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<ul><li><keyword id="19904608" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amazon" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Amazon" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> announced an <keyword id="20007258" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="RTO" source="keywords">RTO</keyword> mandate last month</li><li><keyword id="19916568" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="employees" source="keywords">Employees</keyword> have to come to office five days a week</li><li>Amazon has defended the move</li></ul> When <keyword id="20231207" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="work-from-home" source="keywords">work from home</keyword> became the norm during the Covid-19 pandemic, most people thought that this would be the new normal. Employees began realising that they could save up a lot of time as well as money by working from home and discussions about the importance of work-life balance surfaced. However, as soon as things started getting better, companies called employees back to offices. Amazon also made headlines last month for calling its employees back to offices five days a week. After the news went viral, many people began reacting to it. The tech giant also received a baclash for its decisions as people started saying on social media that this is not the solution. Now, according to a report in The Information, <keyword id="23472756" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Beth-Galetti" source="keywords">Beth Galetti</keyword>, Senior Vice President of People Experience and Tech at Amazon, has defended the mandate. Galetti said that younger employees are eager to benefit from in-person mentorship and have been asking to work from office. Speaking at The Information’s Women in Tech, Media, and Finance conference, Galetti explained that many junior staff members expressed a desire for face-to-face interaction with colleagues. She also said that the new policy reflects a return to Amazon’s previous work culture, where there was flexibility for personal matters but office attendance remained the norm. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="113855017" title="Amazon's RTO mandate is a 'backdoor layoff' strategy, future of work expert says" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> Amazon CEO <keyword id="19910506" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Andy-Jassy" source="keywords">Andy Jassy</keyword> also supports the decision, highlighting the importance of collaboration and innovation that come from being physically present in the office. In a memo to staff, Jassy acknowledged that pre-pandemic, the company allowed remote work when necessary, and this flexibility would remain. However, he stressed that regular in-office work is key to building stronger teams and a cohesive company culture. In response to the changing work environment, Amazon is also developing a generative AI-powered “culture coach” to help provide employees with real-time feedback, further supporting staff in their roles as the company adapts to new ways of working. On the other hand, Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford economist, suggests that this could be a way for Amazon to reduce its workforce without resorting to formal layoffs. He refers to this tactic as a “backdoor layoff” strategy, where some employees might quit due to the new policy, helping the company cut costs without the need to offer severance packages. Speaking to Business Insider, Bloom said that this approach may work to control costs but could harm departments like AI, where top talent is hard to attract and retain. Other tech companies like <keyword id="19902762" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Google" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Google" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Google">Google</keyword>, Microsoft, and OpenAI are continuing with hybrid work policies, which may give them a chance to hire skilled workers leaving Amazon due to its stricter office requirements.

Young employees need mentorship: Amazon on calling employees back to office five days a week

Discussions around <keyword id="19901232" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="work-life-balance" source="keywords">work-life balance</keyword> have been around since forever and when <keyword id="20231207" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="work-from-home" source="keywords">work from home</keyword> became a norm in 2020, these talks intensified. Soon, people across the globe realised how work from home could save a lot of time and money for them. As a result, they get to spend more time focusing on things apart from work. In India too, work-life balance has been a hot topic for a long time. Earlier this year, a study by the UKG Workforce Institute revealed that nearly 78% of employees in India suffer from job burnout, which often results in both physical and emotional fatigue. Around 64% of these workers were willing to reduce their workload even if it meant a corresponding pay cut. This highlighted a growing awareness among employees about the value of maintaining a <keyword id="22783879" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="healthy-work-life-balance" source="keywords">healthy work-life balance</keyword>, with many choosing to prioritize well-being over monetary benefits. <h2><keyword id="20830500" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bengaluru-man" source="keywords">Bengaluru man</keyword>'s photo goes viral</h2> Despite this, India was recently reported to rank 48th in the 2024 Global Life-Work Balance Index, reflecting the challenges faced by employees in maintaining a healthy work-life balance. And a Bengaluru man’s recent <keyword id="20384549" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="viral-photo" source="keywords">viral photo</keyword> has once again stirred work-life balance discussions in the country. A photograph of a man working on his laptop while standing outside a popular momo stall in Bengaluru took the internet by storm on Tuesday. The photo, shared by X user Kritika Kumari, quickly went viral, capturing the attention of many who found humour in the situation but also sparked deeper conversations about the pressures faced by <keyword id="21460912" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="corporate-employees" source="keywords">corporate employees</keyword>. Kumari captioned the photo, “His priorities are sorted.” The photo shows the techie engrossed in his laptop, seemingly unfazed by his surroundings. The post resonated with many, leading to a flood of comments that ranged from witty remarks to relatable anecdotes. <div type="image" title="Bengaluru man&amp;#39;s photo goes viral" msid="112516540" hostid="261" sizebytes="2145538" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Bengaluru man&amp;#39;s photo goes viral&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> <h2 style="margin-bottom: 0.7em; line-height: 1.3; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 24px; background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Work-life balance in India a myth, says internet</h2>X users reacted to the photo and talked about the man's plight. One user humorously summed up the scene as, “Corporate employee,” while another quipped, “Pyaar se jyada, kaam pyara,” highlighting the often-overwhelming work demands that many in the <keyword id="19955787" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tech-industry" source="keywords">tech industry</keyword> face. "The so-called "work-life" balance is a myth! It should really be called "hand-laptop" balance," another user wrote. <div type="twitter" handle="manojrmenon" handlename="manojrmenon" favoritecount="0" retweetcount="0" id="1823207147599184281"></div> The jokes didn’t stop there; some users playfully imagined the man’s predicament, suggesting that he might have forgotten his phone at the office and was now transferring money to the momo vendor via net banking on his laptop. While the image and its accompanying jokes provided light-hearted entertainment, they also highlighted the growing concern about the intense work culture in the tech sector, where employees often find themselves working outside traditional office hours and settings. As one user lamented, “Ek labor karega bhi kya? Apne ghar ja kar English jhaadega. ‘I am audible? My screen is visible or not?’ (What will a laborer do? He will go back home and flaunt his English, saying, ‘I am audible? Is my screen visible or not?’).”

