You can perfectly and clearly read between the lines and find out each of the phases of grief on that op-ed. We have at least shock, denial, anger — quite far from acceptance though.
The reactions of most executives about remote work seems to be copy and pasted, all the same straw man arguments, all around the world, across different cultures. It's grief due to the (true or perceived) loss of control.
Expanded work from home is probably inevitable given what you said about how it widens the talent pool. The next big hurdle, I think, is revamping inter-state payroll, benefit, and taxation laws so businesses based in one state can hire full-time employees who live in another state, something that is a huge, byzantine hurdle right now. It seems like a no-brainer that in the age of remote work that having to physically relocate in order to take full advantage of the benefits owed to you as an employee is antiquated and absurd. But also what would that even look like given the vast differences in employment laws from state to state?
this is definitely interesting. it has come up in places i've worked (since I live in Montana and work remotely, a few companies have had to amend their biz practices for me...which I have heard is a huge pain in the ass!) I'd be curious to know more about which laws gum up the works...if you know, could you share with the thread?
Another thing that this reminds me of is something we heard from HR depts that actually care about evolving with remote work: that you can't just add 'Head of Remote' to somebody's job title. To do this right is really time consuming and requires a ton of planning and foresight and design. So many ppl think they're going to say, 'ok sure wfh if you want' and be done with it. But I think that's just not the case.
I'm willing to admit I may be totally incorrect about this whole thing, I based my comment off of issues friends with small-businesses have had.
The first thing that comes to mind is health insurance. If the company is based in California and has a handful of employees spread out across, say, Florida, Nebraska, and Nevada, how do you create a health insurance pool for those people? Most health insurance companies work on a state-by-state basis, right? So how would and inter-state health insurance policy work? (this is a problem that would of course be solved by M4A, but that's another show)
I also wonder about businesses using remote work to get around local taxation. Here in Seattle we've been trying to pass taxes on Amazon thought workers in the city. So if remote work becomes the norm what's to keep Amazon from employing all of those people out of a tax haven state like Delaware to avoid head taxes altogether? (obviously that problem would be solved by a WA income tax but, that's another show)
And what about paid family and medical leave like we have in Washington? Can an employee based in Ohio take advantage of it?
And what about worker protections? If employees in multiple states want to unionize, which state's labor board do they apply to? Which state's right-to-work laws do they recognize or don't?
If an employee in Washington is fired by an employer in Arkansas for being trans, can the employee sue for discrimination? Under which state's laws?
I’m curious about these hurdles too. Here in New England, it’s very common to commute between states for work, whether full-time or part-time employment. I’ve done it for years. Hundreds of thousands of workers in the region commute from one state to work in another; this has been the case for decades. Employment laws of the state in which the job is located are the laws to which the employee-employer rights and responsibilities are bound.
Curious: what are these hurdles? I am not in HR, but am wanting to learn. I have worked for 3 US-based, international companies and not one of them had trouble adding me to their payroll even though I lived and worked in another state.
I don't know her, and shouldn't speculate, but what do you bet that Ms. Merrill is telling her friends that she's just saying what everyone (including Mr. Hiatt) is thinking? By 'everyone' I mean business owners, since, obviously, why would the opinions of anyone else count?
I don't know what I expected when I subscribed to this - I cannot understand Discord for the life of me - but I found the fact that you left the NYT for this new type of column a courageous step and I wanted to support such a move. I am older, female and a conservative. You have said you wanted to hear from us, so hear from me. Please don't make all your posts about good vs. evil. Lousy companies vs. really great underdog fill in the blank. You are a good writer, but there is hopefully more scope? If preaching to your choir is your deal, so be it, but I want to hear why you are different in your views. Bring me in, instead of going over work shit that everyone knows. Since I am old, so I've had 8-10 longish term jobs. Very few managers are good; you form a subsystem to vent, work around and come up with solutions yourselves to matters they deem insignificant, but your tribe is furious over...kinda since the industrial revolution in my view. I do enjoy your skills!
You can perfectly and clearly read between the lines and find out each of the phases of grief on that op-ed. We have at least shock, denial, anger — quite far from acceptance though.
The reactions of most executives about remote work seems to be copy and pasted, all the same straw man arguments, all around the world, across different cultures. It's grief due to the (true or perceived) loss of control.
the phases of grief thing is v real!
