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Comment by blakesterz | Hacker News Reader

  Over 700 people joined a pro-return-to-office group. Its description says employees need to "Think Big" about the return to office policy. (By comparison, the pro-working remotely channel has around 28,000 members.)

Do any of the folks in the "pro-working remotely channel" worry about getting in any kind of trouble for speaking out?

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I mean, if some are happy with the policy of going back to the office for three days per week or more, good for them! I just don't understand why they (and the company) want to force this on everybody else too, regardless of whether it makes sense for them personally or not? Or whether it makes sense for the company for that matter - I'm working for a smaller but still pretty global company and currently am working with only 1 (one) person from my local office, the rest are all from other offices. But still, I only got an exemption from the 3-days-per-week rule (which apparently many employers want to impose as the new "new normal", probably to be followed by a full five days per week next year) for personal reasons, not for business reasons...

> I just don't understand why they (and the company) want to force this on everybody else too, regardless of whether it makes sense for them personally or not?

While some of these people are interested in forming interpersonal relationships with anyone in-office, the main benefit to in-office work is actually meeting with your team to work on problems and have the freedom to ask offhand questions.

It speaks volumes that joining "pro-remote" feels risky but joining "pro-office" does not. Feels like an old-fashioned anxiety at this point.

There must be plenty who wouldn't mind being shown the door, and have other options. So if that was a new issue with working for Amazon, and a potential deal-breaker for them, it would be worth having a go.

It seems like the vast majority of the 28k people are just there to observe and not actually saying anything. I don’t think simply joining a slack channel is an endorsement of anything.

there is a certain safety in numbers.

it's funny because in like 2004 when I worked in an office, I'd rather send someone a message on something like IRC then go over and talk to them in person.

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