Regina Construction IV

[djforsberg]

Originally Posted by BrutallyDishonest2

Yes. They're lying to you. The only reason corporations are lying about productivity is because they want to reduce their rental commitments.

The only claims of gains may be select jobs where people commute 4 hours a day. I have seen the first hand examples of productivity reduction and outright laziness that WFH produces. People think they're productive, but they are not.

Plus people know each other from in the office, as new employees come online the productivity drops even further as team work is essentially non-existent.

Well, I’m glad I don’t work at any of those places but I can tell you where I am that revenue is up and individual team productivity is up as can be measured with the Agile processes we use coupled with the culture of accountability and high-performance that any of the companies we are talking about could implement if they wanted to. Besides, it’ll depend on job function and there will still be some in-person meetings for the reasons you mention. To completely and absolutely dismiss it is definitely idiotic and uniformed. I’m not sure how else to put it. People who think critically do not make such statements.

[The mayor]

I got a feeling that something amazing is going to be Announced for downtown just a feeling that’s hopefully it’s true

[djforsberg]

Originally Posted by BrannyMuffin

Come on people, no reason to get so defensive! It’s possible to have a discussion (even a disagreement) without jumping down each other’s throats. There are pros and cons to anything. I have more distractions when I work from home, but I tend to work longer hours so it balances out when it comes to productivity, but sucks for my personal well-being. I don’t think there’s a clear answer. It depends highly on the type of work, how much collaboration is needed, the individuals, and their home situations. Productivity may increase initially and decrease over time. Individual productivity sometimes goes up while overall company productivity decreases. It’s not for everyone. Some people struggle with work life balance when they’re working from home. https://www.apollotechnical.com/work...ty-statistics/

This is the type of nuanced discussion that one cannot have with BrutallyDishonest2.

[djforsberg]

We should want people to work from home. Very privileged people are already getting rich from the real estate boom, flexible WFH can help provide a bit of a damper on this, at least for commercial real estate. It’ll obviously cause residential to go up, as it is doing now across North America. People who can work from home are moving back to their small towns and even to other provinces or states. As someone who is able to work from home, I too feel privileged to do so but no one is going to convince me that I will be a happier and more productive worker 100% back in the office. Either way, I know I’d be able to get a job WFH 100% elsewhere if I wanted to, so I’m not too worried about it.

[BrutallyDishonest2]

Originally Posted by djforsberg

We should want people to work from home. Very privileged people are already getting rich from the real estate boom, flexible WFH can help provide a bit of a damper on this, at least for commercial real estate. It’ll obviously cause residential to go up, as it is doing now across North America. People who can work from home are moving back to their small towns and even to other provinces or states. As someone who is able to work from home, I too feel privileged to do so but no one is going to convince me that I will be a happier and more productive worker 100% back in the office. Either way, I know I’d be able to get a job WFH 100% elsewhere if I wanted to, so I’m not too worried about it.

The last thing we need is an even more distributed population. It leads only to sprawl, bad urban planning and massively increased taxes to pay for infrastructure spread out over vast geography.

And this leaves aside all of this issues that come from turning house into a work place.

[BrannyMuffin]

Originally Posted by BrutallyDishonest2

The last thing we need is an even more distributed population. It leads only to sprawl, bad urban planning and massively increased taxes to pay for infrastructure spread out over vast geography.

And this leaves aside all of this issues that come from turning house into a work place.

One of my biggest concerns. It is extremely difficult for some people to disconnect the two. I think if we’re not careful we will see a lot of burnout in people who can’t shut off their work brains after hours and eventually decreased productivity in those who can’t focus on work because their laundry needs to be done and kids are screaming and the neighbour keeps coming to visit.

[djforsberg]

Yup, there are going to be people who it doesn’t work for but the vast majority of people I know, including friends and colleagues in a variety of desk-based roles, either would prefer working from home a majority of the time or already have made arrangements to do so. If I’m forced to commute, pay for parking, and spend all my breaks at work again, I’m certainly not going to be thrilled. I would like to consider myself disciplined enough to not need distance to separate work and home. The type of people who weren’t able to do that during the pandemic are the same types who couldn’t before the pandemic.

[BrannyMuffin]

Originally Posted by djforsberg

Yup, there are going to be people who it doesn’t work for but the vast majority of people I know, including friends and colleagues in a variety of desk-based roles, either would prefer working from home a majority of the time or already have made arrangements to do so. If I’m forced to commute, pay for parking, and spend all my breaks at work again, I’m certainly not going to be thrilled. I would like to consider myself disciplined enough to not need distance to separate work and home. The type of people who weren’t able to do that during the pandemic are the same types who couldn’t before the pandemic.

