There isn't one, for our industry. You are right now remotely asking for help with how to manage a business. We can do everything remotely, and many businesses in our industry have done so. The fact is that, if you don't have co-located capital (a data center), then you don't need co-located labor (employees to maintain the data center).
Ask HN: What is your strongest argument against remote work?
21–30 of 128 posts
Re: Ask HN: What is your strongest argument against remote work?
#22Just like a traditional office setting, remote work isn't for everyone. At our company I've seen that it is particularly difficult for:
- extroverts
- some of our more junior engineers
- workers with families
I think having a good mix of traditional, partially-remote, and fully-remote businesses is the place to be.
Re: Ask HN: What is your strongest argument against remote work?
#23it doesnt foster competition between each other ?
Re: Ask HN: What is your strongest argument against remote work?
#24Hiring is more difficult. It's not that you can't find applicants, but the people capable of performing without direct supervision is (mostly) a subset of those capable of performing in an office. It can be difficult to identify those who will actually perform well in that environment. It takes some degree of maturity and responsibility to provide value as a remote worker because there's always that temptation to do something else.
That said, I wouldn't trade this lifestyle for anything. The only complaint I've ever had is that coworkers not capable of performing in a remote environment sometimes last too long at the company.
Re: Ask HN: What is your strongest argument against remote work?
#25Solitude in the long term will make you miserable
Re: Ask HN: What is your strongest argument against remote work?
#26I think the best argument is that it offloads the cost of office space from the company onto the worker. Sometimes the company will provide little stipends for things like desks or monitors, but rarely for ongoing costs like rent.
Some people get really jazzed when they see companies start to adopt remote work, but in a lot of cases I suspect it's about little else than reducing fixed costs.
(I have worked remotely for ~10 years)
Re: Ask HN: What is your strongest argument against remote work?
#27I absolutely think you lose something from lack of face-to-face contact. Some of the most productive leadership and decison-making sessions I've had came from sitting around a table or sharing a meal or a drink with a team, and going back and forth about something. Additionally, casual contact helps too. I put a couch in my office, and people would come just sit down and talk. The setting set the vibe. I had some gre…
as someone who's been remote for 10+ years: both (the value of casual conversation and higher face-to-face productivity) ring true to me.
If you want to have a remote team I advice having a space for casual conversation and non-work video calls, it improves things a bit for the first.
For the latter, IRL gatherings/meetups are valuable but obviously not something you can do all the time.
Re: Ask HN: What is your strongest argument against remote work?
#28[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: What is your strongest argument against remote work?
#29I think for established companies it's that there is a big risk and time commitment to realign company process and organisation to support remote work.
Definitely less of an argument for starting something new but if you've not done it before then it also carries some risk you might not be willing to shoulder.
Re: Ask HN: What is your strongest argument against remote work?
#30The crushing loneliness