this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2023
366 points (95.3% liked)
Work Reform
9833 readers
448 users here now
A place to discuss positive changes that can make work more equitable, and to vent about current practices. We are NOT against work; we just want the fruits of our labor to be recognized better.
Our Philosophies:
- All workers must be paid a living wage for their labor.
- Income inequality is the main cause of lower living standards.
- Workers must join together and fight back for what is rightfully theirs.
- We must not be divided and conquered. Workers gain the most when they focus on unifying issues.
Our Goals
- Higher wages for underpaid workers.
- Better worker representation, including but not limited to unions.
- Better and fewer working hours.
- Stimulating a massive wave of worker organizing in the United States and beyond.
- Organizing and supporting political causes and campaigns that put workers first.
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
There are no arguments for returning to the office that make sense. People who argue against remote work are historical artefacts from a bygone age.
Well to be fair I wouldn't categorize the entire banking industry and investment capitalists who have over a trillion dollars in commercial mortgage backed real estate collateralized debt obligations invested in those office buildings as being from a bygone era.
TLDR It's 2008 all over again. They bundled up commercial mortgages into securities that blackrock etc are heavily invested in. They are over leveraged because over the counter swaps still don't require verified money in the bank to cover losses. If people are not forced to return they know the real estate market will implode and take Citibank Morgan Stanley etc with it
Security is definitely a legitimate argument for some companies. The average home network is nowhere near as secure as an enterprise network and BYOD is not nearly as secure as the systems setup and managed by your organization.
Edit: Everyone saying "use a VPN that's how you secure your home" needs to do more research. I have a comment below explaining how just using a VPN doesn't make you safe.
I doubt it. The home network does not need to be secure. That is why you have VPNs and other such technology.
It's also about physical security, protecting access to your work laptop and protecting IP. That VPN is completely useless if someone can get into your home and access your device. It's way easier to get into someone's home than into a properly secured office.
That's also why you encrypt your drives. The average enterprise figured out how to let somebody work from an airport long ago. It's really not a huge deal.
Ever hear of a VPN? This is pretty standard "security" for most Fortune 500s. Home network can be a Starbucks WiFi, but unless you have the decryption keys you are not going to be able to intercept the traffic tunneled through a VPN.
It's not just network security though, that was just one example I used. Another is protecting company IP. They could be working from home and a neighbor peek through the window and see what you're working on. Also that VPN isn't worth a damn if someone can get into your home and gain physical access to your device. Sure they could also break into an office, but offices usually have a security system with alarms, cameras, and sensors. They also usually have stronger doors and locks. Security is absolutely a valid reason to return to the office. I work in cybersecurity for the record and this is an actual reason being pushed for a return to the office.
If you use vdi that runs on a corporate thin client security is basically a non-issue. Data never leaves the data center and so long as you harden the thin client it should be difficult to breach it.
It's also about physical security, protecting access to your work laptop and protecting IP. That VPN is completely useless if someone can get into your home and access your device. It's way easier to get into someone's home than into a properly secured office.
Having implemented this sort of stuff for the mind if companies you probably think of when you're thinking of enterprise... You're making a mountain out of a molehill.
The use of a VPN to secure data in transit and the use of strong encryption on the device, endpoint protection and management features, along with good password security make it easy for any organisation not dealing with literal SECRET or TOP SECRET information to enable remote with.
Even the government has capitulated to the idea that devices themselves should be secure:
https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/207/final
If you can deal in government data on your laptop at a starbucks, we most certainly can work at home behind locked doors in our own offices with anything equivalent.
See my other comment. It's also about physical security, protecting access to your work laptop and protecting IP. That VPN is completely useless if someone can get into your home and access your device. It's way easier to get into someone's home than into a properly secured office.
No. Even that is incorrect.
You are 4 nodes deeper in OSS intel required, (isemployee->hasaccess?->homeaddress->break in)
I also know there are only 2 people with keys to my home, the hours of operation are limited, and there are no 3rd parties with unrestricted physical access (maintenance, physical security, janitorial services.)
The only difference in person provides is a record of access, cameras and access control systems etc.
My home also has this record of access and if requested can be provided. Most folks have egress cameras nowadays too.
I'm okay with people returning to office. But forcing it down people's throats when remote working has been working for the past few years is NOT okay. Fuck these out of touch companies and executives. I would rather quit than bend to their bullshit.