Hacker News Reader

Comment by Animats | Hacker News Reader

(Link in the middle of the article: "NYC’s Record-Breaking Rents Squeeze Tenants Across Boroughs".[1] That's residential, of course.)

I've been expecting "peak office" for years now. Offices originally existed to contain paper records. Look at pictures of offices from 1700 to 2000. You'll see much paper, and much paper storage. That's dead. If everybody in the office is using a screen and keyboard, the classic function of an office is gone. It may still be useful as a social business space, but the age of the clerical plant is over. (Outside of some Government agencies.)

[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-18/nyc-s-rec...

View on HN

How much of this has to do with paper storage vs digitization of records? Yes, paper would be stored near the people who use it, but that’s not the only benefit of people being in one place.

> that’s not the only benefit of people being in one place.

fair enough, but it may be the only necessity

Humans being inherently social animals, I'd say that nature is objecting here.

Don't succumb to the strong selection bias that is the HN nerd crowd. Obviously over here we like to solitarily sit at our machines at home. We'd do that even if nobody paid us. And for those of us who trive with that, the remote work revolution was a blessing since it at least opened up those options and employers are recognizing the benefits (happier workers, more productivity, less cost for office space).

But we are not representative, so let's be careful with extrapolating

Work is not the only place you can socialize.

In fact, many people who strongly prefer working from home prefer it because they can socialize more with people they actually prefer to socialize with: family, relatives, neighbors

Sure, but it’s not like socializing isn’t necessary in business. While obviously public spaces can (and are) used for much of that, sometimes you need a private space for that aspect as well.

Lots of business will continue to have some office space, if only for in-person meetings, or for people to work from the office on days that they have meetings.

I do think that there are intangible benefits that come from being at the office in person, but I work remotely 98% of the time, so I’ve clearly made my decision as to the trade-offs lmfao

FWIW, the fraction of co-workers I like to socialize with is significantly higher than the corresponding value for neighbors.

Liking my co-workers is an important part of good workplace culture for me, and if I wouldn't like them then it would be time for me to go look for a new job. Unfortunately, I'm less flexible regarding my housing situation.

Time-wise, I work about 50 hours a week, which is about an order of magnitude more than I'm even near my neighbors.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com