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Microsoft

Microsoft Tells Workers To Prepare To Return To the Office (nytimes.com) 148

Posted by BeauHD from the back-to-normal dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: Microsoft told employees that they will need to return to office next month, transitioning back to its corporate campus for the first time since the Omicron coronavirus variant tore through the nation. The company has long said it would embrace a hybrid work environment, with most employees able to work from home up to 50 percent of the time. In a Monday morning blog post focused on its headquarters near Seattle, Chris Capossela, an executive, said that starting Feb. 28, "employees will have 30 days to make adjustments to their routines and adopt the working preferences they've agreed upon with their managers." Mr. Capossela cited the high vaccination rates in King County, where most employees live, and declining hospitalizations and deaths in the state as factors in the decision. Residents in King County, which includes Seattle, are among the most vaccinated in the country, with more than 91 percent of those who are 5 or older having received at least one shot.

While the announcement was focused on the company's home state, where most of Microsoft's employees are based, Mr. Capossela said the company's Bay Area sites "will fully open on Feb. 28, and we anticipate many of our other U.S. locations will follow suit as conditions allow." Based near the location of the first major coronavirus outbreak in the United States, Microsoft was the first major employer to shutter its offices in March 2020.
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Microsoft Tells Workers To Prepare To Return To the Office

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  • See above..."Ha ha ha ha NO"

    I'd bet that many of them will decline the "offer" to return to the mind-numbing drudgery of an office, preferring to work at home.

    • Re:Ha ha ha ha NO (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Major_Disorder ( 5019363 ) on Monday February 14, 2022 @06:15PM (#62267567)
      If my employer required me to return to the office full time I would immediately begin looking for a new employer.
      It seems unclear if this is 50% office, or "at managers discretion" I bet a lot of managers will want their underlings where they can see them.
      This may bite them in the ass, as I expect a lot of people (Especially technical people.) feel the same as I do about this.
      • The jokes on you.

        They are counting on people leaving.

        • Re:Ha ha ha ha NO (Score:5, Insightful)

          by JustAnotherOldGuy ( 4145623 ) on Monday February 14, 2022 @06:42PM (#62267649) Journal

          They are counting on people leaving.

          They're not, actually. They're desperately hoping that people will come back, but I already know that a lot of them won't.

          The 50% WFH requirement will morph into 60%, then 75%, then it'll be maybe a day or so every other week, then once or twice a month....

          • There are some of my coworkers who have been in the office every day It's literally the only way to do their jobs. Maybe when telepresence robots are batter and able to do complex manual activities this might change. We have some factories that have stayed open the whole time, with strict social distancing rules even in highly conservative states to ensure that these workers don't get sick and screw up the profits.

            If you have a job that can be done sitting on your couch, then congratulations, you are spec

            • Re:Ha ha ha ha NO (Score:5, Insightful)

              by JustAnotherOldGuy ( 4145623 ) on Monday February 14, 2022 @10:51PM (#62268173) Journal

              There are some of my coworkers who have been in the office every day It's literally the only way to do their jobs.

              Yep, but we're not talking about those people. We're talking about people who can work from home, not those who can't.

              This story is about Microsoft, and the fact is that most of the people at Microsoft, probably over 75% of them, can work from home.

        • They are counting on people leaving.

          "They" can have the cretins who stay. We want the people who have the initiative to find something better. Maybe there's work for the mindless for now. When will your 20 getters and 15 setters a day job be automated out of existence?

      • Re:Ha ha ha ha NO (Score:4, Insightful)

        by JustAnotherOldGuy ( 4145623 ) on Monday February 14, 2022 @06:30PM (#62267621) Journal

        If my employer required me to return to the office full time I would immediately begin looking for a new employer.

        Same here, and I doubt I'd give 2 weeks notice.

        But, my company understands that a lot of people like to work from home and they're perfectly fine with it. They've been decommissioning offices all over the country and 99.9% of us are happy to see them go.

        Oh sure, free snacks and a foosball table are great, but so is sleeping in an extra hour every fucking day. Which one would you pick?

        Commuting every day in the rain and snow and traffic sucks, not to mention it's expensive and hazardous. Now I commute down the hallway, and whaddya know- I'm never late to work. No car accidents. No parking hassles. No leaving an hour early just so I can sit in a building with a bunch of other people who would really rather be at home.

        No one in my company has expressed any real desire to return to the office and our management is cool with it. No. One.

        Our company is never going back and they're committed to it. They call it "FOW", for "Future Of Work", and it's the plan moving forward. Like I said, they've already blown away most of the offices, so they're in it for the long haul.

        For the rest of you, enjoy your commute!

