Ask HN: Do you think 'normal' working will ever return? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Do you think 'normal' working will ever return?

#61

Post by rapjr9 » Thu, Oct 08, 2020, 4:34 AM UTC

toomuchtodo wrote: post #19

muzani wrote: post #6

Let's address the elephant in the room: Working from home is a lot less efficient than an ideal office. It's harder to debug things or pair program when needed, it's harder to grab someone's attention, it's easier to miscommunicate, and communication is a lot slower. You also don't get the same camaraderie as you would face to face, but the upside is that you also don't get distracted by attractive coworkers. However…

> Working from home is a lot less efficient than an ideal office. It's harder to debug things or pair program when needed, it's harder to grab someone's attention, it's easier to miscommunicate, and communication is a lot slower. You also don't get the same camaraderie as you would face to face, but the upside is that you also don't get distracted by attractive coworkers. YMMV. Your home can be your ideal office, and…

I worked from home for 15 years and found it to be much more efficient than going into my office. The slower communication is a great benefit because people are forced to think before replying rather than just reacting. Tutoring students worked much better because they have your thoughts in writing rather than having to quickly takes notes or remember what you said. You now have a timestamped record of activities that you can refer back to. You can record a Zoom conference for those who were not able to attend or to create a video for disseminating new information.

I think that one of the main reasons some people, and some professions (like banking), prefer working in person is because it is less accountable without the written/recorded history.

Re: Ask HN: Do you think 'normal' working will ever return?

#62

Post by ManlyBread » Thu, Oct 08, 2020, 7:11 AM UTC

labcomputer wrote: post #46

freeone3000 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can just... Make one. You can just make the division. You can turn off the work computer and walk away at five.

Not the same thing. You're still in the same physical space. Again, that time on the bike/train/car provides head space to mentally context switch away from work time and into home time. Plus, it's very easy to do "just one more" commit while you're boiling pasta for dinner.

I don't feel that way at all. Yesterday I dismissed one person who wanted me to "take a quick look" by saying that my work day ends in 10 minutes so I won't be able to help much, then after these 10 minutes I closed down my work laptop and enjoyed the rest of my evening without thinking about work once. The problem exists solely in your head.

Re: Ask HN: Do you think 'normal' working will ever return?

#63

Post by goatcode » Thu, Oct 08, 2020, 5:19 PM UTC

It depends on the will of the companies employing people. I've been back in the office for 4 months, and everything feels extremely normal up until I try to go to most businesses outside.

Re: Ask HN: Do you think 'normal' working will ever return?

#64

Post by goatcode » Thu, Oct 08, 2020, 5:21 PM UTC

muzani wrote: post #6

Let's address the elephant in the room: Working from home is a lot less efficient than an ideal office. It's harder to debug things or pair program when needed, it's harder to grab someone's attention, it's easier to miscommunicate, and communication is a lot slower. You also don't get the same camaraderie as you would face to face, but the upside is that you also don't get distracted by attractive coworkers. However…

Many of the issues stated about the bad points of offices are mostly to do with city-based offices. Companies like Google were smart to move even slightly outside of a packed metro. Parking and the commute are easy for companies that choose less expensive and less horrendous settings than metro centers.

Re: Ask HN: Do you think 'normal' working will ever return?

#65

Post by croh » Thu, Oct 08, 2020, 6:35 PM UTC

muzani wrote: post #6

Let's address the elephant in the room: Working from home is a lot less efficient than an ideal office. It's harder to debug things or pair program when needed, it's harder to grab someone's attention, it's easier to miscommunicate, and communication is a lot slower. You also don't get the same camaraderie as you would face to face, but the upside is that you also don't get distracted by attractive coworkers. However…

You attend meeting for every 30 min.

Re: Ask HN: Do you think 'normal' working will ever return?

#66

Post by gauchojs » Fri, Oct 09, 2020, 11:12 AM UTC

muzani wrote: post #6

Let's address the elephant in the room: Working from home is a lot less efficient than an ideal office. It's harder to debug things or pair program when needed, it's harder to grab someone's attention, it's easier to miscommunicate, and communication is a lot slower. You also don't get the same camaraderie as you would face to face, but the upside is that you also don't get distracted by attractive coworkers. However…

My ideal situation would be to share a small office space (or room) in my neighborhood, with 3-5 colleagues that also live around here. I can't really work from cafeteria types of places.