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Why Do We Still Commute?

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Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#71

Post by blunte »

gerardflo wrote: post #66
blunte wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At one company I worked for (that was mostly remote workers), people who lived within an hour of each other would periodically meet up for social or work reasons. We had one guy who had a nice house with a big dining room, and once a month we'd work from there in one room. Less work got done, but some things that otherwise might never have been done/resolved got handled. Plus it was "kind of" fun. So unless you're ge…

> but some things that otherwise might never have been done/resolved got handled This is a fallacy. If something really needs resolving, the setting is not relevant.

It may be fallacy to you because you haven't experienced it, but it has happened in my experience.

Sometimes on person describes an annoyance they have, and one of the other people in the room feels motivated to resolve that issue. Or a couple of people start talking about something, and a third person has a new idea that improves thing. There are endless scenarios that can result in something happening that otherwise might never have happened without the meeting.

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#72

Post by blunte »

rralian wrote: post #69
blunte wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder what is a "cushy tech job"... But regarding people who might want to avoid being home, that is a whole different problem that needs solving. Wanting escape should not be an argument for commuting.

> I wonder what is a "cushy tech job" Probably a job that is extremely well paid for knowledge work in technology and where workers are highly sought after so employers provide lots of perks.

Ahh. Cushy to me means you get paid for doing little or nothing, and usually with extra perks that make being there pleasant. (So I took cushy to mean not-doing-demanding-work.)

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#73

Post by throwaway7645 »

Blown away by how many people on here can walk to work. If you live in the South, most of our cities just aren't built that way. Most people have a 1/2 hour commute morning and night. Living downtown usually means ancient houses in an area I wouldn't consider very safe. Suburbs are terrible in other ways though.

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#74

Post by tasuki »

nofilter wrote: post #42
Raf_ wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're certainly lucky to be able to walk to your office. Most people in my company need to drive at least 50 minutes to get to the office.

I live in the city centre as well as work in the city centre. One of the benefits of living in a small capital city like Tallinn. I walk to and from work for about 20 minutes (total 40 minutes each day). The thing is, I would prefer this to be a bit longer because often times it's the only time I don't actually sit behind a screen. When I worked in Barcelona and lived there, I walked about 40 minutes to work and back…

I've been to Tallinn for the first time last week. When leaving, I walked from the historical center to the airport. It's great that this is feasible, and it was interesting to see how the character of the city changes as one moves outwards.

(took some photos... https://gallery.tasuki.org/2017/10-few-hours-in-tallinn)

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#75

Post by blunte »

tossaway1 wrote: post #55
blunte wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't believe your "commute" constitutes a commute in the sense of what this article is about. Your commute is just a walk. People traveling for 30-90 (or more!) minutes to and from work, particularly the ones driving in traffic, are the commuters. And the ones I know that fall into that category hate it. Good for you that you have such a nice situation, though!

I commute 60 minutes each way (give or take depending on traffic). I wish the commute was shorter but I personally wouldn't work from home regularly even though I technically could. Between a chatty wife, active kids, and unfinished projects around the house, I don't have the willpower or ability to avoid distractions at home. I'm more productive going into work even if you factor in the time spent driving. Plus, my…

Ah that is a point I forgot to mention on my other post of CONs with remote work - when friends/family in close proximity don't respect your need for space and quiet. But really, it's not much different from co-workers who do the same (except that with your children it's expected behavior, but with colleagues you would think they could learn after a while!)

Commutes are not all bad. But the bad ones can be miserable. Self driving cars (for all drivers!) would make it so much better...

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#76

Post by gerardflo »

majewsky wrote: post #67
switch007 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I try those watercooler conversations: the rare occasion the bosses aren't avoiding the proles on purpose, they just quickly make their drink then make excuses to disappear. If you touch on an important topic, it's not taken seriously because you're not in a meeting room. Colleagues on the same level that hang out and discuss the latest new TV series seems that's good, but I don't think the bonds that builds are alwa…

Depends on your boss. I had plenty water cooler conversations with mine.

I would say that is not professional. If there is anything work related, you book a meeting and then discuss. For this reason I know few people are on the look out when to go get the water without stumbling upon a boss or a manager, because they take it as a harassment. This adds huge amount of stress and knocks the productivity. Workplaces with "we are big family" approach are the worse. This should be illegal.

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#78

Post by gerardflo »

walshemj wrote: post #38
BjoernKW wrote: post #14

I think that the 'importance of face-to-face interaction' argument is a helplessly contrived one, an attempt to avoid the elephant in the room. There are plenty of examples that show that working remotely without daily face-to-face interaction can work very well. What's markedly different about environments that successfully adopted remote work are aspects like: - a lack of cargo cult work organisation and office pol…

unfortunately there are many more examples where it is proven that collocated teams work far better

and then you forget to list them.

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#79

Post by megaman22 »

peterwwillis wrote: post #68

Things that happen when you're in the office: - spins around in chair, interrupts and asks coworker a question, workshops ideas for 15 minutes, comes up with solution, makes a meeting - boss comes over and tells workers there's some issue going on he's going to go deal with and he'll be available via cell only - when SCRUM ends, conversation continues in person, things get decided - walk into boss's office and make t…

These things are as infuriating when I am in the office and left out of the loop as when I'm working remote. More so, really, because the purported benefits of dragging myself in there aren't materializing to offset the suck.

There's no excuse for piss-poor planning and communication. It's not that hard to send an email and get it on record.

Also "Walking around, bugging people, and getting shit done" may be very effective _for you_. Meanwhile you've blazed a path of interruption and disruption amongst your colleagues in your wake.

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#80

Post by sidlls »

coldtea wrote: post #11
amorphid wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing we, or at least I, haven't seen is the remote equivalent of a whiteboard. Or pen & paper.

There are lots of such implementations (virtual whiteboard and/or pen and paper). Search for: "collaborating writing tool", "virtual whiteboard" etc. The latter are usually part of teleconference tools. Here's from an open source one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MNqiMEblgo

None of the ones I've ever seen or used comes close to even approximating the in-person whiteboard experience.
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