Objectively intelligent.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Did you just call me Coltrane?

For me it's the pantry/fridge. Snack time!

I've been running more during covid and have still gained weight.

Rowing machine + Old school iron weights. Never felt better. Weight gain, however. But muscle, not fat.

But if this were Bridget Jones’ Diary, I’d also add: “Too embarrassed to list units of alcohol.” Beer and bourbon/scotch season shall now test how fat I can get despite the enhanced workout regimen. Gin and vodka are low calorie.

I have no diary, and only slightly resemble Renee Zellwegger.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Icky Thump

A few friends I have who have left described it as flat out mental illness. I only use that analogy as the squirrels seem to do it sua sponte because I can't throw them peanuts fast enough. I try to remind them that they don't have to do it but they are hungry.

The greatest compliment I ever got was from a paralegal who worked for us, but not directly for me but with whom I interacted on a number of projects.

She said, and I forgot the context "You always treat people as equals." One of my feel-good moments.

I wrote “worked for” here to make the point, but I’d never say it that way in conversation. The proper preposition is “with.”

Maybe that’s another silver lining of Covid? I’ll get to actually punch in the face any asshole who sends back a dish at dinner when restaurants finally reopen fully in earnest?

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by Replaced_Texan

I suspect that there will be a lot of moving once this is over. Some employers won't be able to let go of how it was done before. Some employees will never be able to go back.

I haven't seen anyone I work with since March. I'm not on the market, but I interviewed today with a company that explained that they don't do WFH or remote work. I wanted to say, WTF?

[Icky Thump]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

Winter is easy. Layers and get out the door. And have a machine of some sort for a day or so a week: I’ve a Nordic Track- I run Monday at 15 degrees it tomorrow I get to just use the BT. 1 day at a time!

Layers I have. Machine I don't. I went to buy a treadmill recently and realize I don't have a car big enough to pick one up. And delivery dates . . . the vaccine will be delivered sooner.

[Did you just call me Coltrane?]

Originally Posted by Pretty Little Flower

We’ve noticed.

How dare you sir.

[Did you just call me Coltrane?]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

With Coltrane out running on the roads, I'd buy concrete futures for Chicago. Can you imagine the damage he is doing to them with all those pounds? #amirite? #elephantwalk

I will sue you in the Supreme Court.

[Did you just call me Coltrane?]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

Winter is easy. Layers and get out the door. And have a machine of some sort for a day or so a week: I’ve a Nordic Track- I run Monday at 15 degrees, then tomorrow I get to just use the NT. 1 day at a time!

Running in the winter is great. I prefer it to summer.

[Icky Thump]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

I wrote “worked for” here to make the point, but I’d never say it that way in conversation. The proper preposition is “with.”

You are too nice. The correct response would have been:

Originally Posted by Icky Thump

. . . worked for us, but not directly for me but . . .

She said . . . "You always treat people as equals." . . .

Not really. The correct preposition is "with" not "for".

Yup. I take this like when I asked my son's friend "Your dad can skate?"

[Icky Thump]

Originally Posted by Did you just call me Coltrane?

Running in the winter is great. I prefer it to summer.

Today was 28F, gray and not fun. It used to be more fun when I did it less often for shorter distances.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Replaced_Texan

I'm actually super curious on how this pans out in a year or so. I'm infinitely more productive here with barking dogs and my husband vacuu-sealing stuff in the kitchen and the distraction of a million things in my house than I ever was at the office.

One of the admins outside my door and an eggshell neighbor made it so I was always worried there about the noise I made. Here, none whatsoever. If I blare RATM while I'm going through documents, my husband is happy to hear it in the next room. I have more time to get work shit done because I'm not commuting or having to deal with small talk or even moving from meeting a to meeting b. Everyone has figured out WebEx, and while the number of meetings is up, we're getting better at getting to the point quickly and getting out asap. I'm super-siloed in my practice, and I don't need to walk down the hall to bounce ideas off a colleague's head.

From late September until this week, we were going in once a week on a staggered basis for some unclear reason. I was ok with it because there was no one else in the building and I could get some affidavits notarized, but I didn't see the point in it. Numbers are up again, and we're at home for the foreseeable future. A good hunk of the employees at work will be in the front of the line for the vaccine, but I'm happy to wait here.

I suspect that there will be a lot of moving once this is over. Some employers won't be able to let go of how it was done before. Some employees will never be able to go back.

I don't have kids. I have a job that I can do this. My situation is different than tons of other people who need/want the structure of the old way of doing things. I work in a fairly traditional place, and I'm really interested in whether or not the changes will be permanent. I suspect some of them will be for some people. For others, not at all.

