vernonc

I work for a consumer tech company. The culture is work from the office. I changed that for myself first and then for my team. Unofficially. I had to argue for a T2200 in my first year. I see no point in sales going into the office to do emails and calls. My team and I would rather not spend 1-2 hrs commuting to get on a phone. Some of my team plus the extended team (mktg, PMs etc) are not in the same city. Even weird was the expectation of being in the office on alternate days during Covid, wear a mask, cannot have lunch at the same table. So my team working from home is viewed with mutterings under breath and discontent by other teams but the results have been stellar so no one wants to poke the bear. Also, no one has left our team for four years - they are making their bonuses, we are gaining share, work life balance is good. Hard to argue with that though there have been spirited attempts by micro managers. I have been known to loudly profess that I do not care if my team members are on a beach in Mexico provided the numbers are great and customers are happy. My team and me have been known to take calls during kids soccer games, at the dentist, etc. Most of my team has 10+ yrs experience, some double that so no newbies that need micromanaging.
I have worked from home and only gone in on a set day or only for meetings at three employers (all fairly large) over the last 16 years. I understand this does not work for all industries or even for all roles. Unless there is a critical need for people to be in the office like our service team that fixes stuff, there is no point in the old way of working at least for my field of work. Performance is measured in other ways, not by time in the office. Most tech companies have reduced their office footprint and costs by WFH. I may be generalizing but I see a lot of Asian and South Asian companies that have this must work in the office culture.
I guess I am fortunate.

canadiancow

This is where I've seen things be annoying. I want to work during "normal" business hours. I do not want to do any work in the evenings. That is my work/life balance.

But if I need to have a meeting with someone who does all their shopping mid-day to avoid the evening crowds, their attempt at improving their work/life balance is negatively affecting mine.

I do prefer an office*, but my issue with wfh isn't so much the "home" aspect as the inevitable result of "I'll put in 8 hours today, but no guarantees when it will be", which definitely costs productivity.

* for collaboration, socialization, even just to get out of my home.

WaytoomuchEurope

There are those who are taking the flexibility and comfort a little too far. I just interviewed a guy:

Sitting in his car. Not the worst, but it struck as odd.
Wearing a hoodie and a hat. That's just really poor judgment.
Teams call dropped in the middle and he went dark for about 7 minutes. I was just about to call it when he came back on "sorry, I received a phone call".

Just about to draft an email of gratitude for the recruiter who presented this one as a good option.

yyztozag

On AC?

Next line: “um, sorry, I, uh, what position is this for again?”

vancouver25k

Fixed that for you.

I will throw out there that I need good technical people (think SWE/SREs but for customer facing roles). If interested, PM me and we can talk.

canadiancow

No, that would be off topic

vernonc

There is no expectation for them to take calls after 'normal' working hours and no one is regularly working weird hours but sometimes that may be the best option specially for urgent matters that require quick resolution. We do not set regular calls after hours, anything after hours is likely an escalation. We also have time difference between East Coast and West Coast. So based on urgency and everyone's availability we may need to have a call at 8am PST or at 7pm EST. On very rare occasions I have to attend calls with Asia and the best time for people on Asia time, West Coast and East coast is between 8pm and 12pm EST.
Everyone works regular office hours. But if they do go to the dentist or groceries the flip side is they make up after hours and are available anytime for urgent matters with kids in the car. We have a good cadence and trust in each other. They do not have to tell me that they are going to the dentist or have a Dr appt - only tell me if you will be missing for a longer period of time. A few years back I found a couple who abused the flexibility and are no longer working with us - one had another part time commission job - customers complained about his availability, numbers were sliding and he did not have a grasp on the business. Does not take long to get found out. Its not for everyone and culture fit is good.

Adam Smith

@Bohemian1 @canadiancow I'm currently sipping a Dead Reckoning made with Dos Maderas 5+5. [Expletive not permitted by FT] delicious. I was thinking that rum reminded me a lot of Scotch, and then I looked at the box and realized it's because it gets 5 years of aging in sherry casks, and many of my favourite Scotches are aged in sherry casks.

That might have replaced the El Dorado 12 as my go-to Category 3 rum on the Smuggler's system. But I'll have to do some traditional rigorous blind taste testing, otherwise this wouldn't be the Smith Cocktail Lab!

Really? At this scale and stage of the company? This isn't 10 people trying to get something off the ground.

Yeah, there's no push here. It's just a constant grind. Often to no particular end, which is the thing that makes it all so frustrating.

canadiancow

I actually had a proper Dead Reckoning tonight, and now I'm waiting for my ride home

RangerNS

I don't think I need a new job, but I do need less bad clients.

I have to make a point of bringing this up again before I get back to the bench as this current overpaid-intern gig wraps up.

Bohemian1

Oh great, a rum I don't have and can't find in [Expletive not permitted by FT] Vancouver. Although LCBO seems to have it and I will be in YYZ next week. I wonder if it worth (shudder) checking a bag on the return? Hmmm.

This would be less for the Dead Reckoning, which is a drink I'm still not sure I actually like, but more to build out the Category 3 bench behind my existing Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva, El Dorado 12, Plantation 20th Anniversary and Mount Gay XO. Gotta have a deep bench if you want to take home the trophy!

Adam Smith

Are you saying I don't make a proper one?

Do you mean you need fewer clients that are bad, or that the clients you take on need to be less bad than the ones you deal with now?

It's available in AB, and I could schlep you a bottle the next time I'm headed your direction.

That's quite the bench. No Appleton though?

I realized why I liked that rum so much. The 5 + 5 is 5 years aged in the Caribbean, then 5 years aged in sherry casks in Xerez. And we all know how much I love my sherry cask aged whisky. No wonder I thought it vaguely reminded me of Scotch.

RangerNS

Its one client at a time, so I suppose I mean the next one needs to be less bad.

I mean, I've come to terms with the idea that (by analogy) oncologists only ever meet people with cancer, so if things were good they wouldn't need me. But whatever the opposite of smart people asking smart questions is, that has been my last year.

Bohemian1

I used to also have Appleton Estate Rare Blend but ran out and couldn't get any at my local liquor store. I've just been too lazy to look anywhere.

canadiancow

Nah, just that I was at SC