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Remote Only

remoteonly.org

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Re: Remote Only

#221

Post by scalesolved »

jaggederest wrote: post #128
toomanybeersies wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Salary should be scaled in part by cost of living, otherwise it's unfair to people in high COL countries. Gitlab does this when calculating salary [1] for their employees. It seems only fair to me. [1] https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/people-operations/global-c...

Why is it fair to subsidize people to live in high cost of living locations?

Probably best to rent a postal box in the Vatican City, collect that sweet super high pay check and actually live somewhere cheaper :)

Re: Remote Only

#222

Post by throwawaymath »

amorphous wrote: post #212
minipci1321 wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it boils down to the ability to be an effective writer. effective reader too. One should be able to quickly make sense out of several hunbdreds of email messages, otherwise it will end up in "synchronous mode" -- dozen of messaging windows opened at every moment.

so true. I have a business partner that I can talk to very effective in person. I had to relocate, and now we have to deal mostly via email. I have been working remotely for ten years now and saw no problem with the change. But it has become disastrous. I figured out that he is just not an "email type". Only picking up the phone works with him, but this does not fit into my workflow. I'm undoing our business partners…

Why doesn't picking up a phone fit into your workflow?

Re: Remote Only

#223

Post by inertiatic »

mmt wrote: post #203
inertiatic wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always do both and it feels extremely weird to see people not actually do it. In between bathroom breaks at work I've touched my desk, keyboard, smartphone screen, perhaps adjusted my shoes, perhaps shook someones hand. By that time, hands already feel filthy enough to not want to touch myself anywhere before washing.

I suspect that's where you may be crossing over into an irrational fear of dirt and/or germs, which can lead to, at the very least, people being dismissive of concerns. After all, your desk, keyboard, smartphone screen, and even shoes aren't likely to be places other people have touched, so not much potential for spreading anything. Shaking hands, though.. filthy habit ;)

Your keyboard is filthy, but your fingers aren't really the best bet for germs to infect you, unless you put them in an orifice or touch some skinless area probably. I'll avoid further details.

But yes, I'm not suggesting that not washing your hands all the time greatly increase your likelihood of getting infected with something. Just slightly. I just have slight OCD and it's still weird to me how people don't feel anywhere close to the same way I do about these things.

Re: Remote Only

#224

Post by rolae »

SigmundA wrote: post #216

Doesn't seem to be much discussion about the environmental impact of remote work. Lately I have been feeling how ridiculous it is for me to drive everyday to a office and sit at a computer then drive home. So inefficient from an energy usage perspective. I see so many jobs that could easily be remote if people could deal with the issues outlined here. Imagine the difference in traffic and office space if every job th…

There is a company in Switzerland that is trying to get companies stop having their own offices, instead offer to employees the possibility to work in their local town / village in coworking spaces that they connect to the network.

To work at home is not for everyone, it can be lonely, you might not have an extra rooms to use as an office. So with their still the employer paying for your office and for all the infrastructure you need.

http://www.villageoffice.ch/en/the-coworking-network/

Re: Remote Only

#225

Post by detaro »

toomanybeersies wrote: post #106
allday wrote: post #18

> Save on compensation due to hiring in lower cost regions Pay people what they're worth regardless of where they live. If you have a developer in Nigeria or Ukraine or Vietnam that is as equally capable as a developer in the Bay Area, they should be paid the same. Doing otherwise, at best, perpetuates Western hegemony, and at worst is simply racism.

Salary should be scaled in part by cost of living, otherwise it's unfair to people in high COL countries. Gitlab does this when calculating salary [1] for their employees. It seems only fair to me. [1] https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/people-operations/global-c...

Gotta say, cutting pay just because someone moves feels icky.

Re: Remote Only

#226

Post by toomanybeersies »

jaggederest wrote: post #164
toomanybeersies wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because otherwise, after COL, you might only save $10k per year in a developed country, and $30k per year in a developing country. That would be just as lopsided and unfair to your remote workers as paying them all market rate, so that your employees in developed countries get paid $80k per year and your employees in India get paid $8k per year. Or do you expect your developers in America to relocate to India?

Why not subsidize everyone's lifestyle so they all save the same amount of money, regardless of spending? Would you pay more money for the exact same product made in a different city? How is hiring developers different?