Cool new graphics!
thank you so much! they're the work of the brilliant Hudson Christie https://www.instagram.com/hudson_christie/?hl=en
Expanded work from home is probably inevitable given what you said about how it widens the talent pool. The next big hurdle, I think, is revamping inter-state payroll, benefit, and taxation laws so businesses based in one state can hire full-time employees who live in another state, something that is a huge, byzantine hurdle right now. It seems like a no-brainer that in the age of remote work that having to physically relocate in order to take full advantage of the benefits owed to you as an employee is antiquated and absurd. But also what would that even look like given the vast differences in employment laws from state to state?
this is definitely interesting. it has come up in places i've worked (since I live in Montana and work remotely, a few companies have had to amend their biz practices for me...which I have heard is a huge pain in the ass!) I'd be curious to know more about which laws gum up the works...if you know, could you share with the thread?
Another thing that this reminds me of is something we heard from HR depts that actually care about evolving with remote work: that you can't just add 'Head of Remote' to somebody's job title. To do this right is really time consuming and requires a ton of planning and foresight and design. So many ppl think they're going to say, 'ok sure wfh if you want' and be done with it. But I think that's just not the case.
I'm willing to admit I may be totally incorrect about this whole thing, I based my comment off of issues friends with small-businesses have had.
The first thing that comes to mind is health insurance. If the company is based in California and has a handful of employees spread out across, say, Florida, Nebraska, and Nevada, how do you create a health insurance pool for those people? Most health insurance companies work on a state-by-state basis, right? So how would and inter-state health insurance policy work? (this is a problem that would of course be solved by M4A, but that's another show)
I also wonder about businesses using remote work to get around local taxation. Here in Seattle we've been trying to pass taxes on Amazon thought workers in the city. So if remote work becomes the norm what's to keep Amazon from employing all of those people out of a tax haven state like Delaware to avoid head taxes altogether? (obviously that problem would be solved by a WA income tax but, that's another show)
And what about paid family and medical leave like we have in Washington? Can an employee based in Ohio take advantage of it?
And what about worker protections? If employees in multiple states want to unionize, which state's labor board do they apply to? Which state's right-to-work laws do they recognize or don't?
If an employee in Washington is fired by an employer in Arkansas for being trans, can the employee sue for discrimination? Under which state's laws?
I’m curious about these hurdles too. Here in New England, it’s very common to commute between states for work, whether full-time or part-time employment. I’ve done it for years. Hundreds of thousands of workers in the region commute from one state to work in another; this has been the case for decades. Employment laws of the state in which the job is located are the laws to which the employee-employer rights and responsibilities are bound.
Curious: what are these hurdles? I am not in HR, but am wanting to learn. I have worked for 3 US-based, international companies and not one of them had trouble adding me to their payroll even though I lived and worked in another state.
I don't know her, and shouldn't speculate, but what do you bet that Ms. Merrill is telling her friends that she's just saying what everyone (including Mr. Hiatt) is thinking? By 'everyone' I mean business owners, since, obviously, why would the opinions of anyone else count?
I think it's safe to say Gold Man Sacks can suck it
One other fact that might have some relevance: "In March 2020, facing a drop in revenue due to the pandemic, Washingtonian laid off its fellows and instituted a 10-percent pay cut for staffers." https://dcist.com/story/21/05/07/cathy-merrill-op-ed-threats-prompt-washingtonian-staff-protest/
As always with employers, employees are expected to be loyal, while management - not so much.
i really like that line.
I don't know what I expected when I subscribed to this - I cannot understand Discord for the life of me - but I found the fact that you left the NYT for this new type of column a courageous step and I wanted to support such a move. I am older, female and a conservative. You have said you wanted to hear from us, so hear from me. Please don't make all your posts about good vs. evil. Lousy companies vs. really great underdog fill in the blank. You are a good writer, but there is hopefully more scope? If preaching to your choir is your deal, so be it, but I want to hear why you are different in your views. Bring me in, instead of going over work shit that everyone knows. Since I am old, so I've had 8-10 longish term jobs. Very few managers are good; you form a subsystem to vent, work around and come up with solutions yourselves to matters they deem insignificant, but your tribe is furious over...kinda since the industrial revolution in my view. I do enjoy your skills!
management by threat and fear......ummm didn't we just see four years of that?