38% of remote workers work from bed • Hacker News Board

Re: 38% of remote workers work from bed

#351

Post by bluGill » Fri, Jul 30, 2021, 5:14 PM UTC

marcosdumay wrote: post #312

bluGill wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Scrum isn't bad, but there are better agile processes. Most people doing scrum don't really do retrospectives and make changes to the process. In a large company this isn't really reasonable as there needs to be some process in common with each team, and the processes you most need to change in scrum are the ones that can only be changed if every team does it at once. I favor kanban processes - it locks in less at an…

Your thinking is part of the problem. Agile is rooted on focusing on people. Make a group of good people and empower them and they will create a process that works well. Also on the cases the process fail, they will change it. But if you go and decide the process, that's more than half the way towards a failure already.

What you propose works in a small organization - which is the type of place where scrum was created and works well. In a large organization there would be too many people trying to make conflicting changes for that to work. Any individual change might be good, but they conflict and nobody can track what you are supposed to do now. That is why large organizations are so hard to change.

Agile focusing on people is a good thing. People are number one, but agile has always acknowledged the roll of processes.

Re: 38% of remote workers work from bed

#352

Post by novok » Fri, Jul 30, 2021, 5:16 PM UTC

mojuba wrote: post #125

scarecrowbob wrote: post #77

I've been working remote for about 10 years. I've had "real" offices. I've worked in open-plan offices. I've had a home office. I've worked from bed. There are tons of good ways to do it. Lately I swap between a kitchen table and a chair on my porch. I no longer use multiple screens, I've just gotten really fast at swapping windows on my 15" laptop; I've gotten good at figuring out how wide my terminal window breaks…

That's work from home brilliantly summarized, very true. However, I have my doubts about productivity in smaller teams and startups. Being in the same space physically I think speeds up a lot of things. In small teams and esp. at early stage startups your whole day is a meeting where things are discussed and resolved spontaneously. Sometimes it is important to have an environment where information is exchanged dynami…

You can reproduce it somewhat with an always open mic & video chat on all sides. I've done it once, it was remarkably effective.

Many people who like remote work although also do not like something like that arrangement although.

Re: 38% of remote workers work from bed

#353

Post by rtkwe » Fri, Jul 30, 2021, 5:18 PM UTC

irjustin wrote: post #76

breput wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surprisingly, "gaming" chairs might be the best, most cost effective option. Ars Technica[1] reviewed a couple gaming chairs from the home office viewpoint. I bought a toned-down style version of the Secretlab Titan chair pretty early in the pandemic and it is way better than my Aeron at work. And the Aeron is way better than any other normal office chair. [1] https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/10/gaming-chair-shoo…

Wow that's a tall claim because Aeron and the Steelcase leap are the gotos. I was always skeptical of gaming chairs long duration sitting solutions but maybe i'll head to a local store and give it a try.

I think the consensus is they're a great option on the lower end of the price range. Steelcase, Herman Miller, et al are usually much more expensive than the Secret Labs making gaming chairs. You might have trouble finding a store stocking them though to try out, afaik they don't generally have any retail presence.

Re: 38% of remote workers work from bed

#354

Post by ddek » Fri, Jul 30, 2021, 5:23 PM UTC

edgyquant wrote: post #340

mojuba wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's work from home brilliantly summarized, very true. However, I have my doubts about productivity in smaller teams and startups. Being in the same space physically I think speeds up a lot of things. In small teams and esp. at early stage startups your whole day is a meeting where things are discussed and resolved spontaneously. Sometimes it is important to have an environment where information is exchanged dynami…

I work remote at an early stage startup, I’m not sure you’re right. It might be faster to work together but only by the amount of time it takes to type. We’re on slack talking all day and have video meeting when needed. We work fast as it is so I’m not sure we’d gain much by being in person (other than social stimulation.)

I work on site in an early stage startup, and I think it's about commitment to a communication model.

We have a 2x2 grid. On the top we have 'in person' and 'remote'. Down the side we have 'synchronous' and 'asynchronous'. I've worked in companies trying all five (yes) of these combinations. This is my experience.

- in person, synchronous: everything happens in meetings. Business likes the certainty of meetings, engineering doesn't like the disruption. With the right accommodations, most people are content.

- in person, asynchronous: everyone's in the office, and no-one knows why. The CEO offers vague maritime platitudes.

- remote, synchronous: "can you go on mute" now causes a company-wide gag reflex. Everyone's happy because they can apply for new jobs without being noticed. (Seriously, the company I worked in that did this had absurd turnover, for this reason.)

- remote, asynchronous: engineers contribute to discussion when they have time. Hotshot managers want there ideas validated now, though. Despite this contention, most people are happy.

- hybrid: A cabal has formed in the office. Finally, it formalizes when a Jira account named 'Office' appears. When a remote worker creates an issue, the cabal convenes to decide a response. There is no room for negotiation. Gradually, the remote staff evaporate. Only the hive mind remains.

