am sure they can miss it without much risk
Absolutely hilarious how Kelly is "reinventing HRs lame reputation". She is absolutely enforcing HRs lame reputation and then some.
Just let people work where they want to work. Sometimes I do better at home and sometimes I do better in the office. I get my work done on time, every time though.
Bri'ish moment
I like working from my office. But it would be very arrogant on my part to demand others do the same.
I like { thing}. But it would be very arrogant on my part to demand others do the same. If everyone adopted this mindset, we would be so much better off. Kudos.
Traffic between house and work costs fuel, restaurants to eat at lunch costs more than home food. Etc etc etc
“We need to be stressed and bleed for our meager paychecks!”
Oh fuck off, Kelly.
#3 has tones of “muh daddy beat me, so imma gonna beat muh kids”
Yeah but, if there’s “no office culture” then why do the grads need to work in an office? I’m confused. This sounds like someone justifying making their workforce go back into the office. That, or they’re failing (and venting) to recruit candidates because no one in their right minds wants to go back to 365/24/7 starbucks-pret a manger everything, dressing up like a penguin to spend most of their life sitting in a random building staring at a screen. Remote working worked very well during the pandemic while we were all locked up like prisoners in our own homes.
Kelly probably wrote that from home.