Yelp says going all in on remote work boosted job applications by 43% and led to a more satisfied workforce

L4sBot@lemmy.worldmod to Technology@lemmy.world – 436 points –
fortune.com

Yelp says going all in on remote work boosted job applications by 43% and led to a more satisfied workforce::The company’s WFH strategy boosted job applications and worker fulfillment.

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Love that these companies are seeing the writing on the wall, finally. Only 10 years behind schedule but it’s better than never I guess.

10 years ago me and my mom worked jobs from home. I did CenturyLink (phone company) and HSN and QVC. She did dish network, directv and Eddie Bauer. It was easier then to find wfh jobs than it is now. Then it was unusual, but no stigma. Now it's like you're an evil clown bent on molesting the village's sheep if you even suggest it. -_-

Now it's like you're an evil clown bent on molesting the village's sheep if you even suggest it.

So that's why no one reads my CVs? Dammit!

Yeah, the trick is to only molest them when no one is watching, and don't put it on your resume.

Every business owner keeps complaining about how no one wants to molest sheep anymore.

Jobs that can be done from home, should be. Make life easier for the people who do have to commute

Just for the reduced co2 emissions, we should be doing wfh whenever possible. Also, fuck Hollywood for abandoning steaming release movies.

Also would save a lot on road maintenance

It's unfortunately their business model is 100% extortionate bullshit.

Which isn't the point of the article. I'm glad this is being reported on and hope that type of competition leads to better working conditions.

My old company saw this in the first 3 months of the COVID lockdown and immediately sold their building which they’d bought less than a year before. This isn’t rocket science.

Smart they sold it early

Yep, when it still had some value. It was a great location with a view over Lake Washington near South Lake Union in Seattle too. That was during the run of a few years that the SLT was maki g good choices which ended this last year and resulted in some layoffs including myself. It was nice while it lasted lol.

Guess that means it's time for RTO!

(Yes, I'm a bit salty, how could you tell?)

RTO?

Rollercoaster... Tycoon... On... line...?

Rollercoaster Tycoon Online?

We're getting Rollercoaster Tycoon Online!?

There's an open engine rebuild that uses assets from I think 1 and 2, and I believe it had online capabilities

Treasure.

Bath.

Treasure bath.

Treasure bath‽

I’m getting a treasure bath‽

Treasure bath!!!

My boomer manager beg to differ. He likes it old school where people who stay back are considered more productive.

In office work lowers productivity. Boomers are a blight on everything.

That's because they can "see" people working instead of, you know, using any actually objective metric.

Means they can falsely shoehorn in their faves as well. Kinda hard for them to pull stats out their butt when the metrics are all objectively taken from arms length

Meanwhile, at my piece of shit job that Gen X'ers have shaken hands with the boomers in leadership and withdrew wfh for anyone who isn't in a leadership position.

So.. Leadership gets to work from home?

Yup. I had to wait for the finance clown to finish talking to his gardener before he would come back to our teams meeting so I could go home. This, after everyone being allowed to wfh for three whole years before. I wish this shit was labor suit worthy.

While I hate the company, at least the have the self awareness to notice that fact.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

The business review platform went remote like many other organizations when the pandemic hit, but unlike so many others, it stayed that way and introduced a remote-first policy in 2021.

Last year, the total number of job applicants was 43% higher compared to 2021, according to Yelp’s 2024 Remote Work Report released earlier this month.

Flexible schedules have also facilitated a healthy work-life balance—about 89% of the company’s workers say they can manage personal and professional demands, and the same amount say that the remote model has allowed them to make positive changes for their wellbeing.

“Anecdotally, employees have told us that Yelp’s remote posture has allowed them to spend more time with their children, take up new hobbies and live closer to friends and family—all of which we believe significantly contribute to overall happiness,” says Amara.

The company says it’s using the money it saved from shutting down its underutilized offices in New York City, Chicago, and Washington D.C., to funnel back into employee benefits, professional development, and wellness reimbursements.

Klarna’s OpenAI chatbot can do the work of 700 full-time employees and handles duties for 150 million clients, completely altering the company’s hiring needs.

The original article contains 640 words, the summary contains 195 words. Saved 70%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

Yes, there are clear benefits to working in person. If one can't see that, I'd say that person has social issues. I could go on...

BUT, WFH is clearly a better solution all in all. Better for employee mental health, better for the environment, all that and more.

My company (software dev) seems to be navigating this well. We're leaning heavily on hiring people local to our remaining office. One person is required to come in, Tuesday-Thursday, and that's what we hired them for, a warm body in the office to assist. For the work I do, I need someone around to accept deliveries and help around.

While no one else is mandated to come in, it's nice that they can. Teams meet up, get to know each other, work together briefly, etc., good for morale. We're social animals, we benefit by socializing. This should be obvious, but lemmy tells me otherwise.

One time I was hanging around the office, wanted to meet a user to fix their SSD. Couple of other folks were there, no one on my team. Shooting the bull with the CSR manager I learned a useful thing I didn't know! Couple of devs sitting in front of me were talking about a thing my team was confused about. "Hold up! So what's the deal with that?" Wouldn't have thought to ask them otherwise. Talking to another guy I became aware of some new tech I didn't know about.

Picture this: I have two people wanting me to help them, both asks being equal. One I know personally, the other I've only seen on Zoom. First guy came to my wedding, the other I haven't seen since I onboarded them. Who you think I'm helping first?

Story I related to senior management, including the CEO, while having dinner one night. Poster on reddit claimed to be a tech recruiter. This guy kept a list of local companies mandating RTO. He went after them on LinkedIn for remote work, "Like shooting fish in a barrel." LOL, half our staff, the best half, would walk if RTO was mandated.

I definitely know everyone can't work from home, I've got a couple coworkers who can't focus there because they got kids who work there, or a spouse who works from home and takes meetings in the one office, or they need the social interaction. But, wfh saves gas, saves money on commute, allows saving money on childcare, more flexibility with doctor and dentist appointments, and has tons of other benefits. It's got lots of benefits, especially in cities with tons of traffic. Having it be a choice seems like the best option all around.

All with ya! Mandating RTO is a bad strategy, companies will lose top talent. But, as I said, there are benefits to getting together in person now and again.

Study after study even before covid shows remote workers are more productive. You shouldn't have to go in the office if your job can be remote unless it's for a day of monthly meetings for that face to face time. If your day to day can be remote it's better for the business and the workers to be remote.

This should be obvious, but lemmy tells me otherwise.

Yea, lemmy's biggeat issue is that it's chockful of delusional kids.

The only part I disagree with is sharing such things with c suite - too much of a potential to backfire.