Why are companies mandating five days return to office? | Deep Dive podcast

[@jameschan1585]

If your job can be done 100% from home. Chances are the work can be outsource to other countries with cheaper labour as long it meet certain requirements. There is a trade off to every decision. It may not be advantage to local employees, as job competition is no longer constrain to geographical barrier.

[@bummers]

TLDR; Please keep Karen Teo at work and let the rest of Singapore go on flex WFH. In fact, get her an office bed. She'll be a happy camper.

[@ThinkTalkListen]

@@bummers @bummers omg! that will be too expensive cos she gets paid 24hrs and those work at home gets paid only per hour basis? Not enough to eat!!!

[@WilliamWee-h4d]

America discovered that working from home was without control or supervision at employees doing two or more jobs or skiving.

[@joshau2346]

i can understand if its 3 to 4 day return to office. But 5 days return to office is unreasonable.

[@vincentchoo7390]

When I was employed, I enjoyed working, churning out materials, training, presentation notes and generally being productive, only to be distracted by frequent meetings, meetings and meetings which brings almost no benefit to productivity or value to achieving company KPIs. In the end, those who attend endless meetings never things done while productive people like us get affected.

[@genexizz]

When I work from home, I even do work at night as my PC is on 24x7. I may have that sudden 1 hour of free time at night, and.... PC is on, so might as well do some work so that I have lesser backlogs. When forced to 5 days RTO, I reach office before time but I leave on the dot. P.S. My work never has an end. There are always things to do and deadlines are months away. Meaning there are no ending tasks. So the more I at screen, the more I complete. So 5 days RTO is essentially counter productive for me.

[@rosewaters2533]

So true!! When I have more work to do, I would rather work from home because during crunch time I can do non-stop until 11pm or sometimes 2am. But when I’m in office, I go home on the dot and even when I have more work (thinking I can continue at home) after travelling 1.5hrs home, my body is on rest mode already and I end up procrastinating it for tomorrow.

[@user-qc02590]

One of the changes that Covid brought is working from home. There are still some "old school" managers who like to be able to "see" their employees, but if you don't trust them to do their work, then there is an issue. As long as the employee delivers on the required work, I don't see any issues. If you need to meet in person, you can always choose a location (e.g. park or cafe) that is convenient for both of you, or you can commute into the office for the meeting. Companies may also have an opportunity to move to a smaller office, which will save rent and other expenses. I'll say the hybrid system is here to stay e.g. where people work in the office for 2 days and from home for 3 days. This has actually provided more work life opportunities for many people, and should be encouraged.

[@lingth]

Not everyone can perform the same or better when they are given the chance to work from home.. there are ppl who take advantage using things like keyboard clickers or mouse movers, to pretend to work. Trying to weed them out is just too much trouble

[@dutchmilk]

​@@lingth illogical, many also does the same in office.

[@lingth]

@@dutchmilk you use keyboard clickers in office?

[@rhj3925]

Because 'manager' may lose their job if pp wfh. They manage pp

[@vincentchoo7390]

@user-qc02590 Because those manager's job is only to keep an eye on the workers (people who really work). If all the workers wfh, those managers will have nothing else to do.

[@huhwhatjason]

Unless you're literally an assembly line worker in a factory, there's no need for to be physically present for work. Digital nomads have been working remotely for decades. One reason MNCs mandate RTO is because they need to prop up the commercial property value, which would plummet if they're not utilized. Remote working also threatens the high salary that first world countries enjoy; if people can work anywhere on the globe, why not outsource work to India and pay much lower wages?

[@lingth]

Not really . Service workers.. can you work from home at a police station, hospital, shopping mall, chefs .

[@redmigeeold1417]

"why not outsource work to India and pay much lower wages". It's happening.

[@kolarsta1]

The danger of a job that can be carried out remotely entirely, means that job can be offshored and saving 60% of the labour costs

[@movehubsgppl6500]

c 🚎🏍️🚎🛵🎉🚛🚛🎉🚛🎉🚛🛵🎉😂 I hope 😂❤ yz a C b mg Switzerland 🎉 Iz ftx Is decho 😂n

[@gabrielsoo2939]

​@@redmigeeold1417 it will happen more when you convince your boss that u are actually not needed in office

[@jmgtan124]

Hybrid is better. Office for collaboration, wfh for deep work. I'll be doing RTO next year, will definitely not be taking any more evening calls since I have to wake up earlier to go to the office.