'Work-life balance is a myth’: Photo of man working in front of momo stall goes viral, Internet reacts

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Michael Johnston was making six figures in a remote job he enjoyed when his second child was born.</li><li>He fell in love with <keyword id="23944982" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="full-time-parenting" source="keywords">full-time parenting</keyword> and his wife, a successful editor, was keen to keep working.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Michael Johnston, 41, a <keyword id="23944981" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="stay-at-home-dad" source="keywords">stay-at-home dad</keyword> who lives in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. Johnston's financial claims have been verified with documents. It has been edited for length and clarity. I graduated from Boston University in 2006 with a degree in mechanical engineering. I then got a job in the semiconductor industry. The role allowed me unlimited creative freedom and had crazy big budgets. Life was good. A few years into this amazing job, things shifted. The 2008 recession hit, and though I survived layoffs, everything changed. Money dried up for creative projects, and suddenly, I was doing paperwork all day. After my wife Maddie finished school, we wanted a fresh start. We moved coasts onto a ranch in California. I found a new role at KLA Corporation, in manufacturing, with much less paperwork. When my wife told me she was pregnant, I had a steady job with a manageable workload, but I traveled frequently to China, Taiwan, and South Korea. I was grateful for the income when our son Lincoln was born. <div type="image" title="Dad with baby in a carrier." height="4032" width="2268" msid="114981391" hostid="261"></div><h2>The impossible task of pandemic parenting</h2>Like many parents, March 2020 was a very difficult period for my family of three. Lincoln was around three years old, and suddenly my world narrowed to just four walls during lockdown. Instead of traveling and working in the office, my role was being permanently on the phone. I had meetings the entire day and would try to get my actual work done in the evening. Calls from around the world pushed late into the night. At some points, I worked almost 24 hours a day. Maddie, Lincoln, and I tried to maintain daily family life while we kept up with our careers. Now we were both fully remote, so we bought a beach house in Maine in 2020 and left California in 2021. But that wasn't the only reason we were moving back closer to home: our second baby was on the way. <div type="image" title="Michael Johnston and his kids." height="3357" width="1888" msid="114981168" hostid="261"></div><h2>Crunching numbers on <keyword id="21017792" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="paternity-leave" source="keywords">paternity leave</keyword></h2>I fully intended to go back to work after paternity leave. I was making six figures doing work that I loved — prior to the pandemic shift — and my team was great. But over 12 weeks of leave, I fell in love with being a full-time dad. If I was up at 3 a.m. I was comforting a sleepless kid, not fielding international calls. It was some of the best times we'd had as a family. My wife has a successful career in editorial work, and we began examining whether we could afford to be a one-salary family. We'd spent our early career days digging out of student and credit card debt from moving around. Right before kids, we'd finally paid off our debt, which was tough even with two incomes. Moving back to Maine was a major savings opportunity. We streamlined our spending on our mortgage, rental property, two cars, and everything else it takes to run a family in California. We no longer had to pay for flights back, preschool or daycare. We dug into what life would look like on one income, and my financial projections showed it was doable in Maine. We walk the kids to school and don't have a pricey commute. We no longer pay for any day care — a drastic change from the insanely California options at around $2,000 for one child. Maine also has free breakfast and lunch at school. <h2>Deciding to stay home</h2>It came down to how we viewed our work. After maternity leave, my wife was excited to see her coworkers and jump back into her job. I saw work as a means to an end. My future wasn't ever really tied up in my workplace. I'd missed so much of my first child's youngest years that I was determined not to repeat that with my second. On the work front, I'd used my degree for 17 years and accomplished what I wanted to. A week or two before the end of my leave, I set my team up for success and gave my boss my two weeks' notice. <div type="image" title="Michael Johnston and his family." height="1690" width="2253" msid="114981165" hostid="261"></div><h2>Settling into full-time dad life</h2>The first few months were awesome. We knew we'd made the right choice. I walked the kids to school every day and got to experience small moments I'd previously been too busy to enjoy. I did have misconceptions about stay-at-home parenting life. I thought I'd renovate our 1954 Airstream during naps. Instead, I get up at 5:30 a.m., make lunches, have a cup of coffee for 15 minutes in peace, and then get everyone ready for school. Once my oldest is at school, my new mission is potty training. I'm lucky to grab a shower during naptime. I clean and reset the house for the evening, getting dishes under control and dinner started. My wife and I always split the cores, her taking the mental labor of organizing school and social life comms and I did more physical chores. This is now just more official – I manage school runs and all the household tasks. When others find out I'm a stay-at-home dad, they always ask: "When are you going back to work?" Maybe I will, maybe I won't. If I do, I'll have different boundaries. I spent too long wrapped up in my job. We are trained to graduate, get a good job, work that job forever, then retire at 65. I plowed along for long enough. Now I know a corporate job isn't a mandatory trajectory. It was a choice. I'm happy doing something different. Correction: November 8, 2024 — A previous version of this story misstated that the Johnston family didn’t have a car. They do have a car in Maine.