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Tom ( 822 )

          Oh sure, free snacks and a foosball table are great, but so is sleeping in an extra hour every fucking day. Which one would you pick?

          If I could get my old commute back - by train, simple, time to read books - I'd go to the office 2-3 days a week. My current commute - by car, traffic, longer - one day a week would be acceptable.

          Anyone trying to force me to something else hasn't understood what the IT job market is like right now, so let them suffer. :-)

          • Why can't you take the train now? Did you uproot because of fear of COVID?

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by Tom ( 822 )

              I moved, before Corona. From my new location, the train is an alternative if it really, really has to be, but for a daily commute, not an option.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          The gap between modern, progressive companies and everyone else is going to keep widening. Panasonic is moving to 4 day work weeks and already has a work-from-home programme too.

          If anything good comes from the pandemic then this may be it. Finally some decent competition in the jobs market, and companies willing to rethink of work is done and how to get the best from their employees.

      • Re:Ha ha ha ha NO (Score:4, Insightful)

        by Darinbob ( 1142669 ) on Monday February 14, 2022 @09:22PM (#62268027)

        Some of us WANT to go back, at least part time. Commute is easy, a nicer environment than at home, better cooks for the work lunch, the chairs are more ergonomic, there's more desk and storage space, more lab space, they vacuum more than I do, etc.

        Now if you're single, being stuck at home can be a big drag. If you're married, I am sure your spouse is secretly wishing you would go back to the office. If you're just dating someone and stuck in the same house, it's possible that the partner has been waiting for this moment to break up.

        • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

          by JustAnotherOldGuy ( 4145623 )

          Some of us WANT to go back, at least part time. Commute is easy, a nicer environment than at home, better cooks for the work lunch, the chairs are more ergonomic, there's more desk and storage space, more lab space, they vacuum more than I do, etc.

          Then go back, I'm not stopping you. Seriously, if that's what floats your boat, go for it. Go into your office as much as you want.

          If you're married, I am sure your spouse is secretly wishing you would go back to the office.

          My spouse owns her own business and commutes to it daily a few miles away. We're quite happy with the way things are going; she got a nice Valentines Day gift from me today (I got one too) . :)

          You sound like you're either single or unhappily married. My condolences.

        • If you're married, I am sure your spouse is secretly wishing you would go back to the office.

          That's very 1980s style social thinking right there. What makes you think my spouse is at home while I'm at the office as the bread winner?

          • I didn't mention the sex of either one. I assumed the if straight that the male was staying home changing diapers and playing video games while the female was out crushing it and bringing home a truckload of bacon.

        • Comment removed based on user account deletion

          • Chairs more ergonomic? You're kidding right? First thing I did when I started WFH was get myself an office chair with lumbar support,

            Well, I did get office chairs that they were giving a way about a year in. The snag with the pandemic is that there wasn't warning. No time to update all the furniture. Furniture stores were closed, office supply stores with cheap ass chairs were closed. Getting a second desk would have been nice, but that also would have been better with a month advance notice when stores are open.

            Also, there was no indication that we'd be in 700 days of this. It was only going to be a month at first, then only two, etc

        • "Some of us WANT to go back, at least part time. Commute is easy, a nicer environment than at home, better cooks for the work lunch, the chairs are more ergonomic, there's more desk and storage space, more lab space, they vacuum more than I do, etc." - Yes I hear that from some people, most of them single and living alone. For folks like that the socialization that the office provides is a big draw. In my case, my commute sucks (almost an hour each way). The office environment is horrible. Open plan with no

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward

      It's weird because Microsoft has long had fully remote employees who have always been good at their jobs, I know a couple of them here in the UK - they're fully remote because they live hundreds of miles from Microsoft's Reading office. They're employed because Microsoft always recognised that it's better to allow remote than fail to hire talent.

      So why they've got such a double standard with their main corporate offices I've no idea. It's a bit nonsensical.

      • I think this is more about returning to normal, or the appearance of normal, somewhat before midterm elections.

        Microsoft is heavily involved in the local politics in Seattle/Redmond/Bellevue and also at the Washington State level, and is probably keen on keeping politicians in office who are friendly to them. This drive to get people back in the office is likely much more about the optics of having a productive "back to normal" workplace than about any real caring about where people do their work from (if

        • Microsoft makes polititical donations to all sides and doesn't care who is in office.

          It is more plausible that politicians are to be 'friendly', or they will be out of office.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by taustin ( 171655 )

        Microsoft has over 180,000 employees. I suspect they do not all have exactly identical duties. Perhaps some do, in fact, require in person presence at least part of the time.

