The better headline would be "Remote Startups will win the war for top talent among employees who prefer to work remotely"
Not quite so sexy. Sure some; probably even most software devs prefer remote/hybrid work, but there are still plenty of incredibly talented people out there who prefer being in the office every day.
I enjoy intense brainstorm jams on multi-wall whiteboards. In person. I guess I'm old.
However, it seems like most programmers here are just javascript pushers. So dinking with a front-end button click handler for hours on end is something that doesn't really require collaboration.
Distributed systems architect reporting in. No I don't need you to show off how brilliant you are by "brainstorming" on a whiteboard in front of me. Please just prototype your solution.
I worked for 2 years in Silicon Valley with a WFH policy that I used maybe 2 days total (once for a package and the other for apartment maintenance). If you live close to work commuting isn't so bad. I need physical space in my life. Ideally every day of the week would have a commute to a different location.
> If you live close to work commuting isn't so bad
This, I work from home when the weather is bad, otherwise it's a 10 minute bike ride, which is actually quite enjoyable when the weather is good and a nice way to compartmentalise the day (+ using my legs isn't a bad thing either)
As a contrary point, I lived 5 minutes on foot from the office and still greatly preferred staying at home (even though I didn't expect that to be true before I switched to remote).
The ergonomics of an office workplace can't compare to the extent I can customize my at-home office and kitchen supplies to suite my exact needs.
Polio, Monkey Pox, Covid variant x, environmental concerns, inflation. The office isn't coming back unless we fall into some dystopia where they force people back in.
People had a taste of life WFH during the pandemic. Overwhelmingly they loved working from home even though there were a minority who wanted a return to the office.
The hybrid model or remote work will be the only real possibilities going forward. Top talent does matter and is the edge that companies like Apple and Google use to stay competitive. They need that talent more that talent needs them. Plain and simple.
I don't really think these are reasons to work remotely, at this point. Until we eradicate disease, we have and will continue to operate in a world with small but not-insignificant risk of disease transmission.
Lower pollution. At this point it's almost criminal to force people to go to the office. Companies should be required to apply and get approval from the government on a case by case basis and explain why that employee needs to commute to the office and add pollution to the air we share.
> Companies should be required to apply and get approval...
Are you sure your perspective isn't too biased towards professionals working in tech and business service industries? Your proposal is logically consistent with lowering emissions and changing the culture of the way we work, but it rests on a few assumptions that have not yet been demonstrated, namely the effectiveness of remote work. I worry you're underestimating the impact (stifling) that this will have on the flexibility and growth of businesses across many industries.
I also see this as a major loss of individual freedom. You can argue that this loss of freedom is worth the cost, but I don't think you can say that this criticism is invalid.
The better headline would be "Remote Startups will win the war for top talent among employees who prefer to work remotely"
Not quite so sexy. Sure some; probably even most software devs prefer remote/hybrid work, but there are still plenty of incredibly talented people out there who prefer being in the office every day.