I quit my 6-figure job to be a stay-at-home dad. After leaving California, we could afford to be a single-income family.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>I have rheumatoid arthritis, which means my immune system attacks my joints. </li><li>I treat it by depressing my immune system, which leaves me vulnerable to things like a common cold. </li></ul>I was <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/celebrities-with-rheumatoid-arthritis-2018-11">diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis</a> 10 years ago. So, while I was building my career, I was also learning how to control my condition.My condition means my <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fda-rejects-lilly-and-incytes-baricitinib-2017-4">immune system attacks my joints</a>, which results in debilitating pain throughout my body if left untreated. I never knew how many joints existed in the human body until they would all stiffen at once overnight.To treat it, I have to suppress <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/health/does-alcohol-weaken-the-immune-system">my immune system</a> with medication, which I need just to physically get out of bed in the morning. I've also learned in this decade of dealing with my condition that I need to advocate for myself and my needs — and that includes at work, too.<h2 id="1e19f0c1-f6a0-4e82-a625-505ae454c21f">I'm more vulnerable to catching upper respiratory illnesses</h2>Because my immune system is suppressed, it means I'm more vulnerable to catching any bug that's going around. Your 24-hour flu is my weeklong flu.It's been almost six years since my last <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sick-dont-have-covid-flu-rsv-what-it-is-2022-12">upper respiratory infection</a>, but I still can't breathe as well as I used to. The sound of coughing makes me wince. Four upper respiratory infections in four years taught me to develop crippling anxiety as winter approaches, knowing that a deep, dry cough would arrive in January. What follows is two weeks of utter misery.My last infection in 2019 left me with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/health/conditions-symptoms/chronic-cough">a lingering cough</a>, only remedied by an inhaler months later. A month after that, I would contract one of the worst cases of strep throat I've ever had. Between the two, I was rendered ill for almost half the year.This was my life before <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/work-from-home-wall-street-return-to-office-lazard-ceo-2024-9">work-from-home policies</a> took hold.In 10 years of managing this disability, I've learned to speak louder. This translated well as I grew in my career. I became more assertive and spoke my mind when I thought we could do better. I also learned that my health is more important than my work, and I found ways to let go of the little things.<h2 id="07ed5d61-656c-4721-9ef7-bd04e6b5664b">I asked to work from home when needed</h2>Regardless of the work I'm tasked with, my own high standards dictate the final product. Once an A-student, always an A-student. Exceeding expectations regularly allowed me to build trust with my supervisors, which gave me the credibility to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-hybrid-work-policy-amazon-rto-employees-workplace-remote-2024-10">ask for accommodations</a> when needed. This included avoiding the office when my risk of infection was higher and making up work so that I didn't use all of my PTO being sick.I valued my relationship with my supervisor and felt lucky to have a boss I could talk to about my health issues. When I was laid off one year ago, I found myself in a sea of competition. The majority of job listings were hybrid or 100% in-office, and suddenly, I lacked the rapport that had protected me for so many years.I was immediately faced with a question I've always struggled with: When is the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ablesplaining-nondisabled-partners-think-know-whats-best-2023-5">right moment to share that I'm disabled</a>? Several times in my life, I've waited for someone to notice — blending in until I can't. But in a competitive job search, the answer wasn't clear.Not only was I afraid of losing out to competition because of a chronic illness, but I knew that my body couldn't handle an annual upper respiratory infection in perpetuity. I needed an employer who would see me as a whole human being, and deciphering that in an interview process felt like an impossible task with very high stakes.When I was presented with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-i-left-six-figure-tech-job-become-full-time-freelancer">freelance opportunities</a>, I took the leap. One year after my layoff, I am able to take care of myself first. Every day, I can wake up, listen to my body, and go from there on what the rest of the day looks like — something I wish everyone could do.I've learned never to say never. So, there is certainly a chance that I could wind up back in a full-time role again, and I could wind up in an office again. I can legally demand accommodations anywhere I work. But if you're asking whether I want to fight those battles, the answer is unequivocally no. What companies either fail to realize or don't care to correct is that strict in-office policies keep many talented professionals out, including disabled people. And this particular talent is not looking to come back anytime soon.

