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this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2023
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Technology
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If I were predisposed toward conspiracies I would definitely be convinced by now that every medium-to-large business owner in the country was part of a secret cabal who made a pact to demand return to office for whatever terrible reason sounded good to them.
My own workplace is mandating a hybrid model for any employees within 30 miles of an office after "much research, discussion, and debate with employees." They've typically been very reasonable and generous to their workforce, and I just don't understand what they're thinking, honestly.
As to conspiracies, it's not really the businesses, it's the property.
My company leased their office & remote work has lead to a increase in production so we're getting a smaller office & staying remote.
Hilariously, the data don't back them up, my wife does research on this very topic for a company. The dollar signs do though, they have to justify the property expenditures.
No. That's sunk cost fallacy.
If they've already bought and paid for the buildings, they are not losing more money by not using them.
In fact, they probably save money on things like maintenance, overhead, security on physical sites when they're not being used. They could also be renting those spaces out, or straight up selling.
It's hurting the commuting industry.
Smart company would be selling the property before the prices crash
Sell it to who?
Relevant owls 🦉🦉
Don't most companies have Blackrock on their board, who had been buying real estate for the better part of the last 5 years.
Commercial property values. They want the offices full so their investment retains value. Dassit.
I don't get this argument. Most business don't own any property. The office buildings are rented.
From my (very limited) understanding, the underlying reason is the health of the national economy.
A bunch of businesses giving up their office space would destroy the commercial real estate market, and that could trigger another economic recession/depression. It could take the economy years to recover, costing companies billions, and bankrupting some of them. Even fierce competitors will work together in order to prevent that from happening. (I’m not sure how realistic that fear is; I’m just explaining their reasoning.)
So, while an individual corporation would benefit in the short term by moving to a building that’s only one third as big, the long term risks to the economy scare them off. In fact, the only reason working from home is still being discussed is because there’s a shortage of skilled workers. Companies can’t dictate terms quite as strongly as they could a few years ago. Employees see working from home as a major perk, or even a necessity. Inflexible companies invariably lose some of their best people, so they have to allow at least a few work from home options.
Personally, I like seeing corporations forced to compromise.
The only theory i've heard thats somewhat plausible is that this is a way to "soft fire" employees in bulk to save on costs and dodge legal responsibilities. But even then that idea only makes sense if you assume they are idiots that dont know or care about massive amounts of institutional forgetting - as lost workers are not 1:1 replacible - and that they are worth firing in an entirely random matter.