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I Only Work Remotely

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Re: I Only Work Remotely

#201

Post by mixmastamyk »

Arizhel wrote: post #162
mbrzuzy wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is problem with flex time. Companies love to advertise flex time, but when you come in at 7am and leave at 3, you get tons of looks and even the odd comment.

This happened to me in my first job. I'm definitely a night-owl, but I was tired of coming in at 10-11 and leaving after dark, after everyone else including my boss had left, so I decided to change my routine and get up early and get to work by ~7-8. This worked great for about a week, until my boss started complaining about me leaving so early. So I switched back to my old routine of coming in really, really late, a…

Maybe you should complain about them getting in late?

Re: I Only Work Remotely

#202

Post by programmarchy »

Arizhel wrote: post #163
westbywest wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having young children can place constraints on your ability to shift work hours away from conventional 9-5. Childcare/schooling/etc are not as flexible in the schedules they follow, and not everyone has a spouse/partner with sufficient free time to compensate for your unavailability.

Exactly. This is why people with children shouldn't also have jobs. At least one person needs to be at home to take care of the kids. However, with divorce so commonplace, you can't count on having one spouse earning an income any more, it's just too much of a risk, so I don't think anyone should have any kids at all. Having kids simply is not compatible with living in modern society. (No, this is not satire.)

You're not wrong. Women entering the workforce instead of staying home to mother children has a detrimental effect on families, despite receiving praise as social progress.

It's good for corporations because it doubles the labor supply, lowering wages for both men and women. States love it because they receive more income tax, since household work was previously untaxed. Families, especially children, are getting the shaft.

Re: I Only Work Remotely

#203

Post by ianai »

maccard wrote: post #148
swerner wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That kind of dropping into a new environment was fun in my 20s when I went to university. Now I'm entering my 40s, and with a wife and family it's a very different situation.

> with a wife and family it's a very different situation. Absolutely, and you're right. It's one thing to make the break for yourself, but a totally different thing to enforce that on someone else.

I have minimized my number of connections wheee I live now for this reason. I've always wanted out.

Re: I Only Work Remotely

#204

Post by [deleted] »

Arizhel wrote: post #179
westbywest wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The ability for one spouse to forego work in lieu of dedicating themselves to childcare is a privilege not enjoyed by a substantial percentage of parents. Besides that, the choice to have kids (or not) remains in this country one everyone is entitled to make.

>the choice to have kids (or not) remains in this country one everyone is entitled to make. What does that have to do with anything? I never proposed banning having children. I merely advocated against it.

[deleted]

Re: I Only Work Remotely

#205

Post by thewhitetulip »

christophilus wrote: post #58
billirvine wrote: post #36

As a founder of startups, I take a bit of exception to the tonality. Yes, lots of inexperienced founders/leaders drink deep of the open office koolaid and do it wrong. But doing it right (allowing flexibility, having private spots, etc.) yields better overall results because people are more creative in groups. The chance serendipity of investigating new ideas with your fellows will always result in a better work prod…

I strongly disagree. I'm at a 100% remote company. After 15 years in the industry at startups and big companies (Microsoft, Lexmark), I can say that this is the most productive team I've ever worked with. Our collaboration is every bit as good as in-office. We whiteboard with live-coding/tooling instead. Works like a charm. We have a casual hangout meeting once a week with the dev team where we share what we learned,…

I recently interviewed at a startup which is located thousand miles from where I live, I was ready to join if they allow remote. They rejected because "remote doesn't get any thing done". I said one thing, "look at gitlab" (among other things in the friendly conversation).

The stereotype that we have to work late, be in an office are just illusion.

Re: I Only Work Remotely

#206

Post by SyneRyder »

Arizhel wrote: post #180
westbywest wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many other cultures (and even many of my relatives) frame the task of rearing children as means to better ensure for your own care towards the end of your life, rather than as a high-risk endeavor comparable to purchasing real estate.

I've heard of this, but what kids actually stick around to take care of their parents when they're old? In fact, isn't that rather cruel? By the time the parents are unable to take care of themselves (if they get to that state; lots of elderly people are fully mobile and capable of taking care of themselves), their kids will now have their own kids, and it will be flatly impossible for them to both have two jobs, tak…

Apparently this is the case in Singapore, which relies on family support instead of welfare. Retired parents can even sue their children if they fail to adequately support them, according to this Economist article:

http://www.economist.com/node/15524092

Re: I Only Work Remotely

#207

Post by jmkni »

edoceo wrote: post #125
chukye wrote: post #9

I smoke weed to get creative, drink a lot of coffee and do a lot of online meetings, have some crazy hours, but I also get my work done before(better?) everyone else. I would never fit in any workplace (tried a few but none fit), I have a big chair, 3 big monitors and a bong, also can talk with my team fellows every time I want, but we really don't need to talk too much, if you understand your product, understand you…

You looking for work? I only hire "pot heads".

Why?

Re: I Only Work Remotely

#208

Post by rwmurrayVT »

SippinLean wrote: post #90
jp555 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess you don't drink coffee? How many people use caffeine to chemically alter their state? How about using alcohol to ease social interaction anxiety? Nicotine is another very popular tool for altering one's state. We are all essentially bags of chemicals. If someone hacks their diet to optimize nutritional chemical input, are they a chemically altered monster? Where's the line? Even playing sports together, shari…

False equivalency, all chemically altered states are the same? If someone used alcohol (another of your examples) at work, during the work day you'd consider an intervention; you wouldn't shrug and say "eh, bags of chemicals".

It's really hard to interpret what you mean by this comment when your username is "SippinLean".

Re: I Only Work Remotely

#209

Post by digler999 »

hobarrera wrote: post #87
mattmanser wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You think drinking caffeine makes you feel anything like getting stoned? Or that smoking a joint is comparable to smoking a cigarette? If you ever get stoned, you are in for a surprise.

Try leaving caffeine for a couple of months, and then have a cup of coffee. I actually did this, and it's amazing to actually notice the strong effect it has. It alters your mood SO MUCH you'd be amazed. But since you have a daily dose, you can't really tell. Much like you will never know what a weed-adict behaves like when he hasn't consumed in days.

> weed-adict

Re: I Only Work Remotely

#210

Post by supergeek133 »

Arizhel wrote: post #168
supergeek133 wrote: post #153

It's a comfort/environment problem, at its core. Just like was pointed out in the article. Do you know what the most popular type of monitor stand is in a major corporation? Paper reams. In fact recently where I work they came around to people with these and asked they not do it because it screws up their paper ordering/estimation. Why is this a problem? Because offices are super picky about the $100 equipment order…

>and maybe something simple like free coffee/soda so I'm not spending $X/day on it. That always annoys me, because I don't drink that crap. Soda in particular is extremely unhealthy. If you're going to offer free food/drinks, then give people an actual choice so people like me aren't feeling left out. Don't just assume that everyone likes Coke(TM), or Starbucks(TM), or nasty Folgers(TM) coffee. Try offering some heal…

> If you're going to offer free food/drinks, then give people an actual choice so people like me aren't feeling left out.

That's OK too, was just being specific for illustration. I don't really care the result, but I do enjoy caffeine. Haha. My point was just to follow on with the "I'm more comfortable at home because $X".

Example: I like soda. It is free in our cafeteria until 2:30 when they close. After that it is $1.80 in the machine for a bottle. Sure I can bring my own but come on.

> The fundamental problem with all this stuff is that employers simply do not give two shits about the happiness or comfort of their employees in the office, and are simply too stupid and shortsighted to see how this translates directly into both increased productivity and retention.

Pretty much.

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