My medical condition makes it risky for me to work in an office. For now, I'm freelancing from home. 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>PwC is mandating UK staff to work in the office or with clients at least 3 days a week.</li><li>More bosses are scrapping remote work policies and telling staff to return to the workplace.</li></ul>Accounting giant <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pwc-uk-staff-buyouts-corporate-emails-approved-quiet-messaging-review-2024-6">PwC</a> is the latest company to crack down on its <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ravin-jesuthasan-why-companies-enforce-rto-mandates-future-of-work-2024-8">hybrid work policy</a>. The firm has introduced stricter measures requiring employees in the UK to work from the office more often.PwC <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.pwc.co.uk/press-room/press-releases/corporate-news/pwc-uk-shifts-hybrid-working-balance-towards-more-in-person-work.html">said</a> it informed staff and partners on Thursday that they must spend at least three days in the office or with clients a week from January. Previously, workers were expected to go in two to three days.The company <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/sep/05/pwc-to-start-tracking-working-locations-of-all-its-uk-employees">reportedly wrote in a memo</a> to its 26,000 employees in the UK that it will start tracking their working locations to ensure workers meet these requirements. Across industries, more <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/companies-making-workers-employees-return-to-office-rto-wfh-hybrid-2023-1">bosses have been scrapping remote work</a> policies and telling staff to return to the workplace for a certain number of days a week.In some cases, companies have even introduced <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rto-mandates-are-always-unfair-expert-analysis-2024-8">punitive measures</a> for employees who don't comply with RTO mandates, with some remote <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dell-remote-workers-promotion-return-office-push-flexible-work-2024-3">Dell workers being told they can't get promoted</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rto-amazon-relocate-remote-work2024-8">other companies threatening to fire those who don't return</a>.Fellow Big Four firm <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ey-tracking-office-attendance-data-teams-disregard-rto-policies-2024-1">EY started tracking staff attendance</a> in the office earlier this year by analyzing turnstile access data.Last year, Citigroup began collecting entrance card data to ensure workers went to the workplace for the required three days a week."Face-to-face working is hugely important to a people business like ours, and the new policy tips the balance of our working week into being located alongside clients and colleagues," PwC's UK managing partner Laura Hinton said in a statement Thursday. She continued: "This feels right for our business and right for our people, given our focus on client service, coaching, and learning and development."

