back to article Red Hat says staff can stay away from the office forever

IBM's FOSS unit, Red Hat, has publicly said its staff don't need to come back to the office – ever. And if they do decide to return, they'll find collaborative "neighborhoods" await them. This stance was outlined in a memo this week from senior veep and chief people officer Jennifer Dudeck, who said more than 30 percent of …

  1. Pascal Monett Silver badge
    Trollface

    "when was the last time Voyager 2 actually showed up in the office?"

    Cheeky

    1. MiguelC Silver badge
      Alien

      Re: "when was the last time Voyager 2 actually showed up in the office?"

      Oh, but you know that, one day, V'Ger will come back to the office. And not alone.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: "when was the last time Voyager 2 actually showed up in the office?"

        Then we better convince the manglement to pay the pub's tab that day...

  2. Roger Kynaston

    Will this be applied to the rest of IBM?

    I'm not an IBMer (or ex) but it will be interesting as other big tech companies might follow.

    1. teknopaul

      Re: Will this be applied to the rest of IBM?

      A completely empty office fits perfectly with IBMs grey socks and clean desk policy.

      1. NeilPost

        Re: Will this be applied to the rest of IBM?

        … or IBM’s treatment of anyone with the slightest bit of Grey Hair.

  3. jeff_w87

    If it's anything like where I work...

    About 50% of those people "working from home" are only pretending to work, but still getting a full paycheck while those of us who actually go to work have to carry the load for the slackers. It really comes down to a management problem as no one is held accountable or metrics tracked for the work they do and people will and do take advantage of that.

    1. pimppetgaeghsr

      Re: If it's anything like where I work...

      Most corporations are so dysfunctional anyway with individuals and their own agendas running amok that the average individual contributor only really does a few hours of work a day anyway.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: If it's anything like where I work...

      I know what you mean. I enjoy the flexibility of WFH, especially the ability to start/stop/break when I like (within reason) ... but when I do take a long lunch, I'm always careful to give the time back. In fact, I enjoy giving it back at the weekend when nobody bothers me. I'm actually more productive that way. But -yeah- there are those who take the p*ss. And it's REALLY REALLY hard to come-up with sensible metrics that can prove this. Everybody on the team knows who the slackers are, but ... just try proving it in a way that doesn't involve you shooting yourself through the foot. Or indeed the head. To conclude: I F*CKING HATE lazy people.

      1. pimppetgaeghsr

        Re: If it's anything like where I work...

        If your company can't even prove who is lazy and has no desire to then just leave. Management doesn't care how the work is loaded across employees so if you are doing far more, just stop.

    3. YetAnotherXyzzy

      Re: If it's anything like where I work...

      Some organizations are like that, yes. My wife works for one of them and I suggest you do what she is doing and look for a better employer. Don't assume all organizations are like that however, because they aren't.

    4. Richard 12 Silver badge

      Re: If it's anything like where I work...

      Nothing to do with WFH.

      There have always been people who don't bother doing their jobs and rely on their colleagues and/or underlings to do the work.

      In some ways WFH actually gives the slackers less chance to hide, as they can't rely on pointless presenteeism or buttering up the boss quite as much.

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: If it's anything like where I work...

      Sounds like your management are bad and useless, that's a different problem from RTO vs. WFH.

      There's no reason to think they wouldn't fail to hold people accountable _regardless_ of where they sit.

    6. NeilPost

      Re: If it's anything like where I work...

      … any evidence for this ??

    7. Swarthy

      Re: If it's anything like where I work...

      How is that any different from working in the office?

  4. FuzzyTheBear
    Coat

    Keep it simple.

    No office = no rent = more profit.

    Simple ain't it ?

    Got nothing to do with convenience to the employees.

    1. Anonymous Coward Silver badge
      Holmes

      Re: Keep it simple.

      From the article...

      > "Not being limited by location when hiring provides a much broader opportunity to attract and retain great associates"

      Admittedly "great associates" is a novel way of spelling "cheap workers", but that's definitely more cost savings that the bean counters are factoring in.

      1. pimppetgaeghsr

        Re: Keep it simple.

        I would happily take a pay cut to live in a low cost of living area with cheaper mortages and better air. Having your entire working populace crammed into citiies built in different centuries with poor infrastructure was a terrible idea to begin with.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Interesting how the big push to get people back in the office seems to be driven by those who are heavy into commercial property investment or are such piss poor managers that they have to be seen to be managing to justify their salary

    I'm sure it's only a coincidence though.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Long term

    I wonder how this is going to play out long term. I learnt a lot in the various offices I worked in and I'm working with grads who did two years of uni at home and are pretty f-ing useless.

    It's my job to bring them up to speed with 30 mins of teams meetings a week.

    Posting anon not to offend. They are friendly folk. But if they _never_ spend a frenzied push in the office surviving on Coca-Cola and pizza you kinda wonder if they might spend their entire careers mediocre.

    I spend many a happy 16 hour day at the faculty and many more in offices around the world. Working directly with great people.

    I asked if we could have a get together for a week but they all live two hours from any major city.

    In short: wfh is great, but it's a shitty learning experience.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Long term

      16 hour day sounds rather shitty regardless of where you're doing it.

    2. AdamWill

      Re: Long term

      It's already been playing out long term for 30 years. Like the article says, about a third of RHers have always worked from home anyway, and we seem to have done pretty well so far.

      And if your work culture depends on "frenzied push[es] in the office surviving on Coca-Cola and pizza", it is broken. You need to fix it. That way of working burns people out and makes them leave.

    3. Kane
      Boffin

      Re: Long term

      "I'm working with grads who did two years of uni at home and are pretty f-ing useless."

      Correlation does not imply causation

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like