[@sean-the-man]

To lady's comment that she has "support functions" on her team where they have no "clear deliverables". Then you have basically structured their work wrong. You need to assess what their roles are and whether those roles are needed. What & who are they supporting? In what way? All roles have objective goals. Otherwise how do you size their roles and determine their salary & position in the hierarchy? Learn to structure your team's work better. If their goal is to be in office, to "stand by" or pick up ad hoc issues... then define their roles like F&B workers for example. Their role and goal is to "be available on site. Just in case something crops up." They should be hired for and paid based on the amount of time spent, not the amount of work done.

[@EthanChan]

WFH for me used to be something of a "luxury" but with certain trade offs. But recently I've been diagnosed with a life long condition and due to my condition and treatment, the doctors advised me to WFH from for long term (6 months to a year). My current employer which I've recently join has been super gracious to allow me to WFH for most of the time. I think WFH for people with disabilities and medical conditions really works out.

[@CT-cl9wi]

Hybrid wfh definitely is the future, but for entry position i suppose they do need to be in office more to "learn the ropes" before they can be reliably trusted to wfh with productivity.

[@rtui-zq1vp]

If your jobs can WFH, why don't they just assigned to other cheaper countries why hire staff in SG and pay SGD 😂

[@cancanjaker1620]

If it can be done in the cheaper countries, they will already setup a satellite office in the cheaper country. And let the managers fly over frequently to check on them. That is cheaper than all the exorbitant rental they charged for Singapore office space. So it is not because of WFH if they assign to cheaper countries.

[@cheng-choonsi7654]

It can get there if we continue to move in this direction.

[@adamkeynes458]

the time saved from commute. this should have been given more emphasis on the discussion.

[@cancanjaker1620]

and the energy saved on commute. Be honest, 80% of us are squeezed in the MRT peak hour trains and fighting to get to office. So it is one hour of energy spent on meaningless fighting just to get to sit in the office. And for what?

[@sean-the-man]

The fact is that a lot of senior people like being in the office. They like the respect (or fear), compliance and attention from their underlings in the office. They don't receive the same deference and subservience from their spouses and children. So being in the presence of lower level employees makes them feel good, and refeeds their ego which gets deflated every time they reach home. The "boss experience" is not quite the same over Zoom or Teams.

[@susan7374]

Realised that some parents who WFH might be less productive due to caring for their children at the same time. This happens to a few of our colleagues, whenever you need something from them, its seems to be slower or no response, sometimes need their teammates to back up. I rather the person take leave than not being productive due to the need to care for the children on that day. It's not fair for other people.

[@ChrisD-mb4sk]

Being in Office, does not necessarily mean productivity, when it comes to laying off people, all possible excuses will be used. If the employee feels that by turning up at work for fear and that it will reduce their retrenchment chances then it is times to wake up. WFH has it trade off, coworkers and bosses are respecting personal time less and less, meaning, you have awkward non office hour meetings, calls be it at lunch, be it before or after official office hours. In exchange for WFH and reasonably perhaps it is a fair trade. Does being in office increases the chance of promotion, in today’s company promotion is not highly probable for many reasons, company maturity, budgeting, org design and such, so perhaps it does not really make a difference if you are physically in office, so long you deliver your work. Being in office for visibility tho not insignificant, perhaps is too superficial excuse and reason a boss or company can use. And perhaps at some level, quiet quitting is in the background. At the end of the day, everyone’s experience and take on WFH will be different and one will have to assess and make their own decisions.

[@Almsoo7]

Can understand why some companies are mandating to work from office permanently. While some of us practise the discipline of working diligently at home, there are some who really abuse the system by skiving, moonlighting or doing their own things other than work. I do have a colleague at work who seldom appears in office and always claims to be busy although everyone knows his job scope is much less than the rest.

[@Jo-lz4ie]

Bcoz the real estate is not doing well. Back then one person was hired for workload of an individual henceforth we had the luxury to chit chat but these days, one person is hired for three men workloads, it’s different post Covid, let’s be honest

[@cancanjaker1620]

The real estate is one huge bubble. Unrealistic inflation of prices. Let it crash.

