Micheal Bloomberg doesn’t like you working from home. At least that’s what I read earlier this week via a news article via Shitter, I mean Xitter. (X is pronounced as sh, right?) His reasons seem to be that he found the golf courses were too busy during the week. No seriously, that’s what he was basing it on. It appears Mr. Bloomberg can’t go golfing during the middle of the week and just walk onto a course like he used to pre-covid. He thinks workers are slacking off during the day.
Now, in the same article (no, I don’t have the damned link. I read it on like, Tuesday and today is Friday.) it was pointed out that productivity is up. So, what’s Micheal’s real beef? People taking some time off during the day, but getting more done or was he just pissed that when he decided to take some time off during the day his favorite golf course was busy?
F U Micheal.
Seriously, this discussion about going back to the office has gotten really stupid. And I don’t work any more, I’m an observer. Corporations were/are saving money on not paying people to come into their office. Saving money on rent, utilities, maintenance, etc. So what’s pushing the drive to get back to the office?
New COVID-19 infections are on the rise(we’ll not get into the reasons for that, Let’s just say, update your vaccinations.) and some employers are wanting people back in the office. There are many jobs that require you to go to your workplace(Healthcare, retail, food service, etc.), but if you worked from a cubicle and were often in meetings with colleagues via phone or video conferencing and that’s what you’re doing from home as well, why do you need to be face to face with a cubicle wall?
I’ve heard from some that they liked going in because they missed the social side of work. Well, that social side is why your productivity sucked. Whether you were visiting, or your cubicle neighbor was visiting, or a group of your colleagues were visiting together near your cubicle, you weren’t getting much work done.
So here’s a question. What is your employer paying you for? What you’re bring to the table? Or are they paying you to work 40 hours? Because from where I’m sitting, most of these employers appear to be upset that you’re not working 40 hours. Well guess what boss, you weren’t getting forty hours when they were in the office either. Anecdotally speaking, your employees are probably giving you more work product now than when they were under your thumb at the office.
On the other side I hear that some employees say they can’t work from home because of the kids interrupting, etc. etc. etc. Well, that’s because you never set boundaries when you started to work from home. Guess what, you probably have the same problem at work, interrupters interfering with your work. Why? Boundaries.
Back to Micheal and others. The real problem as I see it are landlords of large office buildings. Buildings that are sitting at low occupancy. My guess is Mr. Bloomberg’s businesses own a piece or a whole of some of these empty edifices. Hey Micheal, I have an idea, convert them to affordable housing.