State of the Market

[Bluenose]

Anyone with half a brain would carry on coming to the office considering how bad the job market is.

Yes, because being seen in the office is an important barometer for your output.

Some direct experience from me recently on this (I am fully remote btw).

All of my friends (various tech. roles) have told their employers to shove it re: 3 days per week in the office either this year or, last year. None of them had to walk. None of them had to walk because they are really good in their chosen tech. fields.

I do get people trying it on and telling me what their policy is but I inform them that I am not a permie and the office working rules don't apply to me.

As for Amazon, the turn-over rate there for tech. staff reflects what they are like to work for as a company - tulip. Same applies to the legacy 'big 4' drones, the (non)Investment banks (aka not for profit) and legacy Insurance that pay crap wages.

They will all be in a race to the bottom between each other for cheap resources that do what they are told but cannot innovate whilst the real tech firms keep nibbling away at their lunch by offering the best people the best conditions and pay.

[sreed]

Yes, because being seen in the office is an important barometer for your output.

Some direct experience from me recently on this (I am fully remote btw).

All of my friends (various tech. roles) have told their employers to shove it re: 3 days per week in the office either this year or, last year. None of them had to walk. None of them had to walk because they are really good in their chosen tech. fields.

I do get people trying it on and telling me what their policy is but I inform them that I am not a permie and the office working rules don't apply to me.

As for Amazon, the turn-over rate there for tech. staff reflects what they are like to work for as a company - tulip. Same applies to the legacy 'big 4' drones, the (non)Investment banks (aka not for profit) and legacy Insurance that pay crap wages.

They will all be in a race to the bottom between each other for cheap resources that do what they are told but cannot innovate whilst the real tech firms keep nibbling away at their lunch by offering the best people the best conditions and pay.

It was similar at my previous client where management were on overdrive trying to implement their newly minted compulsory 2 days/week hybrid policy.

It worked on those staff who were expendable. Of the staff that weren't, most of them would come in only when they wanted to, and their managers went out of their way to make sure that was accommodated one way or the other.

That's always been the case I guess. If you have bargaining power as an employee, you can pretty much do what you want.

[fatJock]

Good luck getting people into the office where I am - there aren't enough seats for those who want to come in never mind for those who don't.

[squarepeg]

There's precedent for the "seat of power" to not be where the major economic or tourist activity happens. The Palace of Westminster is falling apart and instead of being sensible about moving out to another location to allow repairs, successive parliaments (both chambers) have just stalled and nit picked over their own self-interests. The bill gets higher with every passing year they delay doing anything substantive about it.

They could move to the Royal Naval College in Greenwich. Lots of office space and a couple of grand chambers on the grounds.

[squarepeg]

Good luck getting people into the office where I am - there aren't enough seats for those who want to come in never mind for those who don't.

Reason has never stopped a level-7 manager from doing the stupid thing.

[zonkkk]

Reading all the doom and gloom scenarios on here and on LinkedIn I was expecting a long stint on the bench once my current contract ended.

After I put a message out on LinkedIn that I am available for new contracts from so and so date (outside IR35 only) I had probably 10 people reach out with 3 strong leads. I also applied to about 10 job ads on jobsite.co.uk, got an interview from that too. First interview 8 days after my LinkedIn post with 2 others scheduled for next week - Embedded Software Development (medical devices). Got the first contract I interviewed for.

Good luck everyone!

[willendure]

As for Amazon, the turn-over rate there for tech. staff reflects what they are like to work for as a company - tulip. Same applies to the legacy 'big 4' drones, the (non)Investment banks (aka not for profit) and legacy Insurance that pay crap wages.

You are kind of missing the point. I don't think Amazon think working from the office is better for their bottom line. But getting rid of some people without paying them redundancy certainly will be. If the economy was strong, people would happily leave knowing they can find something better. Just counting on some of the more foolish or hot headed or unable to commute ones leaping out of the frying pan and into the fire.

I would quit my outside IR35, ok paid (had better), WFH job tomorrow if I thought I had a chance of picking up another. Been at this one a while, its kind of at a dead end and bored tulipless. But not in this market.

[ladymuck]

Reading all the doom and gloom scenarios on here and on LinkedIn I was expecting a long stint on the bench once my current contract ended.

After I put a message out on LinkedIn that I am available for new contracts from so and so date (outside IR35 only) I had probably 10 people reach out with 3 strong leads. I also applied to about 10 job ads on jobsite.co.uk, got an interview from that too. First interview 8 days after my LinkedIn post with 2 others scheduled for next week - Embedded Software Development (medical devices). Got the first contract I interviewed for.

Good luck everyone!

Congratulations! Have a banana

[Bluenose]

You are kind of missing the point. I don't think Amazon think working from the office is better for their bottom line. But getting rid of some people without paying them redundancy certainly will be.

I understand the point, the counterpoint that I am (and other people) are making is that you end up getting rid of your best people and its the less able that remain.

It works well in a low performing environment (UK Public Sector, UK Retail Banking, UK Insurance, UK Investment bank back-office etc.) where the job is to keep the lights on and slowly run the business into the ground hoping that someone buys you or merges with you but in a high performing tech. driven environment you end up killing your own business.