[@yunfeng2205]

WFH is very important, especially for both working parents with young kids. However, yes, don't spoil the market - make sure work seriously and output on par or better. Also, note that this can only be done when the company is making good money. Otherwise, performance doesn't matter, everyone has to RTO. Another thing, wfh fully doesn't work because it means this can be outsourced to cheaper country.

[@sean-the-man]

"Out of sight, out of mind" or "need to see you working in person to know you're working"... those are bosses who practice "management by walking around". They delegate deliverables to lower managers, which is why they lack visibility of who's delivering on their outcomes and who's not. The Board/senior mgt needs to assess whether this boss is even needed. It seems like his/her lower managers or the subordinates themselves can already take care of the deliverables. Why is he/she there for? What's his/her role, exactly?

[@bummers]

Those who are not productive WFH should then be rated accordingly and if they want better ratings, they should go back to office, or if they fall below what the company need and they do not revert, they should be released. Why punish everybody because some are not disciplined or effective WFH? I mean, we are not talking about school kids here right? Right??

[@rayng4336]

There are benefits to RTO, but there are also costs too. Such as traveling time, transport cost, cost of work atire, meals, most important is time and its equivalent to getting a pay cut.

[@Magurosenbei]

For security and of course to be able to patent without doubt every possible invention made by employees, all employers prefer you to work in office.

[@ocswoodlands]

Frankly, WFH is fantastic for SG as a nation. Let me explain: Ultimately in SG, the tightest resource is land/space For 5 day work in office regimes, lets say the amount of office space required to generate Y dollars in GDP is X For a 3 day work in office regime, it is possible that the same amount of X space can generate 1.6Y of dollars in GDP. the 0.6Y dollars of GDP is being generated by people working from their own homes which is "free" space for the company & country.

[@JeremyKoh-k9l]

5-days RTO or not, we should allow the market mechanism to work its way without regulatory interference.

[@lazyjane1223]

At least 2 days of WFH should continue. For mental well being and balance. Some people cannot focus in the office with constant noise and interruptions.. Some prefer coming in because it gives them structure. To me, there’s no one size fits all thing such as 5 day RTO. If your company forces this on you, it shows they don’t value your well being at all. Employees well being is important, if not you’ll soon realise your talents leaving or employees quiet quitting. I don’t agree very much with the lady in white.. Some ideas and concepts she’s pushing for are just so old school and Asian mentality. Feel like she’s the type that micromanages. 🤢 The part about “optics”.. This results in alot of bias. Bosses assume you’re “more hardworking and committed” just because you show up at your desk daily. Maybe it’s time for bosses to reframe their narratives and perspective? Employees can be competent and committed even if they’re not in the office everyday. Just be objective and look at results delivered. Everyone is different and we all have different needs. Bosses should have honest conversations with employees and support them as much as possible, help them be the best that they can be, to be productive and efficient. For some, this means having the option to decompress at home after fulfilling work and to have a certain level of flexibility. Micro managers are so yesterday 😂

[@neutraluser4019]

Does the company adjust the salary or allowance when working in office days are reduced ? Why yes or why no ?

[@SK-lt1so]

Literally, picking up a laptop, time spent commuting, and doing exactly what you could do at home, in an office. True idiocy

[@SharonTan-e3d]

At time 6:30 where Steven questioned if it's alright that people go and play golf if they really finished their work at 3pm. Based on my observations, it's quite rare for that to happen, simply because manpower is so expensive in SG. Most of the time, we actually don't have enough time to finish our standard work scope. So if someone can actually finish his/her work by 3pm consistently, then it likely means that that person's work needs to be re-scoped. Otherwise, wouldn't it be an inefficient headcount? Also, something might come up and other team members need you to discuss the issue etc and then you're at the golf course or manicure shop. How to have a productive discussion when you're at such a venue? I mean, if I'm playing golf or other sports games, I wouldn't be in the right state of mind to have a proper work discussion. This "I have to work from home because I've to look after my 3 yo kid" is quite absurd right IMO. How do you get your work done and look after a toddler at the same time??

