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Why Remote Work Should Change Startup Culture

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Re: Why Remote Work Should Change Startup Culture

#61

Post by seangrogg »

ryanmarsh wrote: post #43
mccolin wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is definitely something that happens. It's valid, I believe, for the company to vet candidates for culture fit, but the go should not be hiring a team of "sames." In a recent batch of interviews (four opportunities local, three remote), I was put through a specific culture fit step of the interview process at all but one company, and it was part of all remote hiring processes.

> It's valid, I believe, for the company to vet candidates for culture fit I'm not sure what culture fit means. I have been passed over for culture fit and seen others passed over for culture fit and I have never seen it be because someone couldn't be productive with their peers. It seems, anecdotally, to just be based upon affinity, which seems stupid to me unless you're a lifestyle brand, like FitStar. In the Army…

Navy (reserve) vet here - I definitely agree that culture can be taught but unfortunately you have to find someone willing to learn. And unfortunately, most software developers aren't of the military "situationally adaptive" mindset but rather the "I'm a hot commodity where the hell is the ping pong table" mindset.

It's far easier for most young companies with ping pong tables to hire developers that like ping pong than actually endeavor to build a company culture and attempt to instill those values into their hires.

Re: Why Remote Work Should Change Startup Culture

#62

Post by dasil003 »

doozy wrote: post #16

I've made a career out of remote work (10+ years working remotely), and I have to say this is a pretty poor article. No, remote work is not for everyone, you need to know what you are doing at both ends or it'll not match your expectations. No, it does not (necessarily) bring the best global talent, specially not if your motivation for remote is bringing down costs. And no, you don't need to use any of the tools list…

There's another thing too: being productive remotely takes a different kind of discipline. If you are a seasoned contractor or freelancer, then maybe you've already developed said discipline, but it's far from universal. I agree that companies need to trust their employees, but in turn employees need to also be honest with themselves and acknowledge if they are not wired for remote work.

I've done all mixes of full-time in office, full-time in satellite office, part-time remote, full-time remote, full-time remote from up to 8 hours time zone difference for my previous company, and I have to say that even within the same company and the same employee there is a wide difference in the result of remote work. Being in the central office gave me more energy and motivation around the mission and camraderie with the team. Being remote allows more focused time and greater single-contributor output, but close collaboration is not as good (Screenhero is ultimately not the same as sitting next to someone no matter how much we wish it were).

Re: Why Remote Work Should Change Startup Culture

#63

Post by fizzbatter »

67726e wrote: post #40
Klathmon wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone that also works remote, it's not all roses and daisies. Communication can be very hard at times without someone there to manage it, keep everyone in the loop, and make sure nobody is left out. We go into the office once a week, and i've found that on those days, just being in the office lets me overhear conversations about things that I can offer a solution to, or having a few people in the same area shoot…

> As someone that also works remote, it's not all roses and daisies. I spent the past two years working remote, and at this point I don't think I would ever want to do it again. Something I don't think I've ever really seen mentioned about working from home is that it can be incredibly isolating and overall mentally unhealthy. The isolation, lack of separation of work and home environment (in the physical sense), and…

> Something I don't think I've ever really seen mentioned about working from home is that it can be incredibly isolating and overall mentally unhealthy.

It has mostly been the same for me. I've worked 3 years remote currently.. and i loathe to give it up for my next job (which i'm hoping to land in the next week or so), i firmly believe it will be good for me.

Really, the only reasons i want to work remote currently is the checklist of savings. Saving time, gas, etcetc. Mentally, i all but feel it's worse off for me. I have a harder time focusing (i don't have a dedicated, isolated office at home), i feel disconnected, the days blur together, etcetc.

The place i'm hoping to land next is going to be half(ish) remote, which seems like a nice middleground at least. I can avoid traffic on some days, but hopefully feel less isolated.

