Hacker News Reader

Comment by amathyst | Hacker News Reader

There seems to be such a strong anti-RTO/pro-remote sentiment on HN. I don’t hold that against anyone: if you prefer working from home, then I’m happy for you! But here’s another take:

I’m a software engineer and I love working from the office. I enjoy my 40 minute commute (on sunny days I ride a bike and on rainy days I read a book on the train). I enjoy the separation in my life between where I work and where I live (often I don’t take my computer home). Eating lunch with my colleagues is often the highlight of my day. Many of my current and former colleagues have become lifelong friends. If my company went fully remote permanently, I’d look for a new job.

View on HN

I think the animosity is geared towards the forced RTO. I would be surprised if anyone here would hold heading to the office against you.

The problem is when someone doesn't want to go into the office, but is being forced.

I understand feeling this way if the company actually closed the office so you literally could not go in. But even remote-friendly places typically have an office which is big enough for the people that go, so you'd still have company even if plenty of people were remote. I understand why some people like RTO (even though I'm not one of them), I don't understand why they have such hostility towards the WFH folks.

I don't it's hostility per se. If a company closed down their office, then it's certain that they are now remote-only and the RTO aficionados will have no choice but to find a new employer that shares their preference.

But if only a subsection of employees work remotely in a "hybrid" or RTO setting, and the person in the office still has to sit in on Zoom calls all day then the whole point of being in the office is redundant. They're just working remotely from the office.

People that want RTO usually want it because they believe it enables better collaboration. But that's only possible if the people they want to collaborate with are also at the office. I wouldn't call it hostility, there are just different philosophies about how to be productive.

I like working in the office too, for similar reasons. I do think that as years go by, more people will come to realise what they have lost by working from home.

But i don't think the vigorous antipathy to working in an office is an HN thing. I think it's that many people who don't like working in an office really don't like working in an office, and so mission post about it, in a way that office appreciators don't.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com