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Comment by whatshisface | Hacker News Reader

The title is misleading - the productivity drop in Q1 2022 is almost equal to the increase in Q4 2021. Together, they average out. This is visible on the first graph, where two roughly equal bars go up and down on the right hand (near-present) side.

Overall productivity seems to be up since 2020, according to the hours worked / output series in chart 3. Output had already recovered to pre-pandemic levels in Q3 2021, but hours worked did not - leading to an improved productivity ratio as the BLS calculates it.

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It fits the narrative of getting employees back into the office; because WFH employees are unproductive, just look at this study.

That is why Chart 3 is especially ironic, it shows productivity recovering before hours worked. (I wouldn't over-interpret this though, I don't know how any of these statistics are calculated.)

"Nobody wants to work anymore, and I can't do my job from my beach house because I can't see the employees on the office camera and they're covering their camera at home. How can we re-tell this productivity data that shows productivity is increasing to prove that I'm right and everyone is lazy except me?"

What? There is no such thing, WFH employees are more productive without interruption.

I know that, you know that, other WFH employees know that. My comment above was tongue-in-cheek; it's studies and reports like the linked PDF that management and Clevel will use to delude themselves and employees to comeback into the office.

I vote for a compromise. We stop pushing for WFH and instead demand for dedicated office space. Individual offices where we have a home away from home and enough privacy.

The amount of times I had to hold a fart in, struggle to pick my nose, or put on loud earphones just to focus in an open plan office is unacceptable.

My individual dedicated office is at my house. I don’t want to drive any amount of time to sit in a room at a computer and do the same thing.

Sometimes I want to work elsewhere, and will go to the park or just sit in a parking lot somewhere.

The only benefit I see to physical proximity is the unexpected encounters that can help resolve business situations or help ideas flourish.

I'll go into the office when I'm paid for both commute time and lunch.

I'd actually strongly prefer to work from the office if I actually had an office. But basically all employers insist on these horrendous open office plans these days, so WFH it is.

I was wondering who Clevel was before I realized you meant C-level.

Until Judge Judy starts.

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