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People love working remotely

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Re: People love working remotely

#161

Post by libria »

throwaway242221 wrote: post #30

I "love" it in the sense that I can get paid while watching Netflix, playing games and do whatever I want. I instantly start slacking off and all my working hours become a game to make it look like I'm working when I'm not. This doesn't happen when I'm in a office where I'm "forced" to work. Yeah, you can slack off at the office as well but why? I obviously can't do any meaningful leisure activities there. And yes, i…

If remote work proponents want remote work to become a thing, downvoting the parent into oblivion doesn't make their case to the managers and Marissa Mayers out there who are against it. Address the concerns that some people are far more productive on-site. Pretending it's a non-issue doesn't help and it is often not an easy thing to police.

It's not as simple as "don't hire/work with those people" either, because we don't always have full control over that.

Re: People love working remotely

#162

Post by Consultant32452 »

dustinmoris wrote: post #51
g051051 wrote: post #16

I was full-time WFH for 6 wonderful years. I was happy, my productivity was off the charts, I was saving tons of money because I didn't have to spend it on my car and clothes, I had extra time that I wasn't wasting on my commute, etc. Then, we had a big shake-up. A bunch of senior people left, and new "leadership" came in to "transform" our workplace. All WFH was cancelled in our division (in spite of still being off…

> The big boss said "a 15 minute fact-to-face is better than a multi-day email chain" I can't believe that people who are so out of touch with reality are still given so much responsibility at companies which they effectively unknowingly misuse to make everyone's life miserable. There's nothing wrong about a multi day email chain. Sometimes it's the best communication tool, because non-critical/important things can b…

I get 100+ emails per day. I'm almost certainly not reading the multi day email chain unless someone IMs me to ask for my input on it.

Re: People love working remotely

#163

Post by okmokmz »

throwaway242221 wrote: post #30

I "love" it in the sense that I can get paid while watching Netflix, playing games and do whatever I want. I instantly start slacking off and all my working hours become a game to make it look like I'm working when I'm not. This doesn't happen when I'm in a office where I'm "forced" to work. Yeah, you can slack off at the office as well but why? I obviously can't do any meaningful leisure activities there. And yes, i…

That's an issue with yourself, whether it be work ethic, motivation, or otherwise, not an issue with remote work

Re: People love working remotely

#164

Post by swozey »

gexla wrote: post #67

This piece has the feeling of being written by "every Friday is Hawaiian T-shirt day" after his employer went all remote and he needed a new task. I have worked remotely more than not and it's not ideal. I suspect that if teleportation machines existed, then remote work wouldn't be a thing. Once you leave the office for the day (or leave the house to go to the office) then the logistical problems start (where do I fi…

> Once you leave the office for the day (or leave the house to go to the office) then the logistical problems start (where do I find an affordable place to live.)

Ironically I spend most of my time wondering about this WHILE living inside the big city and how my money would go so much further and I'd be far happier on quiet land somewhere than packed like sardines with tons of foot and car traffic constantly looking down 15 blocks for "an affordable place to live" where I have to give a days notice about moving in before it's scooped up by someone else..

Re: People love working remotely

#165

Post by LeonM »

nostalgk wrote: post #53
spurdoman77 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Videoconferencing is OK, but it is still common to have issues with it. Bad image quality, setup by lowest common denominator etc. Often you use that 15 minutes just by trying to make it work properly.

Yeah, agreed. Even places I've worked with wonderful internal IT still have problem users who can't figure videoconferencing, or have damaged/misconfigured their device in a way that prevents it. It often comes down to the one person who actually knows the specific flavor of videoconferencing walking around and fixing everything for everyone, and everyone remote just mumbling and leaving the meeting. As I work at an…

Video conferencing is a problem that cannot be solved with software alone. I like to call it the 'last meter problem', as video conference issues are almost always caused by crappy consumer grade equipment.

Wireless routers are the biggest culprit. Convince people to use a wired connection and be amazed how much better video conferencing suddenly becomes.

Re: People love working remotely

#166

Post by wilsonnb3 »

patagonia wrote: post #121

To those complaining about the commute. You’re complaining about city and transportation architecture, not workplace design. We are social creatures. I don’t understand the complete lack of addressing the issue: 8 hours a day I’m cut off from people except virtually. Prisons that force virtual visitation are criticized for this exact issue.

> Prisons that force virtual visitation are criticized for this exact issue.

Well, yeah, there is a difference between forcing everyone to do something and letting people choose to do something.

Re: People love working remotely

#167

Post by jackmodern »

eloff wrote: post #133
g051051 wrote: post #16

I was full-time WFH for 6 wonderful years. I was happy, my productivity was off the charts, I was saving tons of money because I didn't have to spend it on my car and clothes, I had extra time that I wasn't wasting on my commute, etc. Then, we had a big shake-up. A bunch of senior people left, and new "leadership" came in to "transform" our workplace. All WFH was cancelled in our division (in spite of still being off…

Time to find a new job. I've worked fully remote my whole career, first by necessity and then by choice. There are lots of companies out there.

how do you find those companies?

Re: People love working remotely

#168

Post by jdavis703 »

What I hate is being lonely. They're shutting down our offices for cost savings. As such I've basically been straight work from home.

Working from home reminds me of the isolation of being homeschooled. I love having the flexibility to work remote on certain days, for example when I need to bang out a bunch of code. But, having a place to interact with people is invaluable for me.

I imagine countless others feel the same way, hence why companies still see offices as having value. So, for all the remote work evangelists on here: what do you do to counteract isolation?

Re: People love working remotely

#169

Post by anonymous_ch »

jdavis703 wrote: post #168

What I hate is being lonely. They're shutting down our offices for cost savings. As such I've basically been straight work from home. Working from home reminds me of the isolation of being homeschooled. I love having the flexibility to work remote on certain days, for example when I need to bang out a bunch of code. But, having a place to interact with people is invaluable for me. I imagine countless others feel the…

Couldn't agree more. Flexibility is amazing, but loneliness creeps in all too often.

Re: People love working remotely

#170

Post by malvosenior »

patagonia wrote: post #121

To those complaining about the commute. You’re complaining about city and transportation architecture, not workplace design. We are social creatures. I don’t understand the complete lack of addressing the issue: 8 hours a day I’m cut off from people except virtually. Prisons that force virtual visitation are criticized for this exact issue.

If you have a family it means you get to spend the day socializing with people you really want to be around (spouse, kids...) instead of your coworkers (some of whom I may want to be around, but not really for most of them).

I also absolutely hate working with people who think that work is a place to get all of their social engagement. I don't need any more friends and I definitely don't need any out of work socialization with my co-workers or during work time that looks like socialization (parties, events...).

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