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What if remote work didn’t mean working from home?

newyorker.com

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Re: What if remote work didn’t mean working from home?

#41

I do this exactly. I rented a small apartment very near (fifty meters) from home, declared it my “studio” and set up my workplace. I can work there with my older daughter (studying at home) and my younger daughter (a toddler) is safely separated and home is not a work place. Literally, I don’t have a “computer” at home; only my iPad and a 25 year old Nintendo. 10/10, strongly recommend.

Oh wow. That is cool. What area are you in? I've considered this but I would need to move to a much lower COL area.

Re: What if remote work didn’t mean working from home?

#43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I would reward them with HH and dinner/late meal. Maybe your team would appreciate a $200 gift card instead of HH + dinner/late meal, especially when some people don't drink or prefer healthy meals instead of steakhouses.

Classic HN missing the point of social interaction and the benefits it provides.

Then do it during work hours, and everyone wins.

Re: What if remote work didn’t mean working from home?

#44
I live and work in a 700 square foot apartment (of which too large of a percentage is closet space for my liking). I just discovered that there are two coworking spaces within walking distance; I'm going to see if I can get a reasonable daily rate and shell out a hundred or two a month to go in once or twice a week.

Re: What if remote work didn’t mean working from home?

#45
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Classic HN missing the point of social interaction and the benefits it provides.

Classic comment missing the point that not everyone needs or wants the social interaction with their work mates.

Not everyone of course, and one should be attentive to and accommodating of teammates that feel that way. But surely “let’s knock off at three today and go down the pub, thanks for all the hard work” is a positive for most people?

Re: What if remote work didn’t mean working from home?

#46

This has been my life for years except without the “renting a place” part. I work in cafes. I work in parks. I work sitting on a bench taking shelter from the rain on my way to somewhere else. I work anywhere I have space to take my Wacom tablet out of my bag and plug it into my laptop, and the desire to spend more time working today. I also work at home in my studio but getting away from the distractions of home is,…

> I thought “remote work” already meant this?

Like anything, it's a spectrum. To some people, "travel" means "I drove to the next state over for the afternoon," and to some it means "I am going to this island down by Antarctica that requires getting a special government permit".

Re: What if remote work didn’t mean working from home?

#47
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding the Happy Hours: In 2019, my team would occasionally need to work long hours or would deliver something awesome. I would reward them with HH and dinner/late meal. It gave me a chance to say "thanks" and for us to bond over the challenge we overcame. I can't do that anymore! I've don't virtual HH, but it isn't the same! I would REALLY like a virtual solution to "bond with your team" and "say thanks in a mean…

These things are highly individual. Usually, after crunches and pressures, I tended to be angry at disorganization that caused it and also wanted to go home due to pile of stuff that accumulated there. I get that there were people who appreciated these, but not everyone does. It is one more added duty after you have already done a lot.

Imo, It's people who have no other life or responsibility outside of work that love work organized and paid for events.

And they seem incapable of understanding that other people have better things to do than get wasted at a bar with their coworkers on a weeknight, even if the company is paying for it.

Re: What if remote work didn’t mean working from home?

#48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding the Happy Hours: In 2019, my team would occasionally need to work long hours or would deliver something awesome. I would reward them with HH and dinner/late meal. It gave me a chance to say "thanks" and for us to bond over the challenge we overcame. I can't do that anymore! I've don't virtual HH, but it isn't the same! I would REALLY like a virtual solution to "bond with your team" and "say thanks in a mean…

It can be great to sometimes (!) put in a little more time to reach a goal, deliver something the team wanted to deliver for a long time or improve upon some annoyances in status quo. Working extra hours is not to be expected and should be valued. A team probably works better when extra effort is valued. I think it is great, that you are trying to thank your employees / coworkers.

You can thank employees and coworkers without using their non work time. Do it at lunch.

Re: What if remote work didn’t mean working from home?

#49

As long as I still have a quiet, private office and don't spend an hour+ per day in traffic and am not expected to give up evenings for "not mandatory but really you should show up to play politics" office happy hours, I don't care where I work. Currently working from home gives me all of that and I haven't been happier with a job ever.

Regarding the Happy Hours: In 2019, my team would occasionally need to work long hours or would deliver something awesome. I would reward them with HH and dinner/late meal. It gave me a chance to say "thanks" and for us to bond over the challenge we overcame. I can't do that anymore! I've don't virtual HH, but it isn't the same! I would REALLY like a virtual solution to "bond with your team" and "say thanks in a mean…

What about the occasional company ski trip?

Re: What if remote work didn’t mean working from home?

#50
post #11

At least in spirit, I feel like this idea was WeWork's business model.

Exactly. I wonder if this trend will create a meaningful turnaround for them. What a wild world.

They’re problem was that the land owners can do what they can do pretty easily and cut out the middleman.
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