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One thing I find interesting is that individual contributors always seem to feel they are more productive when WFH. But at least anecdotally the upper managemen

One thing I find interesting is that individual contributors always seem to feel they are more productive when WFH. But at least anecdotally the upper management I have talked to in tech companies are saying that WFH has dropped productivity significantly. Now maybe this is just WFH w/ all the stresses of a pandemic vs. WFH in normal times, but it is interesting.

tomc1985 5y ago
Perhaps each of these cohorts are speaking out of their own biases and not any kind of impartial findings
xwdv 5y ago
It’s bullshit. Their “asses in chairs” metric that they use to measure productivity is not working anymore.
kjjjjjjjjjjjjjj 5y ago
> But at least anecdotally the upper management I have talked to in tech companies are saying that WFH has dropped productivity significantly. Well you need to actually do work to be productive remotely. Upper management doesn't really do anything.
sanderjd 5y ago
As a tech lead, I totally understand that. I'm way more productive at IC work from home, but I really want to be able to meet with my team in person, at least sometimes.
- tartoran 5y ago
  That’s reasonable. But warming up an office chiar for 40 hours a week is the other extreme I don’t want to go back to.
xyzzy_plugh 5y ago
It's a culture and communication issue. Many middle managers are used to back to back meetings and full calendars and hallway conversations and constant face-to-face. Of course it'll be an adjustment. There's no innate limitation of WFH in this scenario, but folks need to adapt to the technology. Some of the best managers I've ever interacted with managed remote ICs or were remote themselves. Their communication skills were excellent. The average manager I've worked with has poor communication skills (sure, lots of meetings though) and won't adapt well.
bcrosby95 5y ago
Also anecdotally, upper management I've talked to has noticed little to no difference in productivity.
ryandrake 5y ago
> But at least anecdotally the upper management I have talked to in tech companies are saying that WFH has dropped productivity significantly. Curious: has any major tech company yet publicly provided numbers showing WFH negatively impacts productivity or profitability?

tomc1985 5y ago

Perhaps each of these cohorts are speaking out of their own biases and not any kind of impartial findings

xwdv 5y ago

It’s bullshit. Their “asses in chairs” metric that they use to measure productivity is not working anymore.

kjjjjjjjjjjjjjj 5y ago

> But at least anecdotally the upper management I have talked to in tech companies are saying that WFH has dropped productivity significantly. Well you need to actually do work to be productive remotely. Upper management doesn't really do anything.

sanderjd 5y ago

As a tech lead, I totally understand that. I'm way more productive at IC work from home, but I really want to be able to meet with my team in person, at least sometimes.

tartoran 5y ago
That’s reasonable. But warming up an office chiar for 40 hours a week is the other extreme I don’t want to go back to.

xyzzy_plugh 5y ago

It's a culture and communication issue. Many middle managers are used to back to back meetings and full calendars and hallway conversations and constant face-to-face. Of course it'll be an adjustment. There's no innate limitation of WFH in this scenario, but folks need to adapt to the technology. Some of the best managers I've ever interacted with managed remote ICs or were remote themselves. Their communication skills were excellent. The average manager I've worked with has poor communication skills (sure, lots of meetings though) and won't adapt well.

bcrosby95 5y ago

Also anecdotally, upper management I've talked to has noticed little to no difference in productivity.

ryandrake 5y ago

> But at least anecdotally the upper management I have talked to in tech companies are saying that WFH has dropped productivity significantly. Curious: has any major tech company yet publicly provided numbers showing WFH negatively impacts productivity or profitability?