[@cancanjaker1620]

"I have to work from home because I've to look after my 3 yo kid" This is actually not absurd but really practical. Because for most people, they live at least an one-hour commute away from their office, and their child care is nearer to their home than their office (since child-care near any office district is super expensive). So if they work from home, they can get off work and fetch their kids back in 30 mins or less. But if they work from office, they will be an hour late fetching their kids and run into all sorts of issues with childcare because of the unstable timing due to the long commute. Or on the other case, they hire a nanny at home to look after the kid, but they need an trusted adult in the house to supervise the nanny. WFH allows them to keep an eye on the nanny. How can anyone trusted a complete stranger whom they only knew for a few weeks/months to look after a helpless baby/toddler unsupervised? It is a roll of dice as to whether the child will be safe.

[@lingth]

Actually many ppl dun see how many business depends on each other.. imagine 2 buildings of office workers.. 5 days work in office.. they come out for lunch.. they give rise to business like cafes, eatery and things like office stationary shops etc When you put 50% of the office on Work from Home.. the amount of ppl going out for lunch, having coffee breaks.. drop 50% and in turn those business also suffer.. so sometimes we just focus on OUR side of problems.. having to come in to work is a chore..

[@dutchmilk]

you are in sale?

[@cancanjaker1620]

Sure, I wasted 2 hours of my time everyday fighting to go into office to bring businesses to the super expensive priced food they charged me in CBD? I expect businesses to solve my needs, not me giving out to them like charities by donating my time, money and effort. If WFH affects them negatively, it just says their business model is obsolete, time for them to adapt and change, not for me to go out of my way to give them business. It is business, not charity.

[@cancanjaker1620]

Plus if those business failed due to WFH, it just says that they have been piggybacking on the rest of the CBD businesses in terms of value. They don't provide enough value on their own.

[@90taetaeya]

Should only Mandate for foreigners. Should give locals flexibility.

[@rtui-zq1vp]

Aiyo, those sme companies cannot WFH, they are not paperless, must print out everything for signing for approval for filling. Employee must 5 days in office if not how to run the business???

[@lingth]

Not everyone work is based on results or commission. So if your work depends on answering calls and giving a service..its like waiter.. they are paid the same ..during lunch peak hours..and even when there is no customers, does it mean they can go home when there is less customers.

[@lowkh76]

All wfh, no need office, price drop, no need transportation, mrt no business

[@tpt1793]

Will under the labour law, 44hrs per week, for your monthly pay. Some if during the 44hrs, you steal the company hours (paid) to do your own things! so can the company adjust your monthly pay?

[@ms1884]

I thought this was a good discussion that showed different perspectives.

[@ThinkTalkListen]

Being a retiree now, i envy the working lifestyles of today packed together with enhanced work discrimination and high salaries I yearn for during my working life during that time. I am not looking back into the past but merely like to reiterate that the benefits of working in the office far outweighs that of working at home. Other than those with “dependent” children and caregivers or medically disadvantaged, one should be encouraged to work in office as far as practicable.

[@lmInLov3]

Back in my days, we would just work for free even during weekends for the company. Nowadays youngster have no more loyalty towards the company, jump out once a few years, all they think about is themselves. Didn't they know the boss is family too!!

[@dutchmilk]

justification of rent. Landlord pushes company to get their employees back to stop rental price from going down.

[@ThinkTalkListen]

What if those working in office and at home gets paid per hour basis at full and reduced rates respectively? Will people still want to work from home? Just thinking aloud.

[@cancanjaker1620]

Then you get reduced effort put in those hours at both office and wfh employees. Workers in office will think "I already came into office, my major job scope is done, why put in so. much effort". Workers at home will think "I get paid less, why should I put in so much effort".

[@ThinkTalkListen]

@ @ that’s interesting! for such workers, then tell them to grow up and learn the word “responsibilities” or get a walking out certificate! It’s akin to a person paying $2 for a lottery and wins first prize but only wants to take $2 back cos his “effort” is only $2.

[@demo1234-w6l]

Well, every different generation have their own pattern. The boss want to bend them to their will? Or Adapt to the new changes? It is solely depend on the boss. In the long run of history, how many have not adapt to changes and was drown in it? Plenty. You can refuse to change, and there will be ppl rising up setting their own companies and bring forward the changes. I agree certainly not all role can work from home.

[@cancanjaker1620]

True. These companies that refused to allow WFH, there will just be other companies who will allow WFH. And we all know where the true talents will gravitate towards to.

[@mrkylerule]

That mentality of “I paid your hours hence I need to see your face in office” 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@CedricHo-zn5cv]

Privilege vs Entitlement. We humans are like that.