Well, I think the idea is meant to be that you get the best developers possible, regardless of where they are, while still trying to keep expenses minimal.

Re: Remote Only

#227

Post by distances »

inertiatic wrote: post #223
mmt wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect that's where you may be crossing over into an irrational fear of dirt and/or germs, which can lead to, at the very least, people being dismissive of concerns. After all, your desk, keyboard, smartphone screen, and even shoes aren't likely to be places other people have touched, so not much potential for spreading anything. Shaking hands, though.. filthy habit ;)

Your keyboard is filthy, but your fingers aren't really the best bet for germs to infect you, unless you put them in an orifice or touch some skinless area probably. I'll avoid further details. But yes, I'm not suggesting that not washing your hands all the time greatly increase your likelihood of getting infected with something. Just slightly. I just have slight OCD and it's still weird to me how people don't feel a…

I guess I don't see the risk? It's been close to 20 years since I last had a stomach flu, and never got salmonella yet. I believe total avoidance of all bacteria is just going to make my immune system more lax.

Don't worry though, I do wash my hands after a bathroom visit. I just don't care that much if someone else doesn't.

Re: Remote Only

#228

Post by Nimitz14 »

jasonkester wrote: post #147
sushisource wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a bit ridiculous. It's not hegemony or racism. It's how markets work. People in those markets have fewer opportunities for highly paid employment. As a result, employers have more leverage in negotiations. It's as simple as that.

It's how markets work. Markets work by paying for value created. I’ve tested extensively, and found that I’m equally capable of writing code on a beach in Thailand as in a felt cube in California. I’ll grant that there is a Cost of Living difference between those places, but I would prefer that difference to be captured by me rather than somebody else’s company. It’s me doing the work and creating the value, so that…

> Markets work by paying for value created.

That is not completely true. Market pay also depends on demand and supply. When I was 19 I got 20 Euro an hour (tax free!) doing some CAD work not because of my skills (they were pathetic), but because a large project of a small company depended on some CAD work being done and he (the boss) couldn't find anyone to do it (part-time, for half a year only, very simple work on a shitty laptop were some reasons why I can imagine he had problems). As a test I was asked to draw a line and give it a specific colour in AutoCAD, that was it!

Re: Remote Only

#229

Post by tom_mellior »

AstralStorm wrote: post #198
tom_mellior wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So pay the developer $20k per year or pay them $100k? If they bring you $20k worth of value, pay them $20k. If they bring you $100k worth of value, pay them $100k. Would it suck to be a developer in San Francisco on the same salary as your colleague in India? Sure, but nobody forces you to live in San Francisco. > If the latter, or anywhere between, then we'll just see developers move to the cheapest, lowest tax co…

> Nobody forces you to live in San Francisco Spoken like a person without a family or property who is fine with moving to India in a heartbeat. Do you even know Indian culture? Languages? How to actually acquire a decent living place in there? It is an existential risk. A pretty big one. You could end up on street or worse. Alleviating this risk takes negligible resources and quite a lot of time.

Sigh. Just because I mentioned San Francisco and India in the same post, that doesn't mean that I believe that those are the only two places on Earth. Get out a map, find a place you like, figure out if there is one that is not San Francisco but might still be acceptable to you. There isn't? Not even elsewhere in the southern US? OK, stay in San Francisco. You have my permission, which apparently you need.

But if you're interested, I do have experience migrating to new places where I had to learn new languages.

Re: Remote Only

#230

Post by innocentoldguy »

chpmrc wrote: post #21
hartator wrote: post #6

> Disadvantages > Scares investors - Scares some partners - Scares some customers - Scares some potential employees, mostly senior non-technical hires - Onboarding is harder, first month feels lonely We do a full remote policy at SerpApi.com, however I found this disadvantages list a bit dishonest, they are more way numerous and important, the most obvious are missing real human contacts (and it doesn't get easier wi…

This assumes that the only place a remote worker can work from is their home. There is nothing more detrimental to a person's psyche. Cafes and coworking spaces are the most obvious and effective solution to this problem. I made countless friends while working remotely and a good 90% of them I met in a coworking space (and the so called "digital nomad" community is made of some really awesome people). Plus you have t…

This hasn't been my experience. I have worked remotely for years and I don't miss the open-office environments in the least. For me, nothing is more detrimental to my psyche and health than an open-office environment. I guess we all have different needs.
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