        For instance, I certainly wouldn't want my plumber to insist on working remotely.

  • We'll see how this plays out (Score:3)

    by Merk42 ( 1906718 ) on Monday February 14, 2022 @06:19PM (#62267583)
    If this is successful, and employees do return to the office sometimes, even if those are all new employees, expect other companies to follow suit.
  • No way I would "go back to the office". I work better remotely - there is no doubt about it. Some people are different, and that's okay. But people should have agency about how they work and not be forced.

    • Same here.

      Fortunately I'm not in that position, but as I've said before, I've set foot in my last office.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by AuMatar ( 183847 )

      And I quit my job because my company said they were staying remote. And I'm not the only one. In the end it will cancel out. Surveys regularly show that while some work from home is appreciated, almost nobody wants to be full time remote.

      • Most people I know want to be full time remote. But I am fully supportive of those who want to go into an office, part time or full time. I feel that people should be able to do what is most effective for them. I am glad that you know what you want and need and can find it!

      • Re:I'd quit (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Espectr0 ( 577637 ) on Tuesday February 15, 2022 @12:34AM (#62268315) Journal

        almost nobody wants to be full time remote.

        tech workers (me included) are loving it.

        more money in the bank, no time wasted dressing up / commuting. not having to wear a mask at work. no cubicle noise.

        in my almost 20 year old career i have always thought that the only reason of going to the office is so that your boss can check that you are working. i work with customer tickets so my boss knows exactly if i am being productive

    • I *could* work better remotely. If the house was bigger and I had a desk for my work-work. My desk is for my personal-work so my work computer ends up on my dining room table, that I would prefer go back to being a dining room table someday. I don't have room for a mouse so I'm sick and tired of using that damn laptop touch pad and the damn laptop keyboard. When I do go into the office it's a big step up. I'm sorry I don't live in a fancy place with quiet neighbors and a nice view out the windows, and

      • IMO you should be allowed to choose what is best for you. If the office is better for you, you should be provided with an office.

  • Time to innovate! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Austerity Empowers ( 669817 ) on Monday February 14, 2022 @06:29PM (#62267619)

    I expect those employees who like their jobs but also like WFH will spend outsized amounts of their time at the water cooler and taking long lunches for all this "innovation" the CEOs keep talking about. You've got your morning innovation, your mid-morning innovation, your lunchtime working innovation, then at least one afternoon innovation. I'd put it right there on your calendars so nobody tries to book meetings during that innovation, it's just too important!

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Like this Dilbert strip.

      https://dilbert.com/strip/2006... [dilbert.com]

      Life follows art.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      I like being able to go for a nice walk at lunch time, and to pop down the chemist if I need something. If I have to go to the doctor or dentist it's not far, which means I'm away from my desk for less time. It's much cheaper than commuting and the food is better than a packed lunch. I drink less coffee because I have more options now. If I need to take a short nap I don't have to deal with colleagues getting frustrated because they have learnt to use async comms now.

      Work/life balance and quality of life is

      • I drink more coffee when at home as it is cheaper, although I've resisted the urge to get a fancy machine as there isn't a free power socket in a convenient location.

  • I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that MS has millions of dollars tied up in office buildings that they have to pay to keep running? It has nothing to do with "employee safety". Their only concern is maximizing worker output and for some managers that means having you in an office where they can keep an eye on you.

    Despite the fact that many people, me included, actually work more productively at home. Where I don't have to spend 2 hours a day driving back and forth to the office. Where i don

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by gweihir ( 88907 )

        The article says that up to 50% work from home is allowed. That does not strike me as "nobody is required to go".

      • The article is behind a paywall. Is that you Satya? Your company makes shitty software. I'm not interested in working for companies that make operating systems that spy on their customers. But you all enjoy that nice Redmond campus. i'm sure it's lovely...when it isn't pissing rain.

    • MS has more money than you can fucking imagine tied up in the Redmond and Bellevue campuses. Easily over a billion.
      Bellevue, the small one, is probably over 100 mil.
    • Yes, of course Microsoft wants to maximise output per employee. It isn't a charity providing activities for people to do during that day, it's a business!

  • I can't help but notice... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by mark-t ( 151149 ) <markt AT nerdflat DOT com> on Monday February 14, 2022 @06:47PM (#62267667) Journal

    ... that they don't say exactly *why* they "need' employees back in the office.

    The question I would have for them is what exactly did they find wasn't working as well as they wanted in the past couple of years that they think coming back to the office is necessary? And if it was a problem, why weren't zoom meetings arranged to discuss them in the interim instead of waiting until now?

    The complete absence of any excuse they might have offered here is telling, I think.

