Making RTO less obnoxious

September 15, 2024 8:56 AM

My employer is insisting people come to the office three days a week starting October 1. To bribe us, they've offered $250 towards "hybrid work equipment". Do I actually want/need anything? If so, what?

For reasons that defy explanation, they're really resisting assigning desks and overnight storage options also seem unlikely (ignore that some existed pre-pandemic!). This means I need to carry everything in my backpack.

I actually go in at least two days a week of my own accord, so I'm not too upset about the mandate, other than disliking change and liking the lack of competition for conference rooms. I already have a wireless keyboard and trackball that I bring most days. The obvious choices seem to be noise cancelling headphones or just not bothering to get anything.

The one constraint that's frustrating is that my work computer is a MacBook Pro with three USB-C/thunderbolt ports. One is taken by the Yubikey and the other two get taken by monitor connections, so any peripherals need Bluetooth (or I need to find a hub that'll pass the Thunderbolt display signal through).

I do not work in the same location as I did before the pandemic, so I don't know what noise and such will be like. (But, yes, I should go read my own old AskMe post about noisy office spaces.)

posted by hoyland to Work & Money (18 answers total)

Work wants me to go back they can subsidize my commute. Gas card, parking, transit as appropriate. Gonna cost more than $250 but you can make whatever argument you're comfortable to make.
posted by phunniemee at 8:59 AM on September 15 [7 favorites]

Are you commuting by non-car? If so, I would ensure you have an ergonomically sound backpack setup. Save your back.
posted by moosetracks at 9:18 AM on September 15 [2 favorites]

Judging by the number of "oh no, I forgot my charger, does anyone have one I could borrow?" posts on our office Slack channel: spare charger, so that you always have one on your desk at home, and your office one never has to leave your bag.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 9:49 AM on September 15 [6 favorites]

Is there an in-office dress code? You might want to get a nice pair of shoes or other clothing or accessories that elevates your look.

Other than that, Inwould suggest getting a wireless keyboard and trackball that can stay at the office, to avoid needing to bring them in the backpack. ….But you have mentioned lack of overnight storage, so that may be a nonstarter.
posted by dog-eared paperback at 9:50 AM on September 15

For what it's worth, you can find a lot of school/work lockers for around $250. I would ask for one of those so you don't have to lug around extra office equipment.

Either that, or for an increased PT benefit for when you ruin your neck/shoulders/back lugging office equipment back and forth.
posted by brookeb at 10:00 AM on September 15 [1 favorite]

You mentioned it in terms of enabling additional devices, but an actually good thunderbolt hub on the company dime isn't bad in itself either.

Everything plugged into that (including power), then just a single cord to your MacBook is nice, especially if you go from your desk of the day to meeting rooms and back frequently (because why else have anyone RTO if not for endless face to face meetings?).
posted by Pryde at 10:05 AM on September 15 [5 favorites]

Noise cancelling headphones are a great idea. AirPods Pro can be used for personal use as well.
posted by shock muppet at 10:30 AM on September 15 [1 favorite]

Since your employer seems to be doltish, I am not sure how much I can assume about the new arrangement. OK, no assigned seating. But does that mean that you are supposed to bring a monitor in and back home? Or are they providing monitors at every workstation? And do the number of workstations meet or exceed the maximum number of workers who are expected to come in on any given day (i.e., the number of employees in the department?)

I see that you have MBPs, but even my (pre-retirement) employer provided one or two external monitors per workstation (depending on your seniority). Plus our work laptops had docking stations.

I don't need to know the answers, just throwing the questions out there as possible wrinkles.
posted by forthright at 11:13 AM on September 15 [1 favorite]

Sounds like work is about to sponsor some fancy noise cancelling headphones. Or one of those backpacks designed by a collaboration of orthopaedic doctors and a fashion house. It's not quite enough for an Alexander McQueen Ribcage backpack (which I once saw live and still covet desperately), but how about Armani?
posted by I claim sanctuary at 11:16 AM on September 15

Same as forthright above, our hot-desk setups were actually pretty nice with one-cord docking stations and dual big screens. Our IT department lent me the same setup for home, so without costing them anything all I had to do was carry the laptop, one cord plug/unplug.

I'm still not an entirely-digital brainstormer/note-taker though so I got myself a nice briefcase I could set up like my "office setup in a box" with notepads, stickys, pens/pencils I like, "inbox' pocket, etc. and also fit the laptop. No elaborate setup and take-down, no "did I forget anything?"
posted by ctmf at 11:30 AM on September 15

Response by poster:

• They do actually subside public transport
• I'm honestly not sure if there are enough desks. I expect the answer is yes, but not by a large margin -- my employer is not that dumb. (I'm honestly not that annoyed about RTO beyond disliking change -- this is the realisation of a policy they announced years ago and then dithered on actually doing. If I didn't know that, I might be more annoyed.)
• No docking stations, but desks have two monitors (with Thunderbolt /USB-C connections). The computer will charge via the monitor cables, so I can leave my power cord at home.

posted by hoyland at 12:41 PM on September 15

I have experienced the shift to increased in-office days and the noise level change with more people coming in is definitely noticeable. If you don't have good noise-muffling devices you like, and if noise bothers you, I'd recommend getting some.

