Telecommuting/ WFH and Remote Work

孔子:三十而立,四十不惑,五十知天命

Confucius said 30 years old, you have the ability to chart your life, 40 years old, you understand your place in society, 50 years old, you appreciate your loved ones and friendship.

In Confucius time average life span was probably -25 years than today. So those numbers need to be adjusted accordingly.

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55 years old to chart your life?

Boomers, 25, 40, 55 :crazy_face:

Millennials, 35, 50, 65 :joy:

TikTokers, 40, 60, 80🤓

Keyword is FULL time

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So, the follow up question would be “Why would I pay $3.5M+ to live in below-ordinary suburbia” if I don’t have to go to Office anymore OR have to go to Office 3 or less days a week?

I’m 100% remote and seriously debating where to live. My bonus and stock grants aren’t tied to location, and base pay adjustments are based on “case-by-case” review (eg, they won’t adjust if you perform).

The most hilarious thing is the “best places to work remote” rankings. They typically prioritize: public free wi-fi, number of coffee shops with wi-fi, and public libraries.

  1. Public Wi-Fi is HORRIBLE from a security perspective. One of the first things in our security training is don’t use it.

  2. The same issue with the Wi-Fi, and who can take meetings in a coffee shop? I would literally be disclosing non-public material information.

  3. Same issues as the first two. I also haven’t been to a library since college.

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Aspen Colorado or Sun Valley ID, if I had the choice :slight_smile: Naah too expensive probably.

But Seriously though, why pay $3.5M+ for buying in a neighborhood which for all practical purposes looks like an outdated strip-mall just because one can drive to work in 15 minutes?

Of course, I don’t know how this will all be going forward… i.e. WFH, but these are questions I had earlier(when the pandemic started) and conditions haven’t changed today and these question/s are still/more relevant at this moment, especially because WFH seems to have accelerated due to the pandemic.

A colleague recently bought in Aptos CA. He is @10 years older. He doesn’t have Comcast/high speed internet but his neighbor does, and is betting he can get high speed internet soon by talking+paying Comcast to extend internet to his house. He gets paid reasonably well and made some good money off a startup, so could have bought anywhere. My guess other than liking the area+house, WFH option is the reason he bought his house where he decided to(far from work).

I think some ppl are waiting to take decision based on WFH future, some ppl don’t want to compromise urban lifestyle I.e. unique restaurants, bars etc. for a large home in suburb without much option.

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That probably applies to some nicer areas of SF.

Rest area all suburbs?

noun: suburb; plural noun: suburbs

  1. an outlying district of a city, especially a residential one.

“a highly respectable suburb of Chicago”

Like if you compare Fremont and Oakley, Fremont has better food options and Oakley sucks even though price is lower. Also some ppl want to live at places concentrated with their race even if expensive.

Good article/interview.

Are Workers More Productive at Home?

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I never turn camera on except if it’s absolutely needed

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If I was still “working,” I’ll be one of those freaks that show up everyday. Twice a month I’ll go in on a Saturday or Sunday.

#nolife

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Since the remote-work era began over two years ago, business leaders and economists have suggested that it may backfire by creating a more difficult environment for white-collar workers as companies begin to consider offshoring jobs to reduce costs. If more jobs can truly be done anywhere, there’s no need for them to be expensive American white-collar workers.

Beginning of the end of US Tech companies?

Soon we have HQs and CEOs move to other nations. Just look at MSFT and GOOGL. Shouldn’t HQ and CEOs move to India?

That’s been happening to lower skilled jobs for decades. The right talent can work from anywhere. Good luck finding the right talent in low-cost countries.

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Requirements and skillsets of right talent would change. The only thing that can stop this type of development is politics.

I heard $400k is the norm pay (inclusive of RSUs, bonus, allowances) package for a SWE. This has to be reduced. It is becoming difficult for companies to be profitable, investors are no longer buying into grow revenue at all cost or positive free cash flow that include SBC. Companies have to show earnings or their stock prices would keep tanking. Now we have hiring freeze, rescind offers and layoffs… soon the dollar value of the norm pay would decline or the job would move overseas.