[@gf-gf5gt]

on 1 hand, companies want 5 days return to office. On another hand, companies go 4 working days. hmmm ...

[@cancanjaker1620]

update yourself. Companies already said they are not going 4 working days.

[@dutchmilk]

one of the reason for this video, is because grab needed to justified its outdated management.

[@lingth]

Sometimes ppl hate water cooler chats, some ppl feel i come here to work, provide my service and skills, get paid, i dun need to know who's married, whos going travelling or where you live or what you like to eat..

[@acs4410]

Ya especially when need to spend time listening to super talkative people,I rather wfh

[@ipanmei3380]

Why dun we encourage those who can't accept the regular 5 day work week to quit, then work for themselves at home? I'm sure they'll be so darn productive that they can just work one day a week (or even lesser) and still make the same if not more than they were working for others. Money will find its way to their house. Even politely ring the doorbell too😂

[@98338142]

1 day WFH per week, on approval, whatever the reason, this will increase productivity and balance work life.

[@jj96432]

i think ppl are making this issue too complicated. It's really just you see from the employee or the employer POV

[@cancanjaker1620]

It's a classic case of "if you can't convince them, confuse them".

[@CheeWaiWong-mj1on]

Does it occur to you that if don't return to office, your boss will look for smaller offices. If you allow to work for remote, then we are indirectly seeding to the Boss brain that this can be done via remote. Let's source for cheaper alternative instead of giving the job to Singaporean. Just like recently, I get to receive calls from HR of another company on the job that I seek. I was surprise that the HR that contact for these my arrangement of job interviews were of India , Filipino, Vietnam nationality. I was wondering, shouldn't a local HR that is supposed to contact me instead? Hopefully, you know where I'm coming from and the point that I'm trying to drive at.

[@cancanjaker1620]

All these bosses already have difficulties working with a Singaporean employee not working right in front of them. You think they will be capable of working with a foreign cheaper alternative based in a different country over a crappy internet connection? The overheads of working with a remote team based in different geographical locations is very high. If the bosses are already capable of that, they won't be whining about not seeing their employees in office.

[@anghockseng5686]

Working is not 5 day In office or at home The working enviroment is importance especially Your collegaue is good Helpful and like friend Alll like family I think that importance Last my sister in ICS She say staff very good Manager is quite nice

[@georgieolleh448]

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy of D.O.G.E. have openly declared they may use RTO to shed US government employees. So, the idea of easy and cheaply laying off excessive employees (esp. from pandemic hires) with RTOs is definitely a pretty well known method.

[@mm-et7dx]

I 100% support RTO. WFH could still "loosely" practice but not “automatic/granted”. To be honest some WFH would go MIA during working hours. true?

[@JasonNgYongLiang]

WFO can also go MIA during working hours; have seen many such cases in the past before Covid times.

[@cancanjaker1620]

A lot of people also MIA when WFO. Else all that smoking breaks already become lung cancers.

[@lil6272]

It is quite a nice debate/conversation here, speaking from employees and employer perspective. I somehow feel Karen is quite a micromanager, but i can understand why, because she is managing a team of 50 people, it is not easy to know what everyone is doing if they all WFH. What Crispina replied when they talked about out of sight mean out of mind, is a very Asian thing, which i agreed too. Hybrid work arrangement is better for introverts like me, i am afraid to bump into colleagues in pantry and toilet cos i dont want to have small talks with them and i focus alot better and hence more productive at home than in office. So i would vote for hybrid work arrangement to be kept here, i get my own time for deep work and concentration and dont miss out on human interaction with my team and colleagues...

[@cancanjaker1620]

Karen needs to adapt her managerial style. Managers need to be able to manage a remote team in future. If she cannot adapt, she will just become obsolete and keep whing about "who moved my cheese"

[@tanalson]

Mandatory 5 days RTO only benefits those F&B businesses in the office buildings. Pandemic have proved to us that most work is possible to be done remotely

[@tanpogi2414]

the only reason managers and higher-ups like to have RTO is because they derive their happiness in life, ego and importance from F2F meetings and chitchats. they have had their life based on work (that's why they got promoted) so they tend to find emotional stability in the office. they are above 40s-60s in age and their kids are all grown ups, wives don't give them attention too and they don't have life at home. it's too counter-intuitive that productivity will increase as it was proven until now that WFH increases productivity. yes, few people slack on WFH but there's no proof that they will not slack on RTO. however, if these people who slack WFH may be psychopaths then it is actually a threat to the company as these people tend to get promoted more as pyschopaths need other employees as prey. RTO is more beneficial to these kinds of people, those who based their life at work and psychopaths and not actually to the company (except on manufacturing or other fields that will fail otherwise).

