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Why Do We Still Commute?

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Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#211

Post by marcosdumay »

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #203
ataturk wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Something has to happen--my commute is only 11 miles but it often takes 40 minutes because of a stupid bridge that has had every social engineering plot applied to it to no avail (HOV lanes with pay-to-use transponders being the latest fashion and cops to enforce the rules slowing everyone else down). My career has suffered because I have never wanted the stress of a long commute nor could I afford the real estate pr…

>a stupid bridge that has had every social engineering plot applied to it to no avail (HOV lanes with pay-to-use transponders being the latest fashion and cops to enforce the rules slowing everyone else down). Too bad just paying poor people not to use the bridge isn't politically correct. It would be a heck of a lot more efficient than combining a bunch of disincentives that affect the lower classes.

> Too bad just paying poor people not to use the bridge isn't politically correct.

Why does nobody ever try free public transportation? Paying the poor brings a lot of practical issues, but at a minimum you can make them not pay for taking the long route.

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#213

Post by duckmysick »

I have a practical question about organizing remote jobs. How do you deal with the security aspects of working remotely - especially if the work deals with sensitive data or code? In a regular office setting everyone is connected to a same network that sits behind a firewall (or in extreme cases it's just an intranet with no outside access) with tightly controlled permissions. How can it be translated to a remote environment? What about creating new accounts and credentials? Do I just email a password and tell them to change it after? Do I attach ssh keys in some other email? What to do if someone breaks in someone's remote work space in their home? How do I handle repairs?

I'm sure plenty of people already figured out the answer to the above questions. It's just not something that I've seen discussed often.

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#214

Post by CaptSpify »

tetromino_ wrote: post #108
gerardflo wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can have misunderstandings face to face. This is a matter of communication skills. Having entire conversation in text form also means you can easily make references and go back to it even weeks later, whereas with face to face conversation you don't have that luxury.

Face to face means seeing the other person's face. You have instantaneous feedback when their face shows signs of confusion, excitement, boredom, maybe unhappiness at your words. Misunderstandings can be cleared up immediately. Searchable conversation history is certainly extremely useful. But today, that's at the cost of needing to regularly go back and redo text discussions from 5 or 15 minutes ago because it becom…

> Face to face means seeing the other person's face. You have instantaneous feedback when their face shows signs of confusion, excitement, boredom, maybe unhappiness at your words. Misunderstandings can be cleared up immediately.

In theory. But when you are dealing with a lot of "anti-social" people who have a hard time communicating verbally, or integrating socially, it usually has the opposite affect, ime.

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#215

Post by ck425 »

Articles about home working often ignore the social aspects too. I enjoy working in the office for many reasons but top amongst them is the social interactions.

Like many many engineers I was attracted to the role because I would work with other people like me, geeks and nerds (I realise there's a potential side critique about cultural homogeneity here). Being in the office is fun because I can make relatively obscure Cosmere or boardgame references and folk get them (not everyone but in normal society no one does). In that way it's relaxing, even if it's still a workplace.

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#216

Post by Chiba-City »

r2dnb wrote: post #96
Chiba-City wrote: post #56

Conversations around whiteboards between stakeholders creates value. Pair programming makes for lower defects and more reliable scheduling. Software is a design delivery operation. There was recent article on MS office space redesign to create more value. We are never typing approximations to futures like the proverbial monkeys. Productivity is not per-keystroke. I have been paid extra to kill projects that never sho…

While I have nothing against MBAs, this is a typical example of what people call MBAish / corporate BS and why managerial profiles have gained a bad reputation here. It looks smart on the surface but scrutiny exposes non-sense. >Conversations around whiteboards between stakeholders creates value. Why ? Are whiteboards magic ? >Pair programming makes for lower defects and more reliable scheduling Putting aside the fac…

Why don't you ask a question? I am not an MBA. I wrote Harvard's Ultrix manual, C on SunOS, Windows and Linux. I sat at whiteboards with Steve Crocker, Sunil Paul, Mark Pincus and Brad Cox across telecomms, finance, early Net and XML protocols and even early bioinformatics. Do you imagine we channel future visions from God out fingertips?

Let's eliminate some cases. I know some people work on entertainment software or short term content. Others work in departments "against management" for take home pay. I never care about those projects or those people working on them. My words do not apply there.

Interesting hardware is not virtual but involves complex supply chains. The same goes for productivity software interacting with the world already in motion. New training often costs more than new tools. DC folks making NASD broker registration reality are essential personnel in tight supply chain relationships. Any error on a Congressional Report can tumble decision makers into felonies or disrupt global commodity markets. Same goes for folks writing device drivers or porting libraries to new hardware. None of this is any app buried in app stores or Office Space TPS reports.

In such greenfield or release cycle projects the right team size and composition will get there first, avoid mistakes, clean up markets later cheapest or occupy profitable niches longest.

Software projects concern progress and reach and thus "pass the bus test." Nature is not kind to the shy. Individual problem are just problems. Anybody can consult from anywhere if they can make a living that way. Otherwise, nobody cares about homebodies. Never project socials problems or commute logistics as values or virtues. Skunkworks remains the model for focus and shared responsibility. Software is not the deliverable. Tools and answers are the deliverables.

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#217

Post by ryandrake »

ransom1538 wrote: post #82
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…

"Working remotely requires the participants to be much more communicative because in such a setting communication for the most part doesn't just happen serendipitously, you have to work to make it happen. " Yes. Having managed remote teams and being a remote dev, it's all about response time . If someone slacks you, the response should be as quick as if it were verbal in the office. If it takes 2 hours to get a respo…

I think you're on to one of the major points. It would be great if companies could run entirely on asynchronous communication. Companies who do this well, and job functions that jive with asynchronous communication, can more easily support remote work. At some companies and with some jobs though, it's totally impossible.

When Mr. Exec wants a status update, and he wants it RIGHT FUCKING NOW. I'm not going to E-mail you and hope that your inbox doesn't have 10,000 other unread messages, or text you and hope you respond. I have to physically hoof it over to where you sit, apologize for interrupting, and get the info Mr. Exec needs. That's hard to do remotely.

If I know in advance I need a response about some topic, sure, try async first. If the deadline's a day out, E-mail, if it's an hour out, text or IM. But, after that if you don't respond, I've got to be the bad guy, break your concentration, and call you. And, if you don't pick up, I'm headed to where you are physically.

If your company culture embraces remote work it also must embrace responsiveness and a communication style that clearly conveys when responses are needed.

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#218

Post by jamisteven »

I imagine in the future employees will be given a stipend to use at places like WeWork etc... as the cost dynamic just wont workout for the amount of extra work they are getting out of people by them coming into a giant downtown office that costs millions every year to keep the lights on. Especially in areas like programming where solitude is necessary for creativity.

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#219

Post by jablan »

blunte wrote: post #32
dagw wrote: post #9

Because 'we' prefer it? I like going into the office. The morning walk to the office with its clear demarcation between work and not work, the ritual of grabbing a coffee in the morning with some colleagues and catching up on what's happening in their projects even if they're not directly related to anything I'm working on, having a dedicated space and a dedicated computer that's just for work, all those little thing…

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!

Any commute is a commute. And if the only possible commute is driving 60+ minutes, citizens should seriously consider changing their city (in both meanings of the verb), rather than pretending a virtual workspace is as good as real one.

Re: Why Do We Still Commute?

#220

Post by PeterStuer »

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.

Hence the massive burnout / dropout rate?
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