Another global giant is tightening up on working from home

<ul><li><keyword id="19904608" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amazon" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Amazon" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> recently ended work from home</li><li>A former AWS employee shared tricks people use to not return to office</li><li>The post has gone viral </li></ul> A couple of days back, tech giant Amazon was under the limelight for ending <keyword id="20665553" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="remote-work" source="keywords">remote work</keyword> forever. The company, through a memo shared by <keyword id="21367545" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="CEO-Andy-Jassy" source="keywords">CEO Andy Jassy</keyword>, announced that employees will be required to be in office for all five days. Jassy had also noted that there are various benefits of working from office - something that he has mentioned in previous memos as well - and that everything will return to the way it was before the Covid 19 pandemic. <h2>Employees are not ready to return to office</h2>Amazon's RTO (return to office) mandate had sparked a lot of discussion online, and various employees were seen criticising the decision. Now, a former <keyword id="19974102" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon-Web-Services" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Amazon Web Services" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Amazon Web Services">Amazon Web Services</keyword> (AWS) engineer, <keyword id="23292501" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="John-McBride" source="keywords">John McBride</keyword>, has revealed some clever methods employees have used to dodge the company's strict return-to-office policy. The Colorado-based software engineer, who left AWS in June 2023, shared his experiences in a viral post on X (formerly Twitter), which has now garnered over a million views. McBride called these tactics "true ingenuity and innovation," but not in the way one might expect from a tech giant like Amazon. In the post, McBride explained that many employees were going to great lengths to avoid physically returning to the office after Amazon implemented a strict return-to-office mandate. He himself chose to resign when asked to relocate to a different city and work from the office. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="113585941" title="Unfortunate incident, compassion needs to be promoted: Experts react to EY employee’s death" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> McBride listed three "wild" tricks AWS employees have been using to avoid returning to the office while still appearing compliant with the company's attendance policies. <h2>The three "wild" tricks </h2> First, he highlighted a classic approach that employees used for weeks: badging into the office during lunch breaks, grabbing free snacks or coffee, and quickly leaving. “This worked for a few weeks until they started tracking how long employees actually stayed in the office,” McBride said. The second trick involved employees renaming their home Wi-Fi network to match that of the office's network. The company's reporting software would then mark the employee as being “in the office” based on the network name. McBride admitted this was his favourite tactic but mentioned that it didn’t last long. “Eventually, the IT department made the system more sophisticated, checking more than just network names.” Lastly, McBride spoke about certain "under-the-table arrangements," where employees left their security badges with colleagues who would clock them in and out of the office. “This was risky, but I knew someone who did this for months,” he remarked, amazed by how long it lasted. <div type="image" title="amazon" msid="113620212" hostid="261"></div> Although many companies, including Amazon, have been keen to bring employees back into physical office spaces following the pandemic, the rise of remote work has sparked ongoing debates about its long-term viability. McBride’s post has sparked conversations about the necessity of office attendance for tech professionals, especially given the increasing availability of virtual collaboration tools. It’s clear that employees are not only resourceful but also determined to maintain the flexibility that remote work offers. Whether these tricks will continue or be shut down entirely as companies tighten their policies remains to be seen. For now, McBride’s account sheds light on how some are navigating the changing landscape of post-pandemic work. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/article/simply-put-founder-mode-the-secret-sauce-to-startup-success-or-fancy-term-for-hustle-and-micromanagement/articleshow/113568851.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Founder Mode — the secret sauce to startup success or fancy term for hustle and micromanagement?</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/apple-macbook-air-m1-to-be-available-under-50000-on-amazon-how-to-get-the-deal/articleshow/113617645.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Apple MacBook Air M1 to be available under ₹50,000 on Amazon, how to get the deal</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/author_articles_all.cms?query=479266566&amp;author=divyanshi%20sharma=&amp;page=1" class="artishow_author"></a>

Rename home Wi-Fi, leave badge at office: Ex-Amazon employee reveals tricks used by employees to not work from office