[@6Sambora]

its 2025 and people still work in offices? 😂 what a pity

[@bummers]

Admin should be totally phased out with all the digitalisation going on. lol

[@cathhl2440]

I was quite shocked to know WFH is still a thing. Seriously guys…

[@thinkpadx60]

aiya singapore just kiasu. 3 days a week is enough.

[@thatminimalisttrainer]

6:36 Yes, ok.

[@gaziaOG]

From my perspective, I manage a moderately sized team with strict milestones for creative deliverables. There's a significant difference in commitment and constructive engagement between working from home (WFH) and working from the office (WFO), which is now mandated. WFH often leads to a sense of disconnection, and the environment plays a key role in influencing output, determination, and efficiency. While some individuals thrive and even become more productive without the daily commute, most eventually grow complacent with the comfort of working from home. This makes accountability challenging to maintain. I do offer flexible working arrangements to those I trust, but for the majority, being in the office is essential for maintaining effectiveness. When teammates don’t have lunch together, their interactions tend to remain purely task-focused. While video calls can help build chemistry, they have their limitations. These calls often lose engagement as they go on, with participants mentally drifting and hoping to wrap up. In person, however, people can’t simply "check out" by hiding behind their screens.

[@cancanjaker1620]

If your video calls do not pull engagement, then is it just "busy work"?

[@francisseah6630]

Companies need to integrate the talents together through mentoring and proper face to face supervision Jobs that do not requires face to face interactions may be more flexible for WFH arrangement ..at the end of the day .A Successful Company need an effective succession Strategy ..and let's be realistic , you can mentor your successor through online .there must be more than that ..

[@kevinhsu8184]

There are many office jobs out there that actually don’t require 8 hour days to complete five days a week. Often times workloads are stretched to 8 hours for the sake of not looking like you are doing nothing. Many people like wfh so they don’t have to pretend they are busy. They just finish their work asap and then go on to take care of elderly, kids, run errands, or go out and have lunch with friends. Companies needs to either hire just the right amount of people so they are busy for 8 hours five days a week, or be happy with employees who can finish the assigned workload well regardless amount of time it took to accomplish them. I’m guessing most managers would love to hire just enough people to finish workload well without paying extras for employees to do their own errands on company’s dime. But that’s a very difficult balancing act as you don’t want to hire just enough people for allotted workload because family emergencies and getting sick exist so there always needs to be some slack build in. If your job can be wfh four or five days a week be very careful as your company can easily replace you with a cheaper foreigner who lives in a cheaper country thus needing less salary than you do to thrive.

[@LonganLee]

There is no way to know the Real business reasons for each company and its their secret. So is this program claiming it knows the reason and is it the same for all companies or social engineering?

[@KhairulAnwar-mp8lo]

Because of money.

[@UnwrappingByMimiKoteng]

Thanks but not thanks.

[@ska5568]

*BECAUSE THEY CAN?!😂😂😂 IF REMOTE WORK IS POSSIBLE THEN AS WELL EXPORT THE JOB TO CHEAPER WORKFORCE!! FRACTION OF THE SINGAPOREAN SALARY, NO NEED TO PAY CPF AND STUFF!!*

[@anghockseng5686]

If the company is Good colleague are good Salary and bonus are Good then why bother 5 day at home or office Sia pay 8 myh bonus Dbs pay 4 to 5 mth bonus plus good salary

[@incognito4344]

No more office work wfh is the way

[@Rion-uc4rp]

This Karen Teo is such a tool. Trying so hard to justify 5-days RTO for her company.

[@Adonna2424]

Just another way to discriminate against disabled and immunocompromised people. 😢

[@燕青-p8y]

Clock enough face time? 😅. Out of sight, out of mind?

[@cookingwithfluffytiny4371]

Because weak labour laws.

