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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?

#161
post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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? Definitely not. 1. I am not fond of drinking with workmates. An occasional, incidental, one-on-one or not much more: OK. In groups ("teams"): no thanks, this isn't school, we are not students, so no pseudo school party. 2. I abhor having drinks with people who have any kind of hierarchical po…

>> 2. I abhor having drinks with people who have any kind of hierarchical power upon me. Funny thing is the opposite isn't great either. I've seen a startup that likes doing this. Except all the decision-makers are in SF, not at the field office. So HH at the field office means none of the participants have any real power to see your passion, hear your ideas, or conversely for you to learn from their wisdom. It is st…

> Except all the decision-makers are in SF, not at the field office. So HH at the field office means none of the participants have any real power to see your passion, hear your ideas, or conversely for you to learn from their wisdom.

My experience has been that the opportunity to actually learn from people’s wisdom has little to do with their heirarchical position, though the opportunity to suck up by making a show of “learning from their wisdom” might.

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

#162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for answering. I ask because I have this theory that there is a correlation between employees who don't mind working more to make stock to go up if they have stock. It's never a simple analysis. I don't mind working more for a deadline if I recognize a tangible increase in revenue or cost savings, as I benefit from the stock. "Gave away" is an interesting term. In our company, stock is 10-40% of our compens…

There's a term that's used "not real money", and the stock-as-compensation is an example. There are plenty of examples of people working their asses off on the hope/promise/gamble that it will be rewarded with a high stock price and then the stock not reaching those soaring heights or worse the company runs out of runway and the stock is worthless. Now those people realize they were making a lot less money than they…

That's fair. But my kids don't have to work a day in their lives because of my stock as compensation, so there's always a counterpoint, I suppose.

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

#163
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't mind working in a different place than at home, but I've grown accustomed to having a 27" screen, and having to switch to using just the 13" screen of my work laptop would drive me bonkers. Perhaps one day when rollable monitors are a common thing and I can carry a 27" scroll screen in a poster tube...

yeah all you people who Absolutely Require a giant screen, or multiple ones, are stuck at desks. Me, I like plugging my laptop into the 24" screen on my desk, but I also like sitting out in a park with birds and cicada singing, so I've got my tools set up for both ways.

I'm guessing you are young and have better eyesight than me. :)

When I was young, I carried a little subnotebook with a 7.1" screen and really enjoyed it. Now I have to hold my phone at a certain exact distance, too close and it's burry, too far and it's blurry. I had to use the 13" work laptop for a few weeks without an external monitor and it was painful, the screen was small enough that I have to lean in to see the text, but then I am too close and so I have to squint. I could crank up the font size, but then the screen doesn't show very much. Having the 27" external monitor means that I can sit at a comfortable distance and crank the magnification up so that everything is legible.

Be careful. One day, this might happen to you too. :D

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

#164
post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I have 30+ food allergies that developed as an adult (which includes alcohol). Yes, it's ridiculous. I literally cannot eat food that isn't prepared by me from a hilariously small and ever-shrinking list of approved ingredients. I also can't prepare food more than a day in advance due to a histamine intolerance (food grows in histamine count as it sits in the fridge), so roughly 50% of my free time is spent cooking,…

thank you for your eloquence and honesty and bravery. I wish more folks on HN would attempt to write like this..me included. don't stop.

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

#165
post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I have 30+ food allergies that developed as an adult (which includes alcohol). Yes, it's ridiculous. I literally cannot eat food that isn't prepared by me from a hilariously small and ever-shrinking list of approved ingredients. I also can't prepare food more than a day in advance due to a histamine intolerance (food grows in histamine count as it sits in the fridge), so roughly 50% of my free time is spent cooking,…

Thanks for writing this.

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

#166
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Closer team’s performance is probably higher than teams that don’t socialize together

The keyword here is "probably"

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

#167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

nope. i've never worked for a company that gave away stock. i also never wear the swag t-shirts/hoodies that companies give out to employees (or worse sell). why?

Thank you for answering. I ask because I have this theory that there is a correlation between employees who don't mind working more to make stock to go up if they have stock. It's never a simple analysis. I don't mind working more for a deadline if I recognize a tangible increase in revenue or cost savings, as I benefit from the stock. "Gave away" is an interesting term. In our company, stock is 10-40% of our compens…

Like half my comp right now is stock, and I don't want to work more. I don't think anything I do makes a difference. Do you really think anything you do makes a difference? If so, curious how or why? Its a coin flip how the price moves every earnings ime. More profit, more users, stock drops. Its all speculation from investors.

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

#168

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…

Custom Team Portraits are also a nice personal thoughtful touch. Either sprinkled around the office and/or at home: https://POPteam.io

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

#169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

But at least HH on time allocated from work does not demand more time from the participants, which is a win.

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

#170
post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stop assuming people like to drink.

I mean, I think most people do like to drink? Am I wrong? I know I like to drink.

Most people around you might.

There are people who don't like to drink and there are people who are not allowed to drink due to their believe/health problem. And they are not minority-minority in some places

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