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

newyorker.com

61–70 of 260 posts

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

#61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then do it during work hours, and everyone wins.

Seriously this is the best solution. Instead of after work, do a (virtual or not) HH at 3 on Friday. People don’t have to donate free time and will appreciate it much more.

I'd still bet that many people would rather just go home early on a Friday. I know I would.

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

#62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An underlying issues nobody is talking about is real estate prices need to crash then. The quality of life outside a city is just so unbelievably better that I'm not going back to live in a box for hundreds of dollars a month, on a filthy street with no sense of community.

Quality of life outside the big city is better? Do you mean in the suburbs? Or in a small town? Or in a village? Or in the wilderness in a cabin?

Yes, all of those things are better than living in cities.

Less noise, less crowding, less violence and crime, more space, more peace, and more friendliness.

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

#63

"Here’s my proposal: organizations that allow remote work should not only encourage these employees to find professional spaces near (but distinct from) their homes—they should also directly subsidize these cognitive escapes. The cost need not be prohibitive. If we turn back to our author examples, we see that a workspace doesn’t need to be aesthetically pleasing, or well-equipped, or air-conditioned (or even have wa…

I could not imagine taking anyone seriously who says I should leave my air conditioned house, comfy office set up exactly how I like it, for "that a workspace doesn’t need to be aesthetically pleasing, or well-equipped, or air-conditioned (or even have walls or a roof!"

Unreal. The disconnect here is just shocking.

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

#64
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.

Writing software in most companies is a team endeavor. If you can't handle interacting with others on a daily basis, find another industry. Better yet, start your own company.

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

#65
post #23

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…

The kind of happy hour you are describing is great and one of the things I miss about the office. Chilling with your tight knit team after a long day or a big release is great. I assume the GP is talking about the other sort of happy hour where it is a bigger crowd. I can’t stand those.

I've worked with teams that worked well together and got stuff done, at work. But never wanted to hang out after work with anyone. We all had different lives. Some single, some married, some with kids, some not, etc. At the end of the day everyone just wants to go home to his or her private life.

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

#66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quality of life outside the big city is better? Do you mean in the suburbs? Or in a small town? Or in a village? Or in the wilderness in a cabin?

Yes, all of those things are better than living in cities. Less noise, less crowding, less violence and crime, more space, more peace, and more friendliness.

The friendliness thing is hit and miss, small communities have their own brand of dysfunctions.

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

#67
post #42

I wouldn't have a problem, but I do feel there's an undercurrent of these kind of "You can't be productive actually at home" articles I'm reading. I wonder if WeWork are pushing these :)

Of course companies will push whatever agenda suits them and websites will push anything that gets clicks. But there are people who genuinely feel this way (I'm one of them).

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

#68
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Writing software in most companies is a team endeavor. If you can't handle interacting with others on a daily basis, find another industry. Better yet, start your own company.

There is a huge difference between working on a team and the team essentially acting as a replacement for your social life.

I love working on a team. I don't want to spend my free time with them. That's what my friends are for.

Sometimes people from the team become friends that I spend time with outside of work, but that's on my terms not my employers.

It really seems like many people do not have any kind of healthy boundary with their employer.

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

#69

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,…

Now that you can sit in inside spaces without a mask, I feel libraries and cafes are a real alternative for me! And this is me typing from a desk at a public library 10 minutes from my apartment. Can't express the amount of relief and joy I feel right now

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

#70

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".

As long as the work gets done, why does it matter?
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