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The post-pandemic shift to working from home has given some fathers more time with their kids.</li><li>But WFH can have downsides for dads, whether partner conflicts or work disruptions.</li></ul>The work-from-home <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/work-from-home-remote-work-changed-economy-pandemic-2023-4">revolution</a> has transformed family life, encouraging and allowing many fathers to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stay-at-home-dad-less-manly-freeloader-wife-2024-8">spend more time</a> with their children. But the seismic shift has come with downsides.Not commuting to work has <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/husband-returning-to-office-more-work-me-spend-money-childcare-2023-11">freed more dads</a> to have meals with their kids, pick them up and drop them off at day care or school, and enjoy some pre-dinner playtime.Working fathers who were once oblivious to what their partners did all day, from running the house to raising the kids, had their eyes opened during pandemic lockdowns.Some are now more understanding and able to help, with those in heterosexual couples <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/work-from-home-women-careers-jobs-pandemic-flexibility-gender-equality-2023-7">no longer defaulting</a> to moms taking care of everything."Having fathers work remotely is generally good for families," Daniel Carlson, the interim chair of the University of Utah's department of family and consumer studies, told Business Insider."Most dads want to be engaged with their home and children and so it offers them the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pandemic-made-parenting-easier-for-me-husband-around-to-help-2022-3">opportunity to do so</a>. For those not inclined to be engaged at home, it can expose them to all the demands of home they may otherwise miss. It sensitizes them to how much their partners have to do and leads them to want to share the load."Carlson noted that many families have two working partners, but the female partners "often shoulder a second shift of domestic labor and childcare. So, if dads can work from home, even if it's just occasionally, then this can lead to a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-employee-job-stay-at-home-dad-2024-8">more equitable division</a> of labor in families."<h2 id="df1b0888-a492-4f19-8260-b2647b7a7c94">Pluses and minuses</h2>Yet Carlson noted that a WFH father isn't a magical cure for families."Remote work is not a panacea. While it has benefits, it can also have costs," he said."Remote work can solve work-family conflicts as well as create them," he continued. "The question is how remote work fits into your life. It's not so much whether people work remotely, it's whether they have the option to do so, and the support to make it work for them."Having two people share a typically small space can lead to feelings of claustrophobia and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-work-from-home-affected-pandemic-relationships-2021-6">spark arguments</a> over who does more chores or more childcare.Work can also <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/australia-law-right-to-disconnect-ignore-calls-after-hours-work-2024-8">creep into the home</a> (think logging on after dinner or checking emails in bed), which can fuel stress and resentment, and make it harder for people to switch off.On the other hand, some people may feel pressure to complete household tasks during the working day. They might also feel obliged to run errands, such as mailing a package or picking up food for dinner."The parent who's working from home becomes the housewife," Jennifer Glass, a sociology professor at the University of Texas, Austin, told Vox last year. She said that was especially true for mothers but applied to fathers too.There's also a risk of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/working-remotely-feel-isolated-from-coworkers-quit-2024-7">isolation and loneliness</a> among the WFH crowd if they miss out on water-cooler conversations, after-work drinks, and office sports. They can <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/work-friends-spouses-loneliness-remote-hybrid-benefits-of-work-connections-2024-6">become detached</a> from their teams as longtime colleagues leave and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/work-friends-are-over-remote-jobs-gen-z-relationships-pandemic-2024-6">new faces join</a>, particularly if they only ever communicate virtually.<h2 id="44c4daa1-1bbf-4407-9401-3ea9d19fe558">Childcare concerns</h2>The lack of a commute and reduced presence in society could also mean people <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/work-from-home-sitting-standing-routine-better-health-2024-2">get less exercise each day</a> and develop unhealthy habits. They might also fear they're less likely to be promoted, or at <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/working-from-home-remote-work-increased-layoff-risk-job-market-2024-2">greater risk of being laid off</a>, if they're never in the office.There's also a heightened chance of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/woman-works-from-home-and-still-needs-childcare-explains-why-2023-1">distraction or disruption</a> when parents are in the same room as children or just a door knock away. They might be asked to watch the baby, pick up a sick toddler from day care and look after them for the rest of the day, or take their child to a doctor's appointment."Both mums and dads can get pulled into childcare when they WFH, so for both genders this is definitely an issue," Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford economics professor, told BI.He noted that studies show that moms are far more likely to be called upon in childcare emergencies than dads. He also suggested disruption might be necessary if there's no alternative.It's easy to see how having children can magnify the downsides of WFH. Sleep deprivation from staying up all night with a newborn can stoke arguments between partners. More people in the house mean more dishes and tidying up to do.The demands of childcare can also make it harder to finish work tasks during the working day, or to find time to meet friends, fueling stress and loneliness.<h2 id="e163a636-7fe6-4e15-a4b7-dbd3b3cad77a">Finding the right balance</h2>There's significant variance in how much WFH is best for a particular employee's health, Bloom told BI.Bloom, who's part of the WFH Research team behind the US Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes (SWAA), said about a quarter of respondents "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dream-job-in-office-work-full-time-flexibility-benefits-2024-3">love fully remote</a> as they might live near a park or a gym, or just having the time and peace to WFH is great for exercise."Close to half of people like a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-xers-boomers-return-to-office-remote-work-hybrid-wfh-2024-6">hybrid model</a> or mix of in-person and home working. The final quarter prefers going to work every day, perhaps because of the social benefits and ease of joining team activities, Bloom said."I do find WFH saves on the commute, about one hour per day for the typical person, and that's a lot of time," he said. Bloom noted that he clocks a 50-minute run during the time saved from commuting most days."So my sense is the best WFH for employees' health is <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hybrid-work-from-home-office-culture-remote-jobs-productivity-happiness-2024-6">the one they choose</a>."If he's correct, dads experiencing some of the challenges of staying home might consider going to work more. But that's not always feasible if they're needed at home to care for a child or other relative.

