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this post was submitted on 23 Jun 2026
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Mildly Interesting
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So many companies claim "collaboration" is a prime reason for Return To Office and yet these same companies gladly use offshore teams for development work if they believe they can save money, proving that collaboration as a goal is a lie. A short overlap in time, if any, between onshore and offshore teams proves the claim is gaslighting.
One of the few advantages I can think of is actually being able to talk to be outside your department and learn additional skills. It helped me transition to another job in the company. I couldn't do that remote because the work was not related to pc with internet. Of course that's well beyond normal office worker.
Second is dealing with belligerent ppl outside your dept. Some ppl are being dicks in teams meeting and you go find them and ask them wtf to their face.
Third is again dealing with idiots who refuse to do their jobs and stand in their cubicle until they do.
Thats about it. So 2/3 of those are just because someone is not cooperating wasting ppls time.
In my personal experience, it's because things said in person don't have a paper trail. If you want to discuss something with potential legal ramifications, in person is by far the safest way. Even by phone, call recording might be a thing
“Is for better cooperation and team cohesion” says the boss via videocall, the grainy image reflecting the limited signal reach of his third house build in the Alps slightly south of Geneva.
My cubicle, 9 hours per day, is smaller than his shoe cabinet, and each pair of shoes is presumably more than my yearly salary.
“Then why you are so afraid as to be one continent over?” asks one of the office workers, his eyes pissed. The Boss silences promptly the microphone before returning to speak as almost nothing happened: “I hope you have a great day”.
We say nothing. He knows. 20 pairs of eyes look at him through the webcam. A person in front shows both middle fingers, promptly reflected in the smaller viewport of the camera.
Yep, that’s me. When I’m at the office I rarely interact with anyone live.
A project I’m on now has been a bit more of a challenge lately. Usually we have teams at two locations and you just need to hand off. But this project has three people with very little overlap, in: IST, UTC, EST
"Collaboration" "Mentoring" Outside of thee military, few companies have any mechanism to train people to move up the corporate ladder. If you're not there watching the boss, then you have no idea how to do their job. If the boss can't see you, they can't delegate the little tasks that amount to job training. If the boss can't see you, they have no way to evaluate whether you're helping or not.
The boss got his job by watching his boss and being in the right place when some opportunity came up, so that's their entire understanding of corporate advancement.
In most places, the boss got his job by kissing ass and/or being a fucking nepobaby more likely than not.
Companies these days are just plain all day this functional entities that are increasingly lacking basic functions like training.