Work Reform

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A place to discuss positive changes that can make work more equitable, and to vent about current practices. We are NOT against work; we just want the fruits of our labor to be recognized better.

Our Philosophies:

All workers must be paid a living wage for their labor.
Income inequality is the main cause of lower living standards.
Workers must join together and fight back for what is rightfully theirs.
We must not be divided and conquered. Workers gain the most when they focus on unifying issues.

Our Goals

Higher wages for underpaid workers.
Better worker representation, including but not limited to unions.
Better and fewer working hours.
Stimulating a massive wave of worker organizing in the United States and beyond.
Organizing and supporting political causes and campaigns that put workers first.

founded 1 year ago

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CEOs will finally admit next year that return-to-office mandates didn’t move the productivity needle, future of work experts predict (fortune.com)

submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I think this is because the reason to get people to get back into office was to protect commercial real estate values.

Now that the third tallest tower in LA sold for 45% its previous selling price, the dominoes have started to fall.

Now, it will be about getting people to work from home and trying to get out of these buildings as they are a failed investment.

So we are going to start seeing companies “offer” to let people work from home. They may even ask you to take a pay cut or something for the privilege.

This is just my prediction and I’m not an expert in these fields. So take this with a grain of salt.

If you are working in an office by force and they offer to let you work from home with a pay cut, I’d hold out a few months as they may start forcing people to work from home at full pay.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 10 months ago

So here is some real-world anecdata from this current month: I have been interviewing in UK with smaller companies and one of the first questions has been what compensation I am seeking. I have been upfront about my preference (remote first) and travel costs, which I calculate as approximately the equivalent of £10k/year gross salary for each scheduled day/week on site from my location to nearest major city. I have said that I can do up to 2 x regular day/week onsite.

Nobody has disputed my reckoning or reasoning
Startup company advertised 'hybrid'. I gave a comp ask saying 'with 1 day/week on site'. They came back to suggest a 10k lesser figure full remote. I withdrew because I accepted another offer but this would have been acceptable.
Scale-up company- again advertised 'hybrid', suggesting 1 day/fortnight onsite. I gave same salary/travel calculation. They came back with offer of my basic figure for remote with quarterly visits at company expense instead, i.e. travel, accommodation etc. I accepted this.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

I think this is because the reason to get people to get back into office was to protect commercial real estate values.

I keep seeing people make this claim, but I never see any evidence to back it up. Large businesses usually lease their office space, so why should they care how much it is worth? And the ones that do own their buildings, probably aren't planning to sell any time soon, so why should they care?

The whole thing just sounds like nonsense to me.