A lonely tech worker's post about being 'a lot happier' after returning to the office sparked a debate around if that's only for people without kids or a hard commute
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- A tech worker's post sparked a debate on who benefits or is inconvenienced by returning to the office.
- Some workers said the return to in-person work helped them feel less isolated.
- Other workers pointed out that it's less ideal for workers with kids or long commutes.
A lonely tech worker said that going back to the office "changed my life" and it sparked a debate on Blind about which workers stand to benefit — or find themselves inconvenienced — from the push to return to in-person work.
"Staying at home had made me so depressed, lonely even tho I was hanging out every weekend with my friends," the anonymous tech worker, who says they work at a startup, said in a post on Blind Saturday that generated over 924 comments. "Despite me being a quiet and shy person, talking to new people in office or just seeing people everyday has made me a lot happier person."
Blind is an anonymous job-posting site that verifies workers' employment status by periodically requiring users to log in using their work email address. Insider did not independently verify the employment of the Blind users cited in this story.
In the Blind post, the employee broke down his average day now that his company works in person, including a one-hour commute by train. The worker said even the smallest experiences during his time away from home help boost his mood and improve his social skills. Though, they added that the return to the office for bigger companies "isn't that fun in my experience."
While the post seemed to resonate with some of the commenters online, other pointed out the return to office push is less ideal for people with young children or a difficult commute. The initial poster later pointed out in a response on the thread that they were "young and single" and without any concerns about kids.
"This is the great divide between young singles and people married with kids," an Affirm employee wrote. "Being out and about is fun when you're 24. Not that fun when you're 37 with a 3rd grader finishing school at 3pm and having soccer at 5."
A Microsoft employee added that returning to in-person work would be most ideal for people who lived in areas with high quality public transportation.
"On WFH vs RTO, a lot depends on life circumstances," the Microsoft worker said. "I've seen people where work from home during the pandemic was literally a death sentence due to the isolation. For many people though it makes far more sense to work from home."
Some workers said that while the pandemic and the push to remote work gave them more freedom to work on side hustles, the lack of division between their work environment and their home life also burnt them out.
"Everyone important in my life is busy during the workday and not going to spend time hanging out with me during the workday no matter how people on here want to spin it," an Uber employee wrote. "Much better to spend time around people all day, even if they're coworkers, than at home in total isolation."
Much of the conversation around some companies' return to office mandates has focused on the potential for increased collaboration and the benefits of in-person training.
Some CEOs have also said that younger workers could improve their career with more in-person experience. Earlier this year, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg said that employees who joined in-person performed better on average than those that had joined remotely. Since then, the company has become one of several major tech companies to start requiring its workers to come into the office for at least a few days a week.
Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that some companies and universities had begun offering courses to help compensate for some of the soft skills that new hires missed out on during the pandemic (when virtual classes and remote internships became standard), including teaching Gen-Z workers how to send an email, what to wear in the office, and how to make casual chitchat.
Do you work in tech or have insight to share? Reach out to the reporter from a non-work email at gkay@insider.com
Contributer : Business Insider https://ift.tt/HVpdy0q
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Wednesday, June 21, 2023
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