Reply to: State of the Market

[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.

[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.

[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.

[ladymuck]

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.

[eek]

Why on earth did you think the Tories would do that?

Because the bill to repair Parliament is estimated to be between £2 and £5bn pounds.

Personally I've argued it should move to Bradford because that would result in both HS2 and NPR being built instantly...

[sreed]

Why on earth did you think the Tories would do that?

I’m not entirely sure but I think I remember them talking about relocating Parliament out of London quite a few times, when all that discussion was going on about about the ultra expensive repair and maintenance bills to keep the current buildings operational, and back when there was a lot of hand wringing about how most of the HoC’s legislation only applies to England.

[SpliterOfLogs]

I'd hoped the Tories would move the seat of government to the midlands or the north, and turn Westminster and the HoL into tourist attractions, but sadly that never materialised. There's no chance of Labour ever going down that road.
.

Why on earth did you think the Tories would do that?

[sreed]

The FT did an interesting analysis comparing several economies and what effect excluding the richest region would have on GDP per capita. The comparatively outsized dominance of London was startling. The rest of the UK has an average GDP per capita lower than almost every single US state, just on a par with Mississippi. Which illustrates why so much of the UK’s economic prospects seem bleak.

The UK economy is incredibly imbalanced geographically when compared to comparable developed western economies.

We have one huge economic centre in a mega-city, and the rest of it is just a few cities a fraction the size of London and a lot of (relatively) low value industries spread across a large hinterland.

Even the breadth of infrastructure across greater London is miles ahead of what exists in the rest of the country.

I'd hoped the Tories would move the seat of government to the midlands or the north, and turn Westminster and the HoL into tourist attractions, but sadly that never materialised. There's no chance of Labour ever going down that road.

I think the move towards remote and hybrid working since COVID has improved the imbalance somewhat, but that's just a subjective observation based on the changes I can see in the NW region that I live in.

[rocktronAMP]

Consider the recent announcement by Amazon that all workers are to return to the office full time. Is it really because they think that improves productivity? Studies have shown that flexible working is good for productivity. Its really about shedding some of the work force without having to resort to explicit layoffs - some people will not like it and will voluntarily leave. Those that stay, will be the ones most committed.

Indeed. Amazon employees, some of them, will quit or find new roles. But will they find it easy to jump ship, especially in a heavyly landen restrictive permanent job market? AFAIR Amazon UK rarely hires contractors, but they may take on niche consultants.

This is unsurprising to me as Apple has / had a return-to-the-office full time policy for awhie. I agree it is a power move, because they think that the "great resignation" (USA phenomenon 2021/2022) is well and truly over. Will other lesser famed businesses follow suit? Well probably not., because a good CEO would hold off any such plans for a 1 or 2 years. "Hey Amazon Person. Come and work for us! We are flexible." There will be Hot Talent, but whether these lesser business can cope with the wage demands of the exiters will be another matter.

[dsc]

[...]Its really about shedding some of the work force without having to resort to explicit layoffs - some people will not like it and will voluntarily leave. Those that stay, will be the ones most committed.[...]

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

[agentzero]

SNIP

The FT did an interesting analysis comparing several economies and what effect excluding the richest region would have on GDP per capita. The comparatively outsized dominance of London was startling. The rest of the UK has an average GDP per capita lower than almost every single US state, just on a par with Mississippi. Which illustrates why so much of the UK’s economic prospects seem bleak.

The article you mention may contain a different methodology. In the way you have described small areas cannot be compared for GDP per capita for many reasons. I assume you haven't explained the methodology correctly.

[Ketto]

If anyone is interested. Sounds legit…

[willendure]

Is recruiting part of your contract? If not, you are SO FAR inside IR35…

Chill, I just passed on a few contacts as a friendly favour.

[willendure]

Fully agreed, cost (or cutting it I should say) is what seems to matter most currently.

Consider the recent announcement by Amazon that all workers are to return to the office full time. Is it really because they think that improves productivity? Studies have shown that flexible working is good for productivity. Its really about shedding some of the work force without having to resort to explicit layoffs - some people will not like it and will voluntarily leave. Those that stay, will be the ones most committed.

We are not quite at the point of a full blown recession with layoffs all over the place, although their certainly have been some big ones. Just kind of on the edge of it.

Spending falls, margins are squeezed, layoffs start, repeat. Its easy to see how a negative spiral can develop and we are certainly in one now.

[edison]

Fully agreed, cost (or cutting it I should say) is what seems to matter most currently.

Cost cutting seems to have been the modus operandi for most UK firms for such a long time now. Levels of private and public investment have trailed our peers for decades and productivity growth has flatlined since the late 2000s. Worse still, the recovery since then has been slower than our competitors.

Add in the complications from Brexit and the oversupply of cheaper IT labour, and I really can't see how prospects for IT professionals are going to recover much for the foreseeable future.

If there’s just one thing I really hope the new government can do is to stimulate increased business investment. Without it we’re going to be screwed.

The FT did an interesting analysis comparing several economies and what effect excluding the richest region would have on GDP per capita. The comparatively outsized dominance of London was startling. The rest of the UK has an average GDP per capita lower than almost every single US state, just on a par with Mississippi. Which illustrates why so much of the UK’s economic prospects seem bleak.