Roblox tells some remote employees to work from the San Mateo office or quit | Hacker News Reader

Roblox tells some remote employees to work from the San Mateo office or quit

sfgate.com

35 pointsgoplayoutside28 comments

> Baszucki cited “Zoom fatigue,” as well as concern that early-career workers may miss out on mentorship opportunities without in-office interactions.

Zoom fatigue was addressed during the pandemic by multiple ways to deal with it. Remote work is not some impossible dream. Lots of companies do it successfully.

But the idea that "our junior employees might not ask for a mentor, so let's fire them" is ridiculous.

God forbid the fix to 'zoom fatigue' being 'schedule fewer bloody meetings' but that's a forbidden truth as far as management is concerned.

I still remember the time I had to walk an executive back from scheduling a “freeform happy hour” over Zoom…as a means to address Zoom fatigue in the department.

As someone who has moved long distance (from NYC to SF and back) for a job, all you're doing is creating 6 months to a year of hell for the employees that actually relocate to San Mateo. It is not easy to uproot your life. It is not pain free. If the excuse is that you want your workers to be productive, are you considering the productivity impact on the workers that take up the offer to relocate?

If a remote worker sucks, fire them. If not, let them be. As far as the opportunities for junior workers, as it has always been, it's on the managers and more senior engineers to cultivate that. It is on the juniors to put in the effort. If they're not doing it remotely (for the juniors, putting in the work, for the management and seniors, putting in the effort to cultivate the junior), why would you think they would do it in person?

> it’s up to the juniors to put in the effort

Take the most motivated, extroverted, confident junior you know. Even this junior doesn’t know what they don’t know; what to ask about; what’s worth asking about.

I think seasoned professionals severely underestimate how foundational the first couple years of the workforce are. How much they themselves were able to absorb just being colocated with senior people. I’m not even talking about technical or domain or company knowledge but basic workplace professionals, social skills, etc.

But of course you cannot simply assume that this wonder-kind junior is every single junior in the first place.

More importantly maybe, you cannot assume seniors will all have the motivation to mentor an avatar on their screen.

> Take the most motivated, extroverted, confident junior you know. Even this junior doesn’t know what they don’t know; what to ask about; what’s worth asking about.

I don't think you finished or understood what I wrote. Juniors knowing what to do, what to ask about, what is worth asking about, comes from interactions with management and senior engineers. That should be happening regardless of remote or not. If management and senior engineers aren't cultivating juniors remotely, they won't do it in person either. Remote management doesn't abscond them of that responsibility.

Interactions with management and senior engineers are 1000% more frequent in person. Both because passive interactions are more common, and because people in person simply take more of an interest.

> Remote management doesn't abscond them of that responsibility.

No, of course not. But it does (1) make them care less about it, (2) let them get away with doing much less of it, and (3) make it much harder for them to do.

> may miss out on mentorship opportunities without in-office interactions

I don't know how to translate "mentorship opportunities" from management into normal talk.

I know what this means on the surface level. But I suspect I can't really read between the lines.

I'm the defacto technical on-boarder for one of the teams I'm on; and I hire interns every summer and some fall/springs. I feel I do a fair bit of what one might call "mentorship", I still need an explainer.

edit: took out a ranty bit. I'm actually interested in an answer

I do love how these are presented as for your own benefit. Even we assume all of this is true then like okay I might miss out on some mentorship opportunities. Shouldn't that be my choice? Maybe I don't rise up the career ladder as fast. Such is life.

You have to love the false choice of "do this or quit." You're going to have to fire me or make it worth my while to leave unless I find my next opportunity first. I'm not doing the hard part and giving up potential unemployment benefits.

The only dim silver lining here is that non-executive employees will have a clear(er) understanding and legibility of their status within the organization.

This signal is typically pretty valuable beause it gives those who are allowed to work remotely the understanding that they possess a unique and currently difficult-to-replace skillset. Conversely, those on the other side of the invisible divide (i.e. deemed replaceable or non-essential) will also realize that they should either start developing a difficult-to-replace skillset within the eyes of the company, or seek other employment even if they end up moving to San Mateo.

sigh why is this even news anymore? Executives will always ignore the brute facts of reality (after all, we just spent all of Covid working remote, to no perceptible detriment to productivity at all) in service of making excuses for earning calls.

Yeah, we're screwed. yawn Tell me something I don't know.

It's a shadow layoff by management to improve profitability. The company wants to avoid actual layoffs.

But Roblox recruiters have been telling me for years that they're "building the metaverse". Does this mean they aren't sold on the value of virtual interactions?

Don't quit. Just don't go.

This is the answer. Call their bluff.

"Move to this high cost of living area and come in to the office, oh and we'll probably lay you off anyway when not enough people voluntarily leave" doesn't sound very appealing to me, but in this economy it might be a smart move.

Never quit in response a change in work conditions, if they no longer want to have you as a remote worker they can fire you, but none of this BS “implied quitting” it’s just an attempt to get out of legally required compensation.

So some, so return to office is basically a improvement plan officially?

Nothing motivates me more to improve than an additional, unnecessary, 1+ hour commute. It's nothing but a loyalty / desperation test.

Can already hear the wage negotiation downround that comes with it. So, shows here, that when push comes to shove, well and you already showed you are willing to sacrifice money, soon..

Frankly a wage reduction is then only appropriate as you are less productive after the commute.

From the major population centers in the Bay Area, getting to San Mateo is easily an hour.

SF, Oakland, even Hayward with the San Mateo Bridge, a delight at commute hours, San Jose, or anywhere in Santa Clara County really.

> Santa Clara County

If in Palo Alto, it might only be 1/2 hour. But further south and you are approaching an hour for sure.

I'd love the opportunity to opt-in to a severance package! Can start interviewing over the next 3 months and then have paid time off before you start your new gig.

Ah yes. Another company doing firing of people as cheaply and cheekily as possible by making them quit "voluntarily".

Just wanna say Roblox pays FU money and I’d totally go to San Mateo for it but wouldn’t for non-FU money.

That's basically a gigantic pay cut.

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