Interesting Links for 04-08-2023

[andrewducker]

1. A New Mode of Cancer Treatment

(tags:Cancer biology )

2. An estimated 250,000 children would be lifted out of poverty if the two-child benefit limit was removed - 1.1 million children in-poverty would be better off.

(tags:children poverty uk OhForFucksSake )

3. People living in low-traffic neighbourhoods support them, even if they're drivers

(tags:traffic transport regulation )

4. We're now finding out the damaging results of the mandated return to the office-and it's worse than we thought

(tags:work office homes )

5. Leith Walk's bronze pigeons return home after 17 years

(tags:leith pigeons sculpture Edinburgh Scotland trams )

Comments

[gingicat]

"In the SHED survey, the gravity of this situation becomes more evident. The survey equates the displeasure of shifting from a flexible work model to a traditional one to that of experiencing a 2% to 3% pay cut."

I mean, it is a pay cut. All the time it takes to go to work is uncompensated.

If I were to take public transit to work, from Boston suburb on the Orange Line to a Boston suburb with very little public transit, it would be two hours each way including a 30-minute walk.

Instead, I drive 45-60 minutes each way to work. In addition to the cost of my time, there's the wear and tear on the car for 40-50 miles a day depending on my route, plus $1.50 each way if I choose to take the Mass Pike. (I have EZ Pass or tolls would be higher.)

Plus, my ADHD makes it difficult to drive and still have energy left for home.

I'm the office manager, there are few things I can do remotely. Even when the office was closed, I went in one day per week.

Edit: My job is very worth it, I just wish it were a LOT closer to me.

[andrewducker]

Absolutely. I've hated commuting for many years. And that's a chunk of the reason I live in Edinburgh, and have a job also in Edinburgh. Which is about a 40 minute commute as the job's on the other side of the city centre, but not too awful.

[channelpenguin]

I'm one of those that would now flat out refuse to consider a non-remote job. In fact, I have, come to think of it!

I live 2.5hrs drive from Berlin, which is the nearest city big enough to really have jobs for me, even as a software dev (Hamburg is further). I've worked remote since 2020.(max 1 day in office per week, in last 2 and current job very much less). I do have to do client visits to Köln (7 hrs away) but less than once a month, and all expenses paid including 1st class rail travel. I'm not as well paid as possibly I could be, but in very happy that I get to live in my little bit of nowhere!

[snippy]

I literally left my previous job partly because they went back to 5 days a week in the office in summer 2021. (They also told me I was at the top of the salary band and would not receive any more raises, not even cost of living.)

When my current job started with back to the office in early summer 2022, they only asked for 2 days a week, and they let us pick one of the days - the other day was department-wide depending on your department. Then at the end of summer they did a stupid thing: they took the choice away and raised it to 3 days a week. But they also listened to a lot of feedback from attorneys & staff, and eventually offered a process to request permanent remote. I applied for, and received that. I do go into the office about once a month, when it's necessary - in fact I was in the office today to meet with a client.

I'm really glad I was in, because separately, two attorneys told me the firm is negotiating the lease right now. Either we'll move to another building, or stay - but either way, with much less space. Right now we have 4 whole floors, and our space is about half empty most days. Today there were three people in my area, which has 9 staff spaces and 15 attorney offices. So less than 10% full, for downtown high-quality office space. As a business, they're pretty smart - they're accepting the new reality.

[hairyears]

It is somewhat puzzling that the 'return to the office' piece makes no mention of staff losses due to Covid, nor even absences due to other communicable diseases.

[cellio]

The company I work for got bought in the last year, and the new owners are gung-ho on return to office. They mandate not only three days a week but a specific three days. The rest of my team, aside from one person, is in other parts of the world; it makes no sense for me to go to an office to be on Zoom all day when I can be on Zoom all day from home. There is zero benefit to me being in an office, and quite a bit of downside. But the demands continue to come.

I have the luxury of being very advanced in my career and close to retirement anyway. I'm not complying. I've told my manager that this is a hill I am willing to die on, and if they fire me they fire me -- I'm ok with that, and if she's not, she should try to protect me. Truth be told, the new company's culture is terrible in other ways too, and while I'm not planning to quit, I'm not motivated to go the extra mile for them when they show no respect for us employees.

At home I do not have my concentration broken by noisy neighbors enabled by a dismissive landlord. I have flexibility including the occasional mid-day errand that I can make up for. I don't have to waste a significant amount of time every day commuting. I can make healthy lunches. These things matter.