[@shawnwong3960]

The producers could have gotten a more relevant guest rather than Karen Teo from Quess.

[@Fienly0109]

The office is for ghost

[@dunlop9292]

You got the wrong team to discuss on RTO. These ppl are incline to speak the positives of RTO. No honestly in this interview. Just blame game.

[@kadajlim]

Divide & conquer so yea quote Amazon again, u guys wanna be conquered? Build a strong community within SG that doubt outside narrative before doubting each other locally.

[@LiXianYang001]

If you don't like 5 days work week, quit. Be your own boss.

[@dutchmilk]

if you like working as an intelligent being, quit working 5 days a week in office.

[@Meaning52222]

It does not make sense to interview a professor or academic for this topic. The academic is most probably an introvert, and he prefers to stay in his room to read research papers and write his books and papers. Obviously he has a bias towards working from home, where nobody 'disturbs' him. Leaders in business understand the benefits of developing a conducive work environment where ideas thrive. I am sure the academic would not understand this.

[@magnusthor6259]

Very controversial topic. Yet the two hosts are laughing sarcastically at anything RTO. Disgusting.

[@sting6303]

There is nothing controversial. Its simple. Wfh DOES NOT affect productivity OR profits. Base in facts and research.

[@magnusthor6259]

@@sting6303 It depends on who you ask. Ask 100% of the employees and they share your opinions. Ask 100% of the employers and they want RTO. Its all about self-interest. Actually since the employer is paying you , employees should have no say. But because of the tremendous social pressure, even on the government who want to be on the right side of voters, employers are forced to compromise. Its the same with transgender rights in US. Because of the tremendous social pressure for recognition of individual rights, the rights of transgenders is paramount even to those normal people who dare not speak up at all.

[@sting6303]

@@magnusthor6259 facts overwrite opinions when agendas are being pushed. It has been proven that alot of companies whos share price are declining, tend to want rto, to aopear they are doing "something" abt profitability, when in reality wfh has zero impact on bottom line. The profit argument has also been proven. Wfh does not affect profits. Feelings, sentiments or preference needs to be put aside when the facts are clear

[@dutchmilk]

​@@magnusthor6259have no say cause they are paying you? you are from the 1200s?

[@magnusthor6259]

@@dutchmilk You are from Holland? The west has very liberal mindset. Individual rights range as very important. So I am not surprised you have this view. The west can ridicule their Prime Minister anytime they want. So what are they incapable of?

[@Meaning52222]

Contractually, you are paid to work a certain X number of hours in a week. You are not paid merely to achieve outcomes. To use work hours to do manicure, run personal errands etc is tantamount to "cheating" your employer, and that is not ethically the right thing to do as employees.

[@huhwhatjason]

Have you seen how CEOs and other business leaders tally their work hours when they tell reporters that they work 12 or 20 hours a day? They include all kinds of BS like gym time, nap time etc. as hours that they've worked except they label it with fancy terms like active thinking time or meditative idea time. "My mind is running through the numbers when I'm jogging! I'm thinking of the next business idea as I *power* nap!"

[@sting6303]

Absilute rubbish. These are the kind of ppl who that SEE their employees working till 7pm, 8pm, 2 or 3 in the morning and keep queut. No ot pay, no noise, no saying why is the empmoyees sacrificing health, personal time when they are SUPPOSE to work only up to 6pm. Has companies been cheating emoyees then? U want to hit, be prepared to get hit. A transactio is 2 way. Not just win for companies. Its time companies be humbled and put in their places

[@wwc7134]

@@huhwhatjasonare u Ceo ? If not, shut up

[@Meaning52222]

This academic's view is completely bias. He talks nonsense.

[@anziar3038]

Responsible employees don't mind going back five days a week. Irresponsible employees are the ones complaining because they can't skive anymore.

[@lazyjane1223]

Boxing people up and generalizing things. Time to shift your dated mindset

[@cancanjaker1620]

it is those employees who only play office politics don't mind going back five days a week. They even rather be at work 7 days a week to watch for any politics to play in the company. People who are actually doing the work don't want to go back because they don't need the office to get things done. And lesser distraction from these office politics.

[@cac1504]

Work from home can 'chiak chua' - eat snake skiving.

[@altimit2k]

Poor implementation of remote policies if a new joiner has difficulty fitting in and assimilating culture 🥲