That’s great for your friends, but to suggest that those who can’t separate the two are not disciplined is pretty condescending. My parents own a business and refuse to bring paperwork home even if it means staying late because home is their sanctuary away from work. I am lucky in that I have the flexibility to work from home or my office. I choose to go to the office because of the social interaction and to give some separation in my life. I also work in healthcare and it is hard enough to leave work at work when your job is to care for others. When I work from home it’s hard not answering emails after hours or taking phone calls. Not because I’m not disciplined, but because it’s hard not to when I know the person on the other end needs my help. I also know that if I answer every after hours call or email I am going to burn out pretty quickly. A coworker texted me this weekend upset about a client issue and I had to say go enjoy the weekend with your family and we’ll deal with it on Monday. But I’ve been thinking about it myself all weekend. It’s hard enough not to take work home with you when you deal with people’s well-being. Nevermind when work is literally at home.

[djforsberg]

Question: how does going into the office make anything easier for you? You do know you can close your laptop or not check your email when you’re off work right? You can be both passionate about your job and caring of your clients while also being undisciplined in separating work from home without needing an enforced distance to do so. I’m sorry you feel that is condescending to say. I can be undisciplined sometimes too which is why I found a job that worked for me. My girlfriend is a youth care leader and doesn’t have the opportunity to work from home like us yet she is always struggling with keeping work and home separate. I have a feeling the same goes for you even when you’re in the office. As for your your parents, they made a choice just like I will make a choice to work from home a majority of the time.

[yveseluj]

Originally Posted by djforsberg

I would like to consider myself disciplined enough to not need distance to separate work and home. The type of people who weren’t able to do that during the pandemic are the same types who couldn’t before the pandemic.

LOL, if only the whole world was like you.

I’ve loved aspects of WFH, but I’d never want to do it 100% of the time if I had my way. I need a barrier between home and work life. It has nothing to do with discipline.

[djforsberg]

Originally Posted by yveseluj

LOL, if only the whole world was like you.

I’ve loved aspects of WFH, but I’d never want to do it 100% of the time if I had my way. I need a barrier between home and work life. It has nothing to do with discipline.

That’s sad. I guess none of you would have made it as farmers lol.

[BrannyMuffin]

Originally Posted by djforsberg

That’s sad. I guess none of you would have made it as farmers lol.

https://stigmafreesociety.com/blog/m...adian-farmers/

To further our understanding of the current state of mental health and Canadian farmers, here are a few statistics that we should all be aware of:
35% of farmers meet the classification for depression;
58% of farmers meet the classification for anxiety;
45% of farmers report high stress;
68% of farmers are more susceptible than the general population to chronic stress, which can lead to physical and mental illnesses.

I come from a farming family. I love the farm, but that is not the life for me. I’m not sure what’s sad about the fact that different people have different personality types. Or that some people need separation between work and home. Just because you and your friends prefer work from home that does not mean that everyone else should.

[djforsberg]

Originally Posted by BrannyMuffin

https://stigmafreesociety.com/blog/m...adian-farmers/



I come from a farming family. I love the farm, but that is not the life for me. I’m not sure what’s sad about the fact that different people have different personality types. Or that some people need separation between work and home. Just because you and your friends prefer work from home that does not mean that everyone else should.

No shit. So what are we even arguing about lol. Just because I feel a certain way about people doesn’t mean I don’t think they should have a choice to work in the office again if they want. Geez there’s a lot of sensitive people on here.

Btw it’s not just friends. It’s people I work with too. Things are going to change. Anyone would be naive to not think so.

[BrutallyDishonest2]

Originally Posted by djforsberg

No shit. So what are we even arguing about lol. Just because I feel a certain way about people doesn’t mean I don’t think they should have a choice to work in the office again if they want. Geez there’s a lot of sensitive people on here.

Btw it’s not just friends. It’s people I work with too. Things are going to change. Anyone would be naive to not think so.

Nobody's arguing things aren't going to change. There's going to be a short-medium term change where lots of organizations allow more WFH, then there will be a hard pivot back to the office as groups experience more of the negatives.

Nobody's disputing that lots of people like yourself have an incentive to WFH. You don't have to work as hard.

[TechnicalRecession]

Originally Posted by BrutallyDishonest2

Nobody's arguing things aren't going to change. There's going to be a short-medium term change where lots of organizations allow more WFH, then there will be a hard pivot back to the office as groups experience more of the negatives.