Dads are work-from-home winners — but ditching the office has downsides

American homes just aren't what they used to be.Many newly constructed homes are <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/housing-market-trends-analysis-us-homes-smaller-prices-still-high-2023-8">both smaller and more expensive</a> than those built thirteen years ago.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/pdf/quarterly_starts_completions.pdf">Census data</a> shows that in the first quarter of 2024, the average size of single-family homes was 2,351 square feet, the smallest since the third quarter of 2009. It's down from a peak of 2,736 square feet <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/HOUSTSFLAA1FQ">in the first quarter of 2015</a>.Meanwhile, the cost to buy a typical house has gone up 82.9% over the same time period, from $197,433 in September 2015 to $361,072 in June 2024, according to data from Zillow.The cost of building homes has also grown substantially. According to data from the National Association of Home Builders, the average permit value for single-family homes has risen by 53.2% since 2010. This figure includes all construction costs, excluding land and lot expenses.Facing higher costs for building materials and real estate, many builders are downsizing their projects to make them more affordable.A July 2024 <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://jbrec.com/insights/smaller-home-designs-no-hallways-more-flex-space-nooks/">survey</a> by John Burns Research and Consulting (JBREC), which polled 300 residential architects, designers, and design-oriented builders, found that 43% of respondents worked on smaller projects in 2023 than the previous year, while only 15% took on slightly larger projects. Additionally, on average, 27% of respondents downsized their projects last year to save money.As homeowners and builders make tough design choices, hallways are disappearing from many newly built homes.Mikaela Arroyo, vice president of the New Home Trends Institute at JBREC, told Business Insider that builders and architects are instead "Tetris-ing functional rooms together," such as bedrooms and living rooms, to reduce wasted space.Simply put, every inch matters. To compensate for smaller homes, many builders sacrifice what they call circulation spaces: areas that aren't necessarily lived in but connect essential rooms like kitchens, bathrooms, and bedrooms.This approach is part of a strategy to maximize usable space as American homes continue to shrink."Homes are becoming slightly smaller to enhance affordability, but people increasingly require more functionality in their living spaces," Arroyo said.It's also a sign of the way we live now. We favor open floor plans and great rooms while minimizing the number small spaces blocked off from the rest of the house.<h2 id="2e45f9db-650a-4467-b8df-3ecfe31c175c">Homebuilders are prioritizing spaces that get used most</h2>Taylor Morrison and Tri Pointe Homes, two of the largest homebuilders in the US, are among the companies constructing fewer hallways, Forbes <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiegold/2024/07/09/what-explains-the-new-incredible-shrinking-hallway-space-trend/">reported</a> earlier this year.So is Texas-based builder Highland Homes. The almost 40-year-old company builds nearly 4,000 homes a year across major metropolitan areas, including Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. Its current portfolio includes more than 150 floor plans.Jen Shurtleff, director of product research and development at Highland Homes, told BI that about 60% of the company's top 50 floor plans have limited hallway space."Hallways are often seen as 'wasted space,' so designers are moving toward open floor plans or multifunctional areas that flow seamlessly between rooms," Shurtleff said.She explained that a hallway can serve as a multifunctional space in various ways. For example, if it connects bedrooms, it can include a study area with a built-in desk and shelves. If it's located near entertaining areas, it could feature a built-in bar.<div type="image" title="Highland Homes' Palermo floor plan." height="1102" width="1932" msid="113963098" hostid="261" sizebytes="131782"></div>Take a floor plan called the Palermo, which Highland debuted in 2024.It features four bedrooms, a game room, a study, and an entertainment room. This floor plan, of about 4,500 square feet, can cost a buyer from about $900,000 to $1.3 million.The Palermo floor plan features minimal circulation space, with rooms connected directly to one another. On the ground floor, for example, the family room and dining area flow into the kitchen and breakfast nook. The primary suite is also connected to the family room.While a hallway connects bedroom four to a game room upstairs, the builder has added a closet there to better use the space."Eliminating traditional hallways in home design maximizes usable square footage and increases efficiency by allowing more flexibility in the layout," Shurtleff said.<div type="image" title="Highland Homes' 271 floor plan." height="948" width="872" msid="113963102" hostid="261" sizebytes="27936"></div>By contrast, a Highland Homes floor plan from 2018 for a one-story home has more hallways.Floor plan 271 starts at about $800,000 and includes four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a family room, a study, and a three-car garage. It's about 2,900 square feet.The layout features an entryway that connects to a vestibule leading to a bedroom and the family room. A hallway links bedrooms three and four to a bathroom and a lifestyle room, while another leads to the garage, utility room, and mud bench.<h2 id="3dadbf13-adc1-45d2-9e93-fcc67e6b485a">Why long hallways are becoming passé</h2>There are several reasons hallways are being phased out of newly built homes, apart from saving money for builders.One is the growing popularity of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/living-multigenerational-home-lessons-pateince-openness-death-2024-3">several generations living under the same roof</a>. According to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.gu.org/explore-our-topics/multigenerational-households/">a 2021 study</a> by the nonprofit Generations United, more than one in four Americans — about 66.7 million adults (18 and above) — now live in households with three or more generations under one roof, a 271% increase from 2011.Young adults are <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/i-live-in-a-multigenerational-household-and-im-not-ashamed-2024-8">moving back in with their parents</a> after graduation, parents are living with their adult children during retirement (sometimes helping <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/babysitting-grandchildren-rewarding-games-spontaneous-2024-7">care for grandchildren</a>), and siblings are living together.In response, many architects and builders are designing floor plans with multigenerational households in mind.<div type="image" title="Highland Homes' 608 floor plan." height="828" width="1262" msid="113963100" hostid="261" sizebytes="40608"></div>Pictured above is Highland Homes' 608 floor plan, a two-story home of about 4,500 square feet released in 2020. It costs between about $900,000 and $1.5 million.The home's entryway extends from the front door to the dining room. Along this path are the study, a curved stairway, the first garage, a bedroom, and the media room.The outdoor living space and kitchen are accessible from the great room, while the courtyard and second garage can be reached through the kitchen."There's really not any hallways downstairs," Shurtleff said. "Upstairs, next to the staircase, you do have a bit of a hallway to bedroom three, but that is all open railing, with views to the foyer space below."Upstairs is a flexible suite that homeowners can customize based on what they need, whether it's to accommodate aging parents or adult children. This suite, complete with a bathroom, can be entered directly from the game room."We do have buyers who will use this suite as a place for their parents to stay, either for a short- or long-term duration," Shurtleff said. "We also have buyers who love this design for their older child who might be returning home from college before starting their careers."

