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Almost Monday, back to the grind 😪😪
Bowl Leader
Acceptance is the answer.
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Lemme get your Evansville Indiana recos
Tom Bagot, RIP
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Because people are sick of going into an office only to be less productive.
You can hit the cannabis in the office if you’re discreet 😎
Chief
Decades of studies prove that open office plans make workers less productive. Want to know one of the main reasons why most of us are more productive working from home? Because we all finally have offices.
(I also save almost $500/month on needless commuting costs)
Thankfully a smart answer
"Prefers", "encourages" or "recommends" are often loaded terms when it comes working in the office.
At a lot of agencies this is a shorthand for "we're not going to force you butttttt.... youbetterfuckingcomein"
Exactly. You’re wasting your time and theirs if these LinkedIn posts aren’t clear about this work being in office. So it’s understandable that these candidates are taken aback when hearing this for the first time in an interview because it should be communicated before it even gets to that stage.
Chief
You are sending mixed messages. Be clear on what the policy is. People don’t like vague subtext.
OP if candidates are hearing about the mandatory 100% in office for the first time in the interview, that's a problem. People aren't offended. They're annoyed. The assumption in the market for agency jobs now is that you will not have to go in every day. So you have to go out of your way to be honest about what your team is looking for. Otherwise you will have annoyed candidates. It's pretty simple.
Personally, if you never want to meet me in person, get lost. I don’t want to work with you either. If you can’t get to the office for even one day a week to maintain some semblance of a human connection, it’s honestly pathetic. If you don’t want to move to a new city, then don’t work across state lines. You didn’t do it before, why should it be your right now? And yes, I have a family and children. Yes, I commute. And yes, I truly value not just my work, but the people I do it with. Because the people make it worth it. The people make it tolerable. But when we are remote, we just cannot know each other at the level that I find any sort of fulfillment in.
@freelance (former droga5) most music today is made over zoom and emails.
I’m not sure I understand what you’re trying to achieve from this post. You have a preference, they do too - you say ‘go find a place…’ at the end. Isn’t that exactly what they’re doing if they’re not right for the role you’re recruiting for?
If your true concern is that you are wasting time interviewing people who don’t want to come to the office to work, then tell them that’s the deal when you offer them the interview. They can pull out at that point, no harm done and no possible offence taken.
Right now if they’re reacting poorly, it may be because they feel like you’re the one wasting their time and are responding to that with frustration. Which seems pretty legit to me.
However if you’re really asking why people are ‘taking it too seriously’, then perhaps consider many would read your post and ask why you’re taking in office working ‘so seriously’…
If you just want people to agree with you - well I don’t know what to tell you. Work has shifted, people expect transparency on policy from the outset and desire flexibility.
The question you might want to ponder is are you prepared to miss out on someone great because they don’t share your perspectives on working style - or would it be beneficial to explore other options to attract new talent in a hyper competitive market? Or is protecting your existing office-based culture the most important thing to you and your team? There’s no wrong answer to that.
If you wanted the answer to this question, you could have asked the person you were talking to who reacted in a way that surprised you instead of asking strangers who weren’t there, why that person reacted that way? Even all things being the same, different people react differently. If you’re asking why people feel so strongly about it, well it sounds like you didn’t read the room about the job market.
“Our agency personally prefers…”
If the agency is a person, what are its preferred pronouns and how does it take its morning coffee? There’s a lot to unpack here.
why do you take working in the office so seriously? I understand it’s a preference but like maybe it’s not plainly stated in the job description on or your agency website and they feel like their time has been wasted by telling them at that point in the process instead of literally upfront since they may be thinking damn I didn’t really wanna work here anyway unless there was a big perk that’d make the move worth it and I wish I had been using my time to find a place that allows me to work the way I prefer instead
Id just make sure the interview isn’t the first time you’re mentioning that it’s office work. You could actually be using an outdated job description from before you all voted to come back to the office, you’d be surprised how often those get pasted places without double checking what they actually say.
