IBM to Managers: Move Near an Office or Leave Company
bloomberg.com
bloomberg.com
Hell, I still chomp at the bit for remote work. It's genuinely better in almost every way for me; I get that people have kids and it gets annoying to work from home for those people or that people want to be social: I am not those people, I am sorry. I have ADHD and I am not able to actually sit and focus in the office, especially these torrid open office environments that have been foisted on me for 15 years.
However, I believe being close to an office where everyone can come together is of crucial importance.
The company I work for is remote first, and we come together from all across europe once a quarter. It's hugely expensive to do this and that money would be better spent on more important things. Not only that, when we come together people are tired, uncomfortable and often overcompensate. A week trip will usually result in 9-10 days of low productivity for example.
But during that week so much communication happens, so many things become unblocked and what's more important: people start to trust each other a bit more.
I had a psychologist tell me once: "it takes 9 good interactions to offset 1 bad one", well, most interactions while working over the internet are stressful and anxiety inducing. Interactions in person can be pleasant, helpful, enjoyable.
Going for lunch or playing a board game (or having a drink) can all help build a rapport and doing it casually is only possible if you can actually drop by.
I sincerely think being physically located near your closest colleagues can seriously help with company culture and paper over obtuse over-communication which is required if you are doing remote-first correctly.
All of this of course applies triple to managers; who's entire job is communication.
It just seems like most places these day is one or the other in terms of remote or fully in office.
Unless the company is compensating folks for living closer to offices, they are likely just transferring those costs to the employees’ cost of living when forcing folks to live in higher cost of living areas.
Cost of living has historically been factored when determining salary, right?
I don't live in a high cost of living environment (I live in Malmo, Sweden; pretty cheap by Swedish standards overall) and I won't earn as much here as I would if I was working in Zurich or Stockholm.
What you say here comes across as hugely entitled since presumably you are already paid a really high salary and want to make even more relative to others in your area? By virtue of you being able to work remotely even if it comes at a cost to your productivity?
As a counter: Large companies (such as IBM) typically have their campuses located outside of major metropolitan hubs where office space is cheap: is your predilection, then, that they should pay you now less? If they force a move to a lower cost of living area because they decide that?
You are paid for a job in a place, and getting to that job is part of the salary for that job in some circumstances.
You wouldn't expect Police officer to be paid the same in NYC vs Bryan, Ohio. If that police officer were to move to Bryan from NYC though: their travel costs and cost of living are on them, They would be paid to work in NYC.
That aside, the situation you describe emphasizes my point. If the company is paying more for folks to live near the office, then the costs of travel for remote workers can and should be less than the additional compensation would be.
I would agree that communication in open office environments actually goes down.
But genuinely there is a major difference in the sheer volume and quality of information when we come together.
But there are some things I think are good about periodic in-person meetups.
What is it about in person that makes people
think more communication gets done?
- I haven't found an online alternative that truly matches the ease of use and "flow" of a physical whiteboard.
- When in-person meetings are "special" rather than an everyday norm, people seem more likely to bring their "A" game.
- Lot of informal (yet important and job-related) conversation and collaboration happens in informal settings: hallways, at lunch, over drinks, at the water cooler, etc.
My employer does the same. I have to travel a long way and for me it's even longer recovery. However, we go to a nice place each time and actually I think the week is very constructive for forming relationships and you get experiences that you don't get going to the office 9-5.
And I don't actually care about productivity except tangentially: I want my employer to do well so they continue to pay me. If going to a fancy hotel every 6 months is part of what they see as efficient business then I'm not going to complain. And they are doing very well so it's either positive or neutral.
Despite all the evidence that shows people are not more productive, innovative or happy working from an office. In fact, the reverse.
It's about commercial real estate values, and a management culture that finds itself unable to manage remotely.
IBM CEO has also paused hiring for roles that could be replaced with AI
See IBM is so far behind on the Internet and collaboration technology that they are requiring their managers to have to be physically present. They don’t even trust their own ability to remotely collaborate.
When it happened at my job 20+ years ago this was the exact pattern - good news for me is that I was 23 and wanted to move (new city matched my lifestyle much better). Only 1 person in my org who was in their 40s (based on my guess) out of 20 moved. He was single with no kids. All of my same-aged friends did move as well. At least then the paid severance if you didn't take the offer.
[1] https://www.wsj.com/articles/ibm-a-pioneer-of-remote-work-ca...
IBM: move near an office and come in three days a week, or tender your resignation and forfeit all of your Chuck E Cheese tickets!!
IBM is doing everything they can to push people out without any responsibility on their end
I don't follow anymore but I'm sure you're right there's still a ton of revenue from the old businesses and their locked-in customers. Probably like a white dwarf, it'll keep burning almost forever, cooling slowly.
I guess what I’m saying is just be pragmatic and get your stuff done.
P.S. One of my senior guys is a road warrior, highly effective and I see him in the office maybe three times a year.