No Stupid Questions

I have a pretty good hybrid situation, where it’s probably good for me to get dressed and out of the house twice a week. It helps that it’s only three mile commute with no traffic. I’d probably look for that, even if I don’t like going in.

That being said, we hire across many time zones and I don’t even work with local people so I’m not sure the point. Why is my company wasting money on a local office so I can be on Zoom all day, but can’t spend the travel budget even once for me to meet the people I work with (from Boston, I generally work with people in London, Toronto, Bangalore)

Software developer here. I only apply for onsite jobs if I believe I will be able to formally or informally switch to hybrid once I build some trust.

I run a development department, and nobody who reports to me comes to the office. We have been 100% remote since 2020... much to the chagrin of HR. Others in IT come in, but no developers. I see no reason to change it either. I question why I even come in most days.

Without looking it up, I don't know how many people I've interviewed over the last 4 years, but there's been a few. I've only had one person who indicated he wanted to be in an office. Every other person wants fully remote. The most common comment I've heard from people is saying they will settle for hybrid if full-remote isn't available.

There's some value to having people work together in-person, but I'd rather give my teams the flexibility to choose for themselves rather than force it.

That’s weird it wasn’t in the job posting. Seems like they’re wasting their time talking to candidates that aren’t interested in on-site.

I only want remote. The company I work for was once extremely remote friendly. Like 75% of job postings from them were for remote. Now they’ve changed to hybrid or fully on-site at the word from the CEO and like only 5% of open roles are remote.

They kept me remote, but my interactions with others are much less remote friendly. I’m looking for a new job, but will have to be for a company that is mostly remote itself.

I'm also trying hard to avoid being in the office, even taking pay cuts for it. I can't sit in a damn office and write code. The stress from trying to block out people moving and talking is exhausting.

Web marketer here. If it says hybrid or on site, it's an automatic no for me. Nobody is taking me away from watching my son grow up.

I prefer to work in the office.

Lower utility bills for me. What little I spend in gas, yeah it’s a no brainier.

Also as the chair/desk/etc wears out, the company pays for it. It’s not like they give me the difference if I work from home.

My only complaint is led lights. Companies don’t understand what they are doing when they buy the lights.

Full remote all the way.

Demand that in your contracts so you have flexibility. Then it's a choice not an obligation to come to the office.

The office is 3 day a week onsite, w Mon and Fri remote.

I have to be on site Tue - Thur to support the users.

I go in most Mon and Fri because it's the only time I know I have physical access to the systems.

My support work is largely "remote", in that I can manage my systems 99% of the time better from my office than in the room, and I really like my setup.

Aside from physically rebooting hardware that's too frozen to reboot remotely, or replacing defective hardware, I can work 100% from anywhere I have internet.

Thing is, I love the company I work for, the end users and various IT and facilities staff that support my work are all great people.

The only close friends I have all moved far away decades ago, so the "water cooler" is the only real social interaction I get.

I do spend a ridiculous amount to live 15 minutes from the office so the commute isn't a concern.

I wouldn’t back out automatically. It depends on the situation for me. I did a fully on-site job in the role I had right before my current and it was worth it. Now I’m in the office usually 60% of the time. It’s not for everyone, but I would not immediately shut down a job opportunity just because it’s 100% on site.

I hope to never go back to office. Remote has been a life changer. I have time to keep weeds out of my garden. The flexibility to have workers at my house whenever they are available. The freedom to set up my desk how I like it. Time to eat breakfast. I don't get headaches every day any more from the lighting. I get to go outside during breaks for some sunshine time. I'm here when the kids come home.

My work is more focused. No more road stress. I may be able to move to a place I can tolerate. No more wearing makeup that is bad for my skin. No more having to pack a lunch. My life is infinitely better without having to commute.

There is one reason I think onsite works, and that's for relocation.

If you are from the US and you want to move to the UK, how do you intend to move via work if your work is remote?

I love remote work, but I've not heard a rebuttal for this other than "don't let foreigners move here" or "let's let people move based on their level of education".