Employment lawyers are going to have an interesting few years ahead of them.

I think people who assume offices will make a broad comeback miss the fact that not only are companies able to shave lease or carry costs, but they are also able to:

1. Avoid HR costs (dispersed employees can't harass each other as easily);
2. Avoid insurance costs;
3. Avoid supply costs (all those leases and purchases of copiers, printers, desks, cubicles, etc. - gone);
4. And (HUGE one here) they can limit wage increases (ability to stay at home is an economic gain to workers who avoid commuting costs, which justifies the employer paying less... I've read that in some instances, employers are considering decreasing wages for stay at home workers because such an arrangement is providing them with the benefit of a wage which was previously justified based on cost of having to work in office.)

If your company is creative, or a start up, you'll always need an office for interaction. But it's going to be seriously difficult for any company to justify ignoring all of the savings that accrue from jettisoning high priced real estate and leases.

Also, companies that are forward thinking will want to hire remotely because it expands the talent pool immeasurably.

The final argument I hear for why offices in densely populated areas will make a broad comeback is that young people will want to work together and be together. They're looking for mates, for connections, etc. This makes some sense superficially, but falters a bit when you examine the assertion more closely. How many people find mates at work? Not a lot, I'd assume. Most people try to avoid office romances because they can be career disasters. And as to connections, people have the internet. They can get connected to people who can help their career far more easily and quickly by connecting through online networks than they can using the often slow and unpredictable method of glad-handing and meeting through drinks or dinner with mutual acquaintances. Also, a lot of the most important people to whom you'd want to be connected are going to be working from their places in FL.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

I haven't seen anyone I work with since March. I'm not on the market, but I interviewed today with a company that explained that they don't do WFH or remote work. I wanted to say, WTF?

I just met with a friend who had a similar experience. The job was offered as remote, but they asked if he was willing to move.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

I just met with a friend who had a similar experience. The job was offered as remote, but they asked if he was willing to move.

This job was listed in TCOTU, to which I am not eager to move. But I figured I was a good fit otherwise, and who is works in an office these days? Turns out they want to. LA might be a possible alternative.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

I think people who assume offices will make a broad comeback miss the fact that not only are companies able to shave lease or carry costs, but they are also able to:

1. Avoid HR costs (dispersed employees can't harass each other as easily);
2. Avoid insurance costs;
3. Avoid supply costs (all those leases and purchases of copiers, printers, desks, cubicles, etc. - gone);
4. And (HUGE one here) they can limit wage increases (ability to stay at home is an economic gain to workers who avoid commuting costs, which justifies the employer paying less... I've read that in some instances, employers are considering decreasing wages for stay at home workers because such an arrangement is providing them with the benefit of a wage which was previously justified based on cost of having to work in office.)

If your company is creative, or a start up, you'll always need an office for interaction. But it's going to be seriously difficult for any company to justify ignoring all of the savings that accrue from jettisoning high priced real estate and leases.

Also, companies that are forward thinking will want to hire remotely because it expands the talent pool immeasurably.

The final argument I hear for why offices in densely populated areas will make a broad comeback is that young people will want to work together and be together. They're looking for mates, for connections, etc. This makes some sense superficially, but falters a bit when you examine the assertion more closely. How many people find mates at work? Not a lot, I'd assume. Most people try to avoid office romances because they can be career disasters. And as to connections, people have the internet. They can get connected to people who can help their career far more easily and quickly by connecting through online networks than they can using the often slow and unpredictable method of glad-handing and meeting through drinks or dinner with mutual acquaintances. Also, a lot of the most important people to whom you'd want to be connected are going to be working from their places in FL.

Our employment lawyer and Title IX coordinator both say that somehow or another we've had an increase in complaints this year. I'm not quite clear on how that happened, but...

I'm in healthcare, so we're always going to have to have some physical presence onsite. But not nearly as much as we thought we did. The tricky part will be some roles really don't need to be onsite while others do, and still others it's hit or miss. And unfortunately, it's to some extent more important for the lower-level folk to be there than those of us who really just need a laptop and a phone.

That said, I think it's probably architectural malpractice for anyone to design a home going forward that doesn't think through work space. It doesn't need to be a ton of space, but it does need to be thought through.

[Adder]

Originally Posted by Replaced_Texan

Our employment lawyer and Title IX coordinator both say that somehow or another we've had an increase in complaints this year. I'm not quite clear on how that happened, but...

I don't think it's hard to imagine that being across a phone line or internet video depersonalized and disinhibits a bit. It also may lead to a better record to ground complaints too.

Lot harder to sue for off color comment in the break room alone than the one via email/chat/text.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020....html#comments