I say "noise-muffling devices" because that could be noise-cancelling headphones, or it could be noise-isolating headphones (which I have because I personally don't like noise-cancelling headphones), or even something like Loop earplugs (which are low-cost compared to headphones and could be a good thing to throw in to use up any extra funds you might have over).

Good headphones are also great for commuting, if you're not driving, so they could serve double-duty.

Otherwise, a good backpack. I'm job-hunting right now and expecting to get a job that has me going into the office more often, and one of the things I have already planned to buy as a gift for myself with my first paycheck is a new backpack.
posted by rhiannonstone at 1:18 PM on September 15

If you ever mask at work or think you might want to with more people back in the office, work can stock you up on a nice stash of good masks.

I like to have a charger, mouse, and keyboard that are *just* for office days and live in my bag and never come out at home.

A great travel mug for the commute? Any outerwear to make it more pleasant being out and about in wet or cold or hot weather? A better bag?
posted by Stacey at 5:58 PM on September 15 [2 favorites]

Nthing the good backpack. I used an office budget to buy a new Swiss Gear backpack ~25 years ago and I still use it to this day--it carried me through 10 years of commuting, multiple semesters of college classes, several hospital stays, and a number of short field sketching trips.
posted by MagnificentVacuum at 7:07 PM on September 15 [1 favorite]

If I ever get to a point where there actually isn't a hotellling station available to me, I'll probably just tell my boss I'm going home. But some creature-comfort habits, I've adopted since going back in two days a week:

1. I've stashed a blanket and shawl in a filing cabinet so I don't have to cart that back and forth (one of the things I loved about WFH was that I could be cozy and every office I've been in is bloody freezing from overactive AC).

2. I also found a small air purifier on Amazon that fits in my backpack. I'm not sure it has the same draw as a regular sized one, but likely better than nothing when all the parents are spreading the germs their kids brought home from school. (No hate on parents, but it's just a reality of putting a bunch of kids together in poorly ventilated rooms - my sister is a teacher and she's sick all the time.)

3. I also got in the habit of bringing a full size thermos of coffee, so I don't have to participate in the quote-unquote "downtown revitalization" that is one the City Manager's professed reasons for why we need to do this at all. Same bringing lunch in nestable containers so they take up less room on the way home. Long before PSAC thought of the controversial "buy nothing" campaign, I was doing exactly that out of mostly spite.

4. If you need to mask for any amount of time, I find the Flo Mask much more comfortable than other N95s, mostly because it has head straps rather than ear straps. I decorated mine with nail gems to feel a bit more fabulous.

No real recommendations from a tech side as I got used to working from a small laptop screen during the pandemic when I discovered I liked moving around (changing where I sit seems to help writer's block for me) and being comfortable far more than having multiple screens. I don't really use anything at the office other than the electrical outlets.
posted by Kurichina at 4:42 PM on September 16

Response by poster: I'm curious what recs people have for backpacks. On the one hand, the last thing I need is another backpack, but maybe there's something amazing I'm missing out on. I'm currently using the freebie from my employer, which is a Thule something or other, whose main shortcomings are not being waterproof (but I have a backpack raincover for the rainy season) and not comfortably fitting my karate gi alongside my trackball and calendar and other non-computer stuff. (My trusty fifteen year old grad school backpack would address the space issue, but I felt like starting "fresh" and it's grubby enough at this point that I'm googling how to clean backpacks.)
posted by hoyland at 8:55 AM on September 17

Re: backpack recs Thule is a great brand, if you like your current bag other than the shortcomings you might want to look to see if they have any others you like better. They're super popular with bike tourers and commuters, so they should have some waterproof models.

Wirecutter's current recommendations look fantastic, even if some of them will use up your entire stipend. I can vouch for the TimBuk2 Authority personally, though it might be a bit smaller than you're looking for. Timbuk2 does have other backpacks that are larger. The Aer Duffel they recommend is one I have seen a lot of coworkers who go to the gym before/during/after work use, so it might be good for your commuting-with-karate gi.

Many people I know love the Tom Bihn backpacks, especially the Synapse and Synik. The bags are well-made and last forever, and I have several other bags from them. The only reason I don't have the Synapse is that it's not my personal style.

Also worth looking at Chrome Industries (the Camden is a top candidate for my next bag!) and Mission Workshop (I used a now-discontinued bag of theirs very similar to the Fraction for nearly a decade).
posted by rhiannonstone at 3:31 PM on September 17

For train commuting with a lot of gear (workout clothes, lunch, laptop, etc.), I have used a Minaal Carry-On 2.0 for years -- almost a decade now? It also is my travel backpack for shorter trips. It may be too big for your needs. I haven't used their Daily backpack, which may be a better fit for you, but the brand's products have longevity and good customer service in my experience.
posted by moosetracks at 5:20 PM on September 18