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Comment by Molitor5901 | Hacker News Reader

I have picked up on some social ..animosity towards those who WFH. You make a very good point, there are many, many more people who can never WFH, and I think there is growing negativity towards those who complain about having to go into an office. Working from home is very logical, cheaper, and better for a lot of office workers but the campaign against RTO could backfire if we are seen as privileged.

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Now this is the important piece. This focus is not accidental, but deliberate. I have thought how corporates will try to counter the movement, because, clearly, the old guard has placed itself in RTO corner.

Splitting popular support ( akin to Musk's attempt to cast WFH as 'laptop class' ) would accomplish that.

I have no good counter, but it only reminds me that maybe we do need some pan-wfh org that tries to deal with social media narratives.

all true; there is though a useful point to be made that more WFH-ing office folks does free up transport for those who need to travel, be it rail/bus or just car commutes

One thing to consider is that most of the blue-collar workers who would have an easier commute into a city center due to WFH will have their job negatively affected by office workers not also traveling to the city center.

If you do facilities work in a downtown area, people not working from the office means you have less work to do and your job is potentially affected. Same goes for restaurant workers, sanitation workers, etc.

> if we are seen as privileged

This is not a matter of interpretation or view. You are privileged and your comment shows exactly that.

That's cool but I have crippling debt and I was just laid off. I'm considering signing up for disability or going to debtor's prison. I'm in my early 30s and I've spent way more than 10,000 hours programming and now my vision is suffering. Sure I was lucky enough I had WFH at a FAANG. I give to charity and I pay taxes. Do I need to self-flagellate some more or am I privileged enough now? I suppose I can always get a job at Walmart and apply for welfare because those are not exclusive at all.

Lest my negative attitude get the better of both of us, we should believe that society's goals are to improve everyone's quality of life.

I find the privileged argument to be unproductive. Do you work in a coal mine or a third world factory? Nearly every position has some level of privilege, does that make the desires of the workers invalid? Does that mean that every job needs to find the lowest common denominator working conditions?

As many should know by know, the reality is not as relevant as the perception of the issue. Even the economy can be 'felt' differently depending on one's perception of their circumstances regardless of the facts on the ground.

> You are privileged and your comment shows exactly that.

It definitely is a view. If you don't see it as such, that just means that's probably the primary way you view the world.

If we are privileged, does that mean we should NOT work from home when it's clearly possible?

It is indeed privilege, and that's worth noting, but acting like having privilege makes you a bad person really misses the point.

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