    • They need someone back, their 3d printer has been spewing out prototype Surface cases for two years now and dumping them on the floor!

    • Halo and Minecraft were delayed, and MS attributed this to working from home. Lots of other game studies also had longer delays than usual so it's entirely believable.

      Microsoft, especially through Teams and Office, have huge amounts of telemetry about the productivity of their workforce. I think it's a no-brained to assume that their decisions were informed by solid analysis of extensive data.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Tom ( 822 )

      ... that they don't say exactly *why* they "need' employees back in the office.

      middle management can't go much longer without everyone realizing that they're not actually needed, or contributing anything of value.

      • Middle management can also WFH, managing people who WFH. Management of distributed teams is not uncommon, and just because they are distributed doesn't mean that management isn't required. If anything, it can mean it's more critical than single location, in-person teams. A lot depends on project and team, though.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Tom ( 822 )

          you missed the key-word: "middle management", aka the people nobody needs, the ones who have been promoted once too often and are now stuck. Not good enough to get into actual management positions, so they're left with silly power-games, such as micro-managing a team.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by q_e_t ( 5104099 )
            Middle management is still management, just in the middle. I know it is disparaged, but that might be because some of it isn't good, but a good middle manager can be a boon too if done right. Organisations vary, as do managers, though.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Kinda sus when they are heavily promoting Teams and Office 365 as the be-all and end-all of remote collaboration. This sounds like they are admitting it's not so great after all.

      • Even when I was not WFH we used those tools as some teams were widely distributed, but even if someone worked in a different building it was sometimes convenient to video conference at least some of the time.

  • I won't be doing that ... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by schwit1 ( 797399 ) on Monday February 14, 2022 @07:08PM (#62267715)

    Boss: Everyone is moving back to the office June 1
    You: I won't be doing that so lets talk about what my options are
    You: I've already made my decision, all that's left is for you to make your decision.

    Don't give reasons. Reasons signal weakness

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gweihir ( 88907 )

      In this case, yes. An employer where remote work is not a problem that does not offer the option now is not trying to be fair anyways or offer reasonable conditions anyways.

  • You know, like "The Facebook" or "The Google". Microsoft wants you to get back to work and upgrade your copy of Office.

  • Not to worry, lots of cheap big rigs to drive for auction right now, if you don't want to go back

    • Yup, we need dock workers and truckers. Sadly, these can't be done remotely. But think of all the fresh air and lack of water coolers!

      • One of my colleagues keeps telling me about this rural place (near Seattle) his brother built - they can't get decent water supplies or water rights, even though his parents can (they built their house before).

        Sometimes a water cooler is a good thing.

  • Don't think they will lose many good engineers though, MS does not have those. But they will loose people in the medium range that can get a job at an employer with decent, modern working conditions. The only ones they are sure to keep is the dross.

    • Don't think they will lose many good engineers though, MS does not have those.

      Oh lolololol gweihir dissed MS, quick mod him up for the insightful being he clearly is!

      Oh and before you mod me down, MS sucks. Now mod me up too sheepmods.

  • Be devalued. This is one of the consequences of letting so few people have so much money and power. Remember that money is powered. The people making the decisions about whether or not your ass is going to get dragged back into the office for a 90-minute commute all own stock in the real estate companies whose investments will be made worthless by widespread work from home. That's what this is about. All our lives, even the ones who have to go into the office or want to go into the office, will be made mate

  • with most employees able to work from home up to 50 percent of the time

    If someone can work from home 50% of the time they can work from home 100% of the time. There are certain exceptions where a physical presence for an otherwise white collar job is needed, but those are just that: exceptions.

    Besides, the US is far from done with this shit. The Omicron wave it still settling, and when we get to Sigma or Tau variants they'll just close right back down again, may as well save the overhead until we're at leas

    • If a surgeon can do all his or her paperwork, keep up with reading papers and on new techniques from home then, by your logic, he can do the surgery from his or her home too. Just because a part of a job can be done in a location does Not mean all of it can.

  • There's about to be a LOT of job openings at Microsoft.

  • ... at least in the Tech space.

    I don't know about the US, but I suspect it's the same as the UK - tech workers are currently enjoying unprecedented choice in the market.
    There's so many jobs out there and not enough good Tech people to fill those jobs, as the world continues its rapid pivot to all things digital.

    "Telling" workers to return to the office, isn't going to cut it.
    You can suggest it - "Those who wish to ..." - and many will take up the offer for a hybrid work pattern.
    But try and force it, with so

  • Why should we even participate in discussions about paywalled stories? It's only encouraging the "editors" to be worthless.

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