Candidates could be feeling blindsided in the interview and frustrated that they’ve wasted their time, which then frustrates you.
creatives don’t need to be in the office.
period.
Ok how about both creatives meet at a neutral location, such as at the foot of the Goethals Bridge.
i think “we don’t force anyone” and “go find a place that allows you to work how you prefer” doesn’t belong in the same sentence
If it truly does happen like: “We prefer to be in office, but we’re open to remote.” And they’re like “Eff you!” Then yeah. Seems like they’re a bit of an extremist.
Otherwise, maybe they don’t buy the “we won’t force you in” message you’re sending. And they see it as an attempt at a bait and switch. We already see a lot of agencies who were “super chill” about WFH now demanding mandatory office days - just cuz.
I think being respectful about it and accepting the risks of RTO is the right way. By being super clear is so important up front.
Could it be that the reason you refuse to put an in-office requirement in your job positing is because you know that extremely qualified candidates prefer to work remote? Because that’s dishonest and shady.
Office work (mandatory) is the old guard. Companies that aren’t getting this yet are living in the past.
Couldn’t agree with you more.
If your interview style is anything like the replies you’ve made here they may be bothered that you’re needlessly combative.
Seems like maybe before interviewing them you should be upfront about the working situation. When I was applying places earlier this year, recruiters let me know about any on-site requirements before I talked to anyone on the team (which was awesome because it took them off the list for me). Getting further than that is just a waste of everyone’s time 🤷🏼♀️
Yeah, I personally ask every recruiter about WFH as my opening question when they approach with an opening. I won’t even pick up the phone unless a company has a WFH policy I align with and I’ve been in similar situations where I realize it’s not a fit. I think there was something about the way you communicated that put people off. Maybe taking time to practice with someone from HR for the next round of interviews will give some insight into what exactly is triggering such a negative response. It sounds to me like you have some growing to do as a leader and I hope your company is able to help you find resources to do so.
Is getting this bent out of shape over remote working an “American” thing? I really don’t get how this has moved from a logistical issue to a cultural debate.
I go into the office two days a week. Those are my most productive days of the week. I also get to be around my partner and socialise with the coworkers whose company I enjoy.
I’d like to go in more often. Why is this such a big whoop for people?
I have a friend who does a lot of online dating. Like literally online. She only does the first three dates on Zoom, not in person. She’s complaining about her lack of luck, but I guess it’s her, not Zoom?
Sporting games, comedy events, movies and live bands are all better quality at home. We should tear down all stadiums, theaters and stages then?
There is such thing as liking doing things at home **and** liking the occasional real-life outing.
Because avoiding a 2-5 hour commute per day gives you a life. That’s why
What agency screens candidates with mid level writers?
No one likes to have their time wasted. You wasted your time with someone who clearly wasn't into requirements for in-office work, and they wasted theirs. I'd just be upfront and put any and all requirements in the job description, and have your talent person reconfirm that the candidate is OK with an in office role, prior to any interviews. If you're getting to an interview, all experience and requirements should be out on the table. Then it's just a Q&A and chemistry check.
Agree that having an attitude about it is generally unnecessary for a job they don't even have yet. I can understand if it's management laying down the law with office mandates post-pandemic, but clearly this just wasn't a good fit.
You're probably better off in the long run 😁 At least you're seeing any and all candidates and can make your own informed decisions. No middle person. The logistics are easy to overlook but hopefully you'll find the right person soon.
What round interview are they finding out? If It’s the introductory meeting with the recruiter the candidate shouldn’t be all that mad about it. If they’ve gone onto a second or third round and are just finding out of course they’re gonna be mad.
To be honest, the reason I find it really offensive when companies aren’t ok with remote work is because it immediately tells me they don’t trust their employees.
Nope. If it’s not in the JD you are doing it wrong.
People are still putting time into the application and scheduling that first call.
But yes: it’s a strong culture signal