How many other companies will follow Google’s Lead?

[Just_Me_D]

Share a desk? Wow!

https://www.techspot.com/news/97705-google-tells-employees-share-desks-looks-cut-costs.html

 

[Up_And_Away]

I have a friend who told me at her company, if you are two days or less per week in the office you won’t get a cubicle. Your in office days will be a cubicle or conference room that is open. Not even official sharing, just a first come first serve. So it is happening but this is the first I’ve heard of official scheduled sharing.

I’ve been to the Google campus in Mtn View. The campus is BIG and I believe it is all owned by Google. I assume this sharing “plan” is just for leased offices elsewhere most especially in big expensive urban areas.

 

[Lee_Bo]

Or just let people work from home and not worry about the overhead.

 

[EdwinG]

Yeah, not for me. I work in the office 5 days per week, because I don’t have enough space to work from home (and because I separate personal and professional life).

This would be a sufficient reason for me to look elsewhere.

 

[Travons]

If anyone's currently working from home for these tech companies, you might as well start finding a new work elsewhere.
Don't get caught unaware with the large dismissal from employment.

 

[Wotchered]

Five years ago,a friend of mine was working for a big outfit in South East England,and there were NO dedicated desks, just come in,find yourself a desk and get on with it !

 

[Annie_M]

I am lucky to have my own desk in my own "office". I do know people here who have to share a cubicle, which is bad enough. Actually sharing a desk is unacceptable.

 

[Bla1ze]

If sharing a desk means they get to keep more people employed, sure. Do it then. But yeah, a lot of this could be addressed by having the people who don't NEED to be in the office just work from home. Requiring working from the office is such nonsense.

 

[Annie_M]

For a lot of jobs, yes, requiring to work from the office is nonsense. But in my case, I work at a University in an academic department, and it's important to be here for the students. There are a lot of people here, who don't work directly in an academic department who can successfully work from home. I know that my brother inlaw, who works in IT, works from home, and, in fact, all of his coworkers work from home and the company sold the building he used to work in.

 

[Ledsteplin]

I'm just glad I'm retired. And I'm not sharing my recliner with anyone!

 

[mumfoau]

Man I’d like be to be primarily remote. Though I have my own office, I need to get out of manufacturing. Haha

 

[Up_And_Away]

If anyone's currently working from home for these tech companies, you might as well start finding a new work elsewhere.
Don't get caught unaware with the large dismissal from employment.

Depends on your department/division. Tech (or customer) support was moving WFH before the covid crisis. My last company was entirely WFH for tech support by 2018 and my new company is 90+% (trending more WFH). I have bee. WFH well before 2020.
Giant technical support center expense and the ability (and expense) to hire/retain a large relatively capable group in a small geographic area is difficult. I’d be shocked if Apple’s massive growth to 2 billion devices worldwide, and the tech support growth it necessitated, centered around hiring in a single office in an urban area. I bet these positions are filled (and being filled) by WFH all over the US and globe.
But positions that require a lot of internal interaction such as management, engineering or project management? There will still be WFH options but I think you’re correct that WFH options will become less especially for Big Tech.