#WorkFromHome #OfficeSpace #PersonalInteractions #jobs #employers #employees Companies that require office workers face a dilemma. Since COVID-19 forced many workers to toil from home, some workers don’t want to come back to the office. Their employers who pay for the office space want more workers to come back, at least once in a while. Some, like Cisco in its Midtown Atlanta offices, are resorting to upgrading their office space by focusing on improving indoor environmental factors, according to an article by Zachary Hansen in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The article was published April 14, 2023. In fact, as a new Portman Midtown Atlanta office tower goes up, it may be the last of its kind for a while, Hansen writes in an article published May 13, 2024. But, will those things entice workers back into the office? Many have gotten used to working from home, or somewhere else. The advantages – no commute, no buying lunch at work and other money savings, for example – outweigh the disadvantages – no office worker interaction, distractions at home etc. That puts companies in somewhat of a bind. How much office space do they really need? Does having an office building, or office space in general, give a company an identity that makes it worth having? Is upgrading office space to entice workers back going to be worth the investment? Will workers respond by coming back into the office? These are the decisions of the future, both for companies and their employees. If a company forces workers to come back into the office, will they quit? If a worker has a great job he or she doesn’t want to lose, will he or she give up the freedom that working from home gives them? Will being home, with young children, be too much of a distraction for workers? Will they then bear the expenses of commuting, day care etc.? Of course, many workers dream of having these alternatives. Many workers HAVE to go to work at a specific location. They cannot possibly do their jobs from home. They must interact with bosses, customers, coworkers etc. But, if there are choices available, is there a way a worker can have it all with some sort of hybrid work schedule? As discussed here before, if workers can do their jobs remotely, they can essentially live anywhere. They don’t have to be in a high-cost, high-tax locale, even if their employer is. They can live where they want and still have the job they want. But, as a society, do we want to encourage such a solitary lifestyle? Of course, essentially working alone cuts down on arguments. You don’t have to sit at a lunch table with someone you don’t like, or with whom you disagree on just about everything. Still, we all benefit from having personal interactions with people. Some service organizations who meet regularly, even if they don’t require regular attendance, encourage it because club members are deprived of the presence of those who are absent. They see that as a loss. So, most people will make decisions about where and how they work based on personal preference, unless companies impose requirements. We will all miss something if too many people do not interact with one another. The workplace is the easiest, and often the best, place to do that. Peter
#CampusProtests #youth #FinancialSecurity #GenerationalWealth #frustration In generations past, parents always wanted their children to have it much better than they did. Often, that was achieved. If parents worked at manual jobs, they wanted their kids to go to college, so they would not have to do manual jobs. Many of today’s young people see no way they can have a better life, at least economically, than their parents. That is, short of inheriting the wealth their parents accumulated. Many of these young people come out of college with huge student debt. If they become, say, schoolteachers, there is hardly any way they can pay off that debt AND buy a house AND start a family etc., as far as they can see. The protests on college campuses today seem to be over the war in the Middle East. But, author Scott Galloway, in his book, “The Algebra of Wealth: A Single Formula for Financial Security,” says young people are not seeing themselves as ever becoming better off than their parents. That may lead to the frustration some students are expressing in the campus protests. Galloway appeared on “Inside with Jen Psaki” on MSNBC May 5, 2024. From another perspective, Nedra Rhone, “Real Life” columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, writes that this year’s college graduates may have been deprived of both of a high school graduation ceremony because of the COVID-19 lockdowns of four years ago, and now perhaps of a college graduation ceremony because of the campus protests. You have to feel for this generation, Rhone says. Her column on the subject also was published May 5, 2024 Financial security for young people – again, short of a big inheritance from mom and dad – is getting harder to achieve. Today, unlike in decades past, going to work is a big cost in terms of commutes, child care etc. If the return paycheck hardly compensates for that, frustration can build. Working from home, if allowed, can ease that stress, but not everyone has that ability. The good-paying jobs that result from expensive college educations don’t pay as well as one might think, when comparing the cost of living today with the cost of living their parents faced. Housing costs are way up from decades ago, both in home prices and rents. If one becomes a teacher, and, perhaps, marries another teacher, even both of their paychecks may not give them enough to house themselves and otherwise enjoy life. We are not even talking about those who do not get a college degree. Of course, those who go into the trades – plumbers, electricians etc. – can do very well because they will always be in demand. But, surprisingly few kids are exploring that route. After all, the work can be hard and long. Many may have even watched parents work hard in trades, and don’t want to do that. So, the frustration among young kids today may have been building over time. Some may feel quite hopeless, which may spawn mental illness. They may find the jobs they WANT to do don’t pay enough. They either have to do something else they may not like, have a “side hustle” in their free time or try to scrape together a living with what they make doing what they like. Some still lean on mom and dad for help well into their adult lives. How on earth, some are thinking, are they ever going to retire? There is no better formula, perhaps, than to live below one’s means, if that’s even possible, and put the leftover money into savings. Each time one gets a raise, put that into savings, if possible. There is no easy answer for this young generation. But, by all means, they should focus on optimism, relationships and finding less costly enjoyments in life. Peter
