Why did Apple ask their employees to get back to the office? Because they're an incumbent, like Goldman Sachs or JP Morgan. And because they lost their self-confidence 🧵 theverge.com/2021/6/2/22465…
Apple receives more candidates than it can process. They won't have a problem recruiting.
They print money. They don't need to reduce costs.
The risk of moving to remote is huge: they could jeopardize a superproductive business. They have too much to lose.
That's why other incumbents say exactly the same thing.
"There are things it simply cannot replicate."—Tim Cook, CEO Apple
“[Remote work is] an aberration that we are going to correct as soon as possible."—David Solomon, CEO Goldman Sachs
"Remote work doesn’t work for those who want to hustle."—Jamie Dimon, CEO JP Morgan
"Not being able to get together in person is a pure negative."—Reed Hastings, CEO Netflix
The unique thing about Apple is that they have the most hyperengineered headquarters in the world, and they have no clue how to replicate it online, because they ain't Steve Jobs
Apple's $5B headquarters was carefully designed by Steve Jobs himself down to the level of detail of the season when the wood for the panels should be harvested. Without Jobs to redesign the remote experience, how could they achieve comparable results going remote first?
But the winds are changing. They're just not feeling it yet.
“My body, my choice”, from pro-choice, is being co-opted by anti-vaxxers.
This is a good rule of thumb: society shouldn’t force itself on you in general, and especially less on your body.
So what’s the ≠?
Vaccines have a social dynamic. If not enough ppl in the community are vaccinated, herd immunity is not reached, and the entire community is at risk. So those unvaccinated are a risk to the community.
So here’s the deal: you should be free to get a vaccine or not. But anybody in society should be free to bar you from joining them without a vaccine, because you put them at risk.
PRODUCTIVITY 1. Costs are lower
Salaries can be much cheaper, 30%-50% less easily.
Real estate is cheaper. Up to 10-20% reductions.
Then all the other reductions in costs: food, commuter benefits.
Also easier to do tax avoidance
2. Production is higher
According to most surveyed companies, remote workers have been more productive than pre-pandemic.
This effect is not heavily quantified, but the best study on this, for one company, was 22% more productive (2018)
Negotiating a job offer in California? A few tips (esp valid for tech): 🧵 1. You can ask for the range of your position’s compensation. The company is legally compelled to give you those ranges. Also true if you already work at a CA company.
2. CA companies can’t ask you for your previous job compensation. That’s to avoid being anchored by low wages in past jobs.
The best recruiters will simply ask you what’s your compensation expectation. That’s a good time to ask for ranges.
1. Not enough cost-benefit analyses
What's the cost-benefit of a lockdown if you're not willing to add more measures?
What's the ROI of wearing masks?
Why did we trade off lives, money and freedom, but privacy was sacred?
It took months to get to something even close to this, and when we did, politicians weren't paying attention
Wake up too early
Rush to shower
High heels. Tight tie
Skip breakfast
Two-hour commute. Twice a day
Miss the train
Wait 20m for the next one
Get packed in like sardines. Hear somebody cough behind you. Stuck. 30min left.
Arrive at the office.
Back to back meetings. No time to sit and think
Get ignored because you’re too small. Nobody knew that on Zoom.
That big mouth is flexing again, though. He rushed to sit at the head of the table, talks as much as he can.
That didn’t happen on Zoom either.
Try to decipher body language. You’re on the spectrum; these neurotypicals make no sense.
Open Zoom anyways. Some workmates are remote today.
Look for Selma, your boss. She’s not here. Maybe working from home too?