Nobody's disputing that lots of people like yourself have an incentive to WFH. You don't have to work as hard.

I think this whole debate started with a statement to the effect that working from home was more productive. I have been been working in an office my whole career and even when I worked at places where some WFH was allowed I never really took advantage of that. I've been working mostly from home since the pandemic hit and I can state quite confidently that working from home is neither more or less productive. I do the same things I would from home as I do in the office, and I work on projects so its not like I'm doing some repetitive operational work everyday. And I am not seeing greater productivity from other people, personally I think the whole idea of working from home is more productive is BS.

If things are slow and I'm at home I'll go get something to eat or watch TV or maybe even do some laundry. If things are slow at the office, I surf on my phone, or go for a coffee break. The place where I work frankly is irrelevant. The whole WFH benefits remind me of the arguments around open concept offices. They were sold as great for collaboration and increased productivity. But then the pandemic hit and we all went home and were still able to collaborate and be productive. Turns out open concept benefits are bs, just like working from home increases productivity. I find the people who like working from home like if for the personal benefits, don't need to drive to work, pay for parking, can get up a bit later, can get more personal stuff done. Some places are going to move in that direction and others like government will resist it. But the truth is there is no increased productivity from WFH, just people claiming there are.

[Udon'tknow]

Sorry to break up the wfh debate but here are a few pics of a few construction sites:

Police Headquarters:







And some building behind the police station is being partially torn down, I assume to make way for something but don't know what:



Liquor store in Cathedral:








And for the record, I agree that wfh is not more productive for most people, for some people it might be but on aggregate its the same or a bit lower.

[djforsberg]

Originally Posted by TechnicalRecession

...

You are wrong. Everyone has their own anecdotal evidence but as I said before, I have seen the numbers myself and heard it straight from mangers and executives and have been following industry trends. Workers who are happy are productive. Some may be happier in the office but overall, WFH has been a success where I am and in a lot more other places than not. I’m not sure what industries you naysayers work in but I guarantee that people who want to work from home in IT will be able to negotiate that moving forward. This pandemic revealed a lot of employment bullshit from this office stuff to showing just how meaningless a lot of low paid work is and it’s not going to be easy to take these things away from workers and make people go back to the way things were.

[Festivus]

Originally Posted by djforsberg

You are wrong. Everyone has their own anecdotal evidence but as I said before, I have seen the numbers myself and heard it straight from mangers and executives and have been following industry trends. Workers who are happy are productive. Some may be happier in the office but overall, WFH has been a success where I am and in a lot more other places than not. I’m not sure what industries you naysayers work in but I guarantee that people who want to work from home in IT will be able to negotiate that moving forward. This pandemic revealed a lot of employment bullshit from this office stuff to showing just how meaningless a lot of low paid work is and it’s not going to be easy to take these things away from workers and make people go back to the way things were.

I also work in IT, and let me say that software development (and the people who work in it) are a totally different group of people than most other industries. I do believe that developers and many associated roles can effectively work from home...but that's like, what 1-2% of the Canadian workforce? There are certainly other roles that can be effective remotely (and independently), but you are making the mistake of applying anecdotal evidence (and it is that, even if there is evidence, because you are trying to apply one type of job to the majority when job conditions are very different) to everyone else.

Just please listen to others and appreciate their experience, and I will do the same for you. For some, WFH is better than the office. For some, it's about the same. For others, it is worse overall (even if better for the individual), and for others, it is worse for both the individual and group.

[djforsberg]

I appreciate others opinions but I don’t appreciate having mine dismissed either. (I just want to add that a lot of the people I spoke to who prefer working from home include people in all sorts of industries, not just IT. Maybe the type of people I surround myself are just different than ya’ll. I honestly don’t get why someone would prefer being away from their home for a full 40 hours or more a week. It’s not even a normal human biological thing imo. Working away from home has only been common in this way since the advent of capitalism a few hundred years ago and before that you were likely working with your family and neighbours. It is arrogant to think humans can evolve as fast as technology and the accumulation of capital. There's a reason why so many of us in the West struggle to feel satisfied and need antidepressants, therapy, and other drugs to temporarily escape from this meager existence. But I'm sure you all are fully satisfied with your lives.). Anyways, I digress...

If I can segue back to the topic of the thread, I still think it’s wishful thinking that we are going to have a new office tower in downtown Regina anytime in the next 10 years. I hate to be break it to thefourthtower.

[one_brick_at_a_time]

The new Sobey’s on 13th is looking great! I wish the 13th and Elphinstone 3 floor mess had a comparable exterior quality.

Thanks for the photos, Udon’tknow.