Ask HN: Should WFH Be a Mandated Option for All Remote-Capable Jobs?

[qqqqquinnnnn]

On average, 37% of jobs can be done from home. https://www.nber.org/papers/w26948.pdf

However, most companies are reluctant to allow WFH, as they see decreases in productivity.

Now that you've had a chance to experience it, what's your perspective? Are you raring to go back to the office? Do you want to stay in your own study for the rest of days?

Whatever your personal perspective, should companies be required to offer a WFH option for all employees? Say a 10% paycut for full-time WFH vs commuting to the office.

[throwaway713]

> Now that you've had a chance to experience it, what's your perspective?

The current situation is not representative of typical remote working conditions. I am fortunate in that I do not have relatives that need care or children that are home from school (yet), and that I have an extra room with a door that I can close, a comfortable chair, and a nice view out the window. Many people do not have these luxuries at the moment; a lot of my coworkers in the Bay Area have 2-3 children home from school, are sharing cramped apartment spaces, and have an unergonomic setup with poor internet connectivity.

If anything, I worry that the current situation may drive the possibility of remote work backwards a bit.

[Osiris]

I work at a software company and we had a culture of not working from home very often. The last few weeks, JIRA has shown that we're more productive than ever in terms of closing tickets.

Hopefully what we'll see if that employers that we're previously skiddish about letting employees work from home home will see that it's not the distopia they imagined it would be and it'll become more normal.

[ruh-roh → Osiris]

We have seen an uptick in productivity as well.

I do not expect a long-term fundamental policy shift to wfh after we get through this, but I do suspect the company will be more comfortable with it in practice. Something like 2-4 days a month.

[qqqqquinnnnn → Osiris]

I'm really hoping to see that - certainly some teams will underperform but I have a gut feeling that there's a lot of people who would do a lot better without having to do any water cooler chitchat

[znpy]

> Ask HN: Should WFH Be a Mandated Option for All Remote-Capable Jobs?

Here in Italy that's the case already. More than that actually:

If your line of business is not vital to the basic functioning of the nation (think of: utilities, grocery stores, journalism, banking, public transport) then you can either work from home or close down.

Basically yes, is a mandated option. The other option is closing down.

[shams93]

A 60% drop in pollution in LA with WFH I think it should be mandated in high pollution zones like City of LA

[qqqqquinnnnn → shams93]

ooooo externality mandated wfh I love it

[s1artibartfast]

No. Management should be able to decide if wfh makes sense for a given team based on on their personal situation. Some of my team members are more productive at home, some are deadweight. It is almost impossible to fire or hire someone at my company so I would rather have all the tools available to maximize productivity.

[qqqqquinnnnn → s1artibartfast]

that sounds like the company needs to restructure it's hiring/firing framework rather than punishing those who would be great at wfh.

[s1artibartfast → qqqqquinnnnn]

I would like that as well, but I think the risk of lawsuit is too high.

[gremlinsinc]

'Mandated' is a strong word... I think we should take away taxcuts and subsidies for a lot of industries like oil - and give it to companies who do WFH as we're seeing a HUGE benefit to the environment as a result.

So, not 'mandated' but 'highly encouraged'.

[jfalcon]

I did. No regrets. But I always inflate my salary demand intentionally. I'll never be rich working for "the man" so I make sure to run side gigs to get me out of the employee rat race and find my own wealth.

[gdulli]

My personal perspective is that I can't wait for things to go back to normal and to have a workplace to go to instead of sitting around the house all day.

I'm wired to want to get out into the world and see people. That doesn't mean I'm extremely social, that I consider co-workers my family, or that they're my closest friends. But there are significant intangibles that come from being with them in person instead of being alone.

[tbyehl → gdulli]

I've been remote for years and can't wait for all the people in my home to get back to their regular workplace / school routines. I miss my ~7 hours of daily solitude.

[jfalcon → tbyehl]

Sounds like you should consider building an external office so you can write it off as your home office space.

[tbyehl → jfalcon]

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act took away pretty much all "Unreimbursed Employee Expenses" deductions for most classes of employees. Thanks, Obama. Err, Trump.

We generally do alright but these are unusual circumstances. I'm sure I'll hit a breaking point eventually and move my office to a room that gives me more isolation from everyone else.

[jfalcon → tbyehl]

You may want to consider getting a business license for your side gig as a "consultant" then if the employer deduction isn't tickling your fancy.

[zozos → gdulli]

I have the exact same feeling right now.

[qqqqquinnnnn → gdulli]

interesting, do you live alone?

[gdulli → qqqqquinnnnn]

I don't see the relevance there. Over the years I've lived alone, with a romantic partner, or with platonic friends/roommates at different times. My feelings about remote work don't change based on differences in the home situation.

[NonEUCitizen]

In Singapore, "Jail, fines for employers who do not allow employees to work from home where possible"

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/covid-19-work...

[hackandtrip]

It's already a mandated option in Italy; there are a large number of jobs that can be done with a little adjustment from home.

On the other hand, some jobs (e.g: lawyer reviewing some documents together?) require some tech that it's not there since there was not a necessity. I wonder if some startups targeting specific niches like that will rise.

[JeanMarcS → hackandtrip]

I think OP’s question is for non pandemic periods (or maybe I misread it ?)

Is it mandatory in Italy in « normal » times ?

I think that would be great !

[hackandtrip → JeanMarcS]

Sorry, I misread the context; sadly no, it's not in normal times, but it's surely growing in different companies.

Thanks for the clarification.

[derision]

No, the less mandated by law, the better

[qqqqquinnnnn → derision]

I kinda figure the only purpose of the law is to protect citizens against the vagaries of unchecked economic progress

[qqqqquinnnnn → derision]

well that and violence

[duxup]

Doesn't make sense to me to mandate it.

Different companies should be able to find their best structure on their own.

[gwright]

Mandated? If you grant government the power to mandate this sort of thing (in the absence of an emergency), you have granted government the power to micro-manage everything. What would be the limiting principle to government power?

This is a bad idea.