Re: 38% of remote workers work from bed

#355

Post by rtkwe » Fri, Jul 30, 2021, 5:24 PM UTC

osigurdson wrote: post #81

ashtonkem wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the issue with “hybrid” work. You either live somewhere where you can afford an office, or somewhere where the commute is bearable. Living somewhere where you have a dedicated office and the commute isn’t hell is a very expensive proposition in most American cities.

Agree. WFH a couple of days a week is largely nonsensical. Employers still need to pay for office space. Employees need dedicated work space in their homes and additional equipment while still needing to be located relatively close to the office.

If people's work from home days aren't coordinated it can save a lot of per worker real estate because you can go to floating desks so you only need to accommodate peak attendance instead of having a single desk for every person. The schedule can be adapted to team needs too so that people working together are in the office on the same days so they can take advantage of in person collaboration when needed.

Re: 38% of remote workers work from bed

#356

Post by gmadsen » Fri, Jul 30, 2021, 5:26 PM UTC

aledalgrande wrote: post #348

gmadsen wrote: post #320

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never understand the ability to work on a laptop. For me it would be a significant blow to my productivity. How do people do it? I have 3 full monitors, one for running 10 or so processes that I can glance at stdout, then the other two monitors for having many different editor files open, numerous data plots, and multiple reference guides open, etc.

Virtual desktops and 3 finger swipes for me too. I cannot understand how having multiple apps visible helps, because you have to continuously switch your eye focus and if you have distracting apps like Slack in your field it's even worse. So laptop with 1 window maximized is the best for me. And the mobility that it allows: move to the sofa, armchair, cafe, I even deployed from a taxi. I tried to buy and use external…

thinking about it, I'm probably really biased. I do robotics, so live analysis of sensors, processed data output running on a real platform as well as involved simulations is part of my process. I need to be able to glance at data and plots quickly without changing my current screen

Re: 38% of remote workers work from bed

#357

Post by rtkwe » Fri, Jul 30, 2021, 5:27 PM UTC

ashtonkem wrote: post #234

lazyresearcher wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can have a full office everyday if half of the company WFH part of the week and the other half the other part.

At the cost of drastically lowered productivity per person due to hot desking, and not having the space for an all hands.

Do you mean an 'all hands on deck' emergency or an all hands meeting? If the latter that's a problem with an event space not of desk space. If it's the former you rarely actually need everyone present and it's unlikely every department will be needed at once unless the whole company is failing and even then people can work remotely for those too.

Re: 38% of remote workers work from bed

#358

Post by rtkwe » Fri, Jul 30, 2021, 5:30 PM UTC

legerdemain wrote: post #60

pat2man wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In which case employers should just increase wages to take into account how much is saved on office space. Then workers might be able to afford larger houses or apartments.

Wouldn't landlords just raise the rent to compensate?

If the person is working remotely they have a much larger market to look for. If every white collar/knowledge worker suddenly got all the office budget and went to work from home you'd see big shocks but it could be spread throughout the country not just in cities. Of course there'd be a huge new market opportunity for turning the suddenly empty office buildings into apartments or something too.

Re: 38% of remote workers work from bed

#359

Post by tartoran » Fri, Jul 30, 2021, 5:43 PM UTC

pimlottc wrote: post #313

tartoran wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I jump on a rebounder a couple of times a day, nothing like your setup but it seems to improve my wellbeing. The rest of my time is unfortunately quite sedentary, I tried working while standing but for some reason it didn’t work out for me. But now im thinking that standing and walking are quite different. You made me think about getting a thredmill...

Google tells me a rebounder is a kind of mini-trampoline? What do you do with it?

Yes, it is a mini trampoline of around 4 feet in diameter, it doesn't have springs but bungee cords so it doesn't make any sound when you jump on it and the jump is quite a bit smoother. I jump on it in sessions of 10 minutes, and it feels like a very convenient and fun cardio. Jumping somehow works out your whole body and it supposedly helps with lymphatic fluid drainage - actually , any kind of movement or sport does help with that but having a sedentary lifestyle affects it heavily. It is a good general exercise and very convenient to do in the confines of your own home. Oh, and jumping on it feels effortless while it actually does work out your body quite well, when you stop jumping it does feel like you had a workout. Of course towards the end of the session the heart and breathing rates goes up. I really like it.

Re: 38% of remote workers work from bed

#360

Post by 8note » Fri, Jul 30, 2021, 5:50 PM UTC

obedm wrote: post #176

metb wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Who's going to write the fine-detail code if they whole day is a meeting? Reminds me of the time I worked at an early stage startup. I used to take official vacation time, and disappear from company collaboration tools to get real work done.

I find this incredibly sad for many reasons. Taking time off to work for the company that doesn't let you work for them during normal work hours. The irony is so strong but I understand the sentiment and why you'd do it

Doesn't let you do the work that you want to do*

The thinking and talking is still work