Re: Why Remote Work Should Change Startup Culture

#64

Post by endswapper »

eropple wrote: post #54
endswapper wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a major difference between "culture fit" and the ability to adapt. Both serve a distinct purpose and both are valid. Someone's ability to adapt shows tactical proficiency. Particularly in an engineering environment I would put a high premium on tactical proficiency because the objectives are typically explicit and linear. Culture fit speaks to traits like open-mindedness, inclusion and confidence in leadersh…

"Culture fit" doesn't mean "open-mindedness, inclusion, and confidence in leadership" (and if meant the third of those you'd be being taken for a ride--leadership doesn't deserve confidence, results must be substantiated and all "confidence" does is let a company's leadership abuse you). In my experience, what "culture fit" really means is merely "are they like me." It is a filter to remove women and (most) minoritie…

To me, open-mindedness, inclusion, and confidence in leadership are incredibly important to the culture of an organization.

Good leadership earns, deserves and requires confidence from the community that makes up the organization. I would go a step further to say great leadership earns, deserves and requires faith (to be crystal clear, non-religious faith).

The cynicism and reductive reasoning you are expressing is a good counterpoint.

Leaders have numerous tools and opportunities to shape culture positively or negatively. Thanks for showing a counterpoint to my view. Whichever perspective you choose it speaks to the relevance of culture fit.

Re: Why Remote Work Should Change Startup Culture

#65

Post by eropple »

endswapper wrote: post #64
eropple wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Culture fit" doesn't mean "open-mindedness, inclusion, and confidence in leadership" (and if meant the third of those you'd be being taken for a ride--leadership doesn't deserve confidence, results must be substantiated and all "confidence" does is let a company's leadership abuse you). In my experience, what "culture fit" really means is merely "are they like me." It is a filter to remove women and (most) minoritie…

To me, open-mindedness, inclusion, and confidence in leadership are incredibly important to the culture of an organization. Good leadership earns, deserves and requires confidence from the community that makes up the organization. I would go a step further to say great leadership earns, deserves and requires faith (to be crystal clear, non-religious faith). The cynicism and reductive reasoning you are expressing is a…

I shouldn't have put that tailchaser into my post, because I knew it's what you'd seize on. Silly ol' reductive me, I guess.

So let's not let you dodge. How about the structural and institutionalized sexism and racism involved in "culture fit" as is actually practiced, not how you'd like to redefine it? "Culture fit is about open-mindedness and inclusion" except when somebody has some melanin to them or an accent or a couple of X chromosomes. We just going to pretend that's not a thing, now?

Re: Why Remote Work Should Change Startup Culture

#66

Post by moises_silva »

doozy wrote: post #16

I've made a career out of remote work (10+ years working remotely), and I have to say this is a pretty poor article. No, remote work is not for everyone, you need to know what you are doing at both ends or it'll not match your expectations. No, it does not (necessarily) bring the best global talent, specially not if your motivation for remote is bringing down costs. And no, you don't need to use any of the tools list…

Although I agree remote work is nothing new, what is new is the increasing amount of people that can do it, and that's a good thing. It is true that in SV (and elsewhere) lots of companies do not allow remote, and that's what I think the article is trying to address, and I can only agree. Precisely because remote work has been going on in some places for a while, it is sad that SV does not seem all that open to adopting it. We need more articles like this IMO to push for it.

> No, remote work is not for everyone, you need to know what you are doing at both ends or it'll not match your expectations

The article is clearly indicating what they mean is that it is not just for software engineers. There's no need to take the "for everyone" literally twisting their meaning.

> No, it does not (necessarily) bring the best global talent, specially not if your motivation for remote is bringing down costs

At least you added "necessarily" this time, but again, you're taking things literally rather than in context. The article clearly indicates this means that by allowing remote workers you open yourself to a much larger pool of talent. In my experience this is quite true and one of the fundamental reasons I've managed to convince my managers of of allowing me to hire remote people in very disparate time zones/regions. We're in Canada, and have hired engineers in Philippines, South America and Africa (even at Canadian market rates, so is not a cost cutting measure). For someone considering allowing remote work, this is an important point to make and the article articulates it well. I think it's implied you can't guarantee just with one measure to get the top talent, all they are saying is that you increase your odds significantly by allowing remote workers.