Hallways are disappearing from America's homes

Leading a team from the confines of individual bedrooms undoubtedly induced anxiety for <keyword id="20154171" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="managers" source="keywords">managers</keyword> during the COVID-19 <keyword id="91743" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="lockdown" source="Orion">lockdown</keyword>. However, there was quick relief in how promptly employees adapted to this new paradigm. While numerous companies have embraced the <keyword id="20626231" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="work-from-home" source="keywords">work-from-home</keyword> norm, some of these employers have finally begun to call people back to their offices. In March, <keyword id="19969515" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dell" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Dell" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Dell">Dell</keyword> also decided it was time to notify their employees to return to the office, a move whose execution would thrust them into stark controversy. According to a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/dell-workers-can-stay-remote-but-theyre-not-going-to-get-promoted/articleshow/108564894.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Business Insider report</a>, the multinational tech company allegedly sent corporate memos to all employees, explaining that while they could continue to work under hybrid or remote arrangements, only the former would relish the luxury of promotions or favourable role changes within the company. While this discriminatory announcement might seem outright blatant, it turns out that similar ladder-climbing challenges may already be at play, afflicting unknowing remote workers. To assess the relatively uncharted territory of <keyword id="20665553" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="remote-work" source="keywords">remote work</keyword> dynamics, a team of researchers surveyed nearly a thousand UK managers from diverse industries. They were presented with profiles of three completely made-up employees: a fully on-site worker, a hybrid employee working two days from home and three days from the office, and a full-time remote worker working all five days from home. The managers were asked a bunch of career-related questions, such as which hypothetical employee seemed the most competent, who they deemed most fit for promotions and salary hikes, and so on. What they uncovered was nothing short of revelatory: remote workers faced a daunting uphill battle in their quest for <keyword id="3187" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="promotion" source="Orion">promotion</keyword>s and pay raises. Despite contributing the same amount of work, there was an 11% less chance that remote employees would receive a promotion compared to fully on-site workers. Further, they were 9% less likely to receive a pay raise as well. Even the hybrid staff were not immune to the harsh realities of remote work, with the study finding that these managers were, on average, 7% less likely to promote the group compared to the on-site employees. Completing the cherry on top of the discriminatory corporate cake were the gender disparities that surfaced. The researchers found male fully remote workers bore the brunt of the burden, facing a staggering 15% decrease in promotion likelihood and a 10% drop in pay raise prospects compared to the fully on-siters. In comparison, the equivalent figures for women stood at 7% and 8%, respectively. Fortunately, this corporate discrimination was distinctly less pronounced in more supportive organisations. The study found that managers from more demanding offices were a third less likely to promote men who worked entirely from home, compared to full-time office-goers, further highlighting the importance of finding a good boss. "In more supportive organisations, where there is less pressure and long working days and where family-friendly policies exist, we don't find such negative consequences of remote work," explained study author Agnieszka Kasperska. As we navigate the ever-evolving terrain of remote work, it's imperative to heed the lessons learned from this groundbreaking research. By fostering inclusive cultures, implementing supportive policies, and challenging ingrained biases, we can pave the way for a future where remote workers share equal opportunity for growth and advancement. The preliminary findings of this research can be accessed <a href="https://www.wne.uw.edu.pl/application/files/1516/9936/7639/WNE_WP435.pdf" data-type="tilCustomLink">here</a>.

You Searched For "zomato work from home" and got 9 results

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