🤦 Meta's RTO rollout is not going well

Good Morning,

This week we’re co-hosting a happy hour in Denver with Chloe Rice, who runs @WorkFromDenver! As the handle implies, she finds and shares great places to work from in the Denver area.

If you’ll be in Denver later this week, come join us at the happy hour with speed networking, drinks, and a tasting room tour at Uncle Tim’s Cocktails. Tickets are available here.

🏢 Meta’s RTO rollout is a hot mess. Unsurprisingly, the mandate for Meta employees to be in the office three days a week isn’t popular.

Since the policy went into effect, the usual RTO issues have crept up, including lack of available meeting spaces for teams, and employees questioning the need to be in an office when their team members are in different cities and they have to be on Zoom calls anyway.

Based on my observations, it seems companies that have found the most success with RTO are the ones who have devoted more space to facilitate group interactions. That way, in-person days can be used for the things people appreciate most about the office: colleague connection, team meetings, mentoring, social events, etc., whereas WFH days will have more individual focused work. (Insider)

🕶 Meta’s wearable technology could have a drastic impact on remote work. It’s not all a hot mess at Meta! Lex Fridman hosted Mark Zuckerberg on his podcast and it was recorded “on video” in the metaverse. Lex and Mark recorded this episode while across the country from each other, but in the video they felt as though they were having an in-person conversation given the level of detail.

While the interview didn’t specifically address the potential remote work impact, it’s easy to see how connecting people virtually in hyperrealistic ways will open up doors for more frequent remote work. (YouTube @LexFridman)

💼 It’s becoming more difficult to find remote jobs. With the rise of return-to-office policies, fewer companies are offering 100% remote roles. And those fully remote job openings are attracting the lion’s share of applicants today.

ZipRecruiter says remote job openings receive 3X the applicants that other job openings get - a huge advantage for companies who choose to be remote-first.

This competition among applicants for remote jobs means it’s more important than ever to stand out when applying. Whether that means using new avenues to contact recruiters, learning new skills, or taking professional development courses, the more you can showcase your interest and eligibility to prospective employers, the better.

On this topic, one of the drivers behind the Remote Source Job Board is that in the last decade, it’s never been as easy as it should be to find jobs that allow remote work. So for those actively looking in this more competitive job market, keep your head up, and we’ll continue adding more companies in our effort to give job seekers as many options as possible. (Insider)

👶 A new concept: coworking with childcare. Having children at home is one of the biggest reasons people choose to be remote, and it’s why millennials work remotely more than any other generation.

But WFH with young kids doesn’t always allow for focused time blocks or quiet meeting times. WorkCastle in Austin was launched to give parents a focused workspace while their kids are being cared for responsibly. Combining coworking and fully-licensed hourly childcare under one roof seems like a perfect flexible solution for productivity and peace of mind.

As remote work continues to increase, it may be inevitable that businesses like these will skyrocket in order to accommodate flexible work arrangements. (KXAN Austin)

👯 Company leaders shouldn’t try to manufacture work friendships. There is very clear data that says when employees have friends at their place of work, they are more engaged and far less likely to leave the organization.

But when leaders see that data, they shouldn’t try to create friendships among their employees simply for better metrics. First, the defining characteristic of friendship is that it’s voluntary, and forced friendships don’t have that. Second, a close friendship within a company can be a “double-edged sword” due to the impacts from changing power dynamics. (The Economist)

👖 We found the best sweatpants for remote workers. A quick note for the many new subscribers lately: Remote Source has a Favorites section on our website which highlights various favorite products for remote workers.

Since the weather is cooling down a bit, it seems appropriate to share the list of sweatpants brands that readers voted on last year. Check it out here: Favorite Sweatpants.

🍎 Employees need more perks to go to the office. While most workers don’t mind going into an office sometimes, they need more office perks now that we’re in a WFH-friendly time. Since employees increase personal spending on days they go into the office, free meals are a top requested benefit.

Additionally, many employees specifically stated that they wanted a private workspace in the office - even if that just means available meeting rooms - to be able to make calls in a space that isn’t infringing on others’ productivity. (Fortune)

🕵️ There are more ways than ever to track office employee attendance. This article highlights two companies’ data: one that is built to track employee movements, and one that has surprisingly good office attendance data.

XY Sense tracks employee movement using sensors throughout the office. It doesn’t personally identify employees; the intent is to better understand how space is being used. Some of their customers have made changes to meeting space allotment based on the data this company provides.

Bevi, a smart water cooler company, said that post-pandemic, more employees are using their machines at times before and after the traditional 9-to-5 window. They theorize that hybrid employees will spend more hours in the office on the days they go in. (Insider)

I think between AI wearables, encouraging employee friendships, and tracking employees, maybe employers should channel those three desires and make friendly virtual assistants for all of their employees. Let’s just hope if they take that route, that the assistants have a sense of humor like the legendary Clippy.

Catch you in Denver?

Cheers,
Grant