> And no, you don't need to use any of the tools listed. Remote work has been done, and well, with nothing more than a VCS and email (both conspicuously absent from her list) for decades. Add to it any kind of real-time communication client and you're in business.

Same thing again. You take a suggestion like if it were a must. Nothing in the article is a must, but sure helps a lot to onboard more people in remote work to have different tools and create a culture where using those tools is part of the work flow so people that is remote is not left out, and that's a good thing IMO.

Re: Why Remote Work Should Change Startup Culture

#67

Post by Joof »

Klathmon wrote: post #49
67726e wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As someone that also works remote, it's not all roses and daisies. I spent the past two years working remote, and at this point I don't think I would ever want to do it again. Something I don't think I've ever really seen mentioned about working from home is that it can be incredibly isolating and overall mentally unhealthy. The isolation, lack of separation of work and home environment (in the physical sense), and…

The isolation never bothered me. I have a few close friends, and a wonderful wife, and i tend to be "introverted" in the sense that it's really draining for me to be in a social setting for too long, so working from home has been perfect for all these years. That being said, the "you work from home so you should be able to handle X" really gets to me. I actually have less flexibility than it sounds like you do, it wa…

Haven't worked remote, but I homeschooled myself through highschool; the easiest way to deal is that work time is for work and make sure everyone knows this.

Doctor appointments and such may be worth breaking this rule, but picking up prescriptions or even your kids from school (assuming they have a way home) are unnecessary interruptions.

Re: Why Remote Work Should Change Startup Culture

#68

Post by supahfly_remix »

ryanmarsh wrote: post #43
mccolin wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is definitely something that happens. It's valid, I believe, for the company to vet candidates for culture fit, but the go should not be hiring a team of "sames." In a recent batch of interviews (four opportunities local, three remote), I was put through a specific culture fit step of the interview process at all but one company, and it was part of all remote hiring processes.

> It's valid, I believe, for the company to vet candidates for culture fit I'm not sure what culture fit means. I have been passed over for culture fit and seen others passed over for culture fit and I have never seen it be because someone couldn't be productive with their peers. It seems, anecdotally, to just be based upon affinity, which seems stupid to me unless you're a lifestyle brand, like FitStar. In the Army…

> I've indoctrinated them into our values, and only on rare occasions has that not worked out.

What do you mean by "indoctrinated"?

Re: Why Remote Work Should Change Startup Culture

#69

Post by Graphon1 »

mark_l_watson wrote: post #17

I have been mostly working remote since 1998 because I live in the mountains in Central Arizona - 2.25 hours from the Phoenix Airport. I find this article wildly optimistic. I literally give a 50% discount when I work remotely because I believe that in general I am about twice as valuable to my customers when I work on site. I enjoy remote work, but I am honest with myself that physical presence when working with a t…

Regarding that 50% discount, do you also charge for travel expenses, in addition to the normal labor rate? If you had to fly to Los Angeles and stay for a week - who pays the travel and lodging?

Re: Why Remote Work Should Change Startup Culture

#70

Post by jon-wood »

sidlls wrote: post #10
maqr wrote: post #4

If more startups allowed remote workers, would the salaries of developers fall in the bay area?

Possibly, if it were large enough scale to truly impact the supply of labor at a sufficiently lower price point to matter. There are a variety of remote work arrangements: 1) local employees who have employers with liberal work-from-home policies (they're "remote" when they don't commute in), 2) employees who are always remote, but still in-state (located in the same state as the employer), 3) employees who are alway…

The last two in my experience are handled by treating the remote employees as effectively contractors. They'll incorporate as an independent company, and then bill themselves out for whatever salary they're on, taking on responsibility for their own taxes and other requirements.
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