The issues I've found with hybrid working are that a) people come in on different days, so it's not really the same as full time, and b) because video conferencing still sucks so much if you have some people in a room and some on Zoom, the ones in the room tend to give up on the zoom people and have side conversations because it's so much easier.
Also I can see it from the company's point of view - it sucks paying for a desk for only 3 days a week and everyone hates hotdesking.
I think office work is mostly superior for most people except for the commute (and also the ability to naughtily do house chores when you technically should be working). Maybe we should concentrate on making commutes nicer.
I think employees should also be given the choice of hot desking vs cold desking for an appropriate pay rise/cut. Nobody likes hot desking but I bet few would be willing to pay the actual cost for a dedicated desk.
> If you have some people in a room and some on Zoom, the ones in the room tend to give up on the zoom people and have side conversations because it's so much easier.
That's really interesting. We have the opposite experience. We use Google Meet and the "collaborator" mode? (Where someone can join from their device without video or audio). People use the hand raise feature even on the in-person side, and it feels like everyone gets a voice. We also don't have many people in these meetings (5 max)
> naughtily do house chores when you technically should be working
In the office I sometimes sat staring at a screen, achieving nothing except deflating my mood. At home I will go and hang the washing, and come back feeling a little boosted and make far more progress with whatever problem I had. At the office I would often take a walk. If someone thought that was "naughty" I would be seriously concerned about their effect on the company
You can't get commute nicer. It can only get worse and worse, with the growth of population and acceleration of wealth transfer from majority to minority (this is important because it either fixates or denies people ability to move to a new place to live). Even force banning cars from cities (a fantasy) won't help, because cities themselves are becoming bigger and affordable living is pushed to the outside gradually.
"What no [spouse] of a writer can ever understand is that a writer is working when he's staring out of the window.” – Burton Rascoe
That said, while I was familiar with this old saying, I've never heard of Burton Rascoe, and I had to use Google to attribute the quote properly. Maybe keeping one's nose to the proverbial grindstone at the office really is the secret to success.
Also I can see it from the company's point of view - it sucks paying for a desk for only 3 days a week and everyone hates hotdesking.
I think office work is mostly superior for most people except for the commute (and also the ability to naughtily do house chores when you technically should be working). Maybe we should concentrate on making commutes nicer.
I think employees should also be given the choice of hot desking vs cold desking for an appropriate pay rise/cut. Nobody likes hot desking but I bet few would be willing to pay the actual cost for a dedicated desk.