I think it's solvable with better technology (something like Facebook's Horizon Workrooms), but at the same it seems very far.
The effects of remote work on collaboration among information workers
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Re: The effects of remote work on collaboration among information workers
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
maybe that's the price they're willing to pay for whatever benefits they get from remote work, and maybe they're missing out on what they consider bad things more than good, everyone is different.
An issue is remote people may be at a disadvantage because they are remote and therefore may suffer consequences of not being in the office (visibility, chit chat, camaraderie, etc.) but they (we, or some portion) may feel they are unfairly suffering from unequal opportunity. On the other hand, they/we specifically have made the choice to be remote despite the inherent disadvantages (and also advantages though in ano…
Re: The effects of remote work on collaboration among information workers
#13People need to stop fetishizing "breaking down silos" and "serendipitous hallway encounters" and all that nonsense and think about the big picture.
You're more likely to have something worth saying, and a work product worth talking about, if you aren't wasting time on your commute and shooting the shit in the office.
Re: The effects of remote work on collaboration among information workers
#14> over the first six months of 2020
Those first six months were pretty rough. The large majority of people had little to no experience working remotely, so many folks didn't have a good home office environment, and there was a general sense of being unsure if this would just be temporary or if employees should settle in for the long haul. Many orgs didn't have good practices set up for remote work yet, and people were still struggling a lot with the tools (say what you want about MS Teams, but they improved their product by leaps and bounds over the pandemic, much of which after the first 6 months).
I'd be interested in a follow-up that analyzes the same time period but for 2021.
Re: The effects of remote work on collaboration among information workers
#15Re: The effects of remote work on collaboration among information workers
#16Re: The effects of remote work on collaboration among information workers
#17The key thing is here: > over the first six months of 2020 Those first six months were pretty rough. The large majority of people had little to no experience working remotely, so many folks didn't have a good home office environment, and there was a general sense of being unsure if this would just be temporary or if employees should settle in for the long haul. Many orgs didn't have good practices set up for remote w…
Now it's different - remote hires are expected to have a decent working environment (either at home or elsewhere at their own expense).
Re: The effects of remote work on collaboration among information workers
#18Next paper from these guys will say: "the shift from an open office plan to private offices caused work to become more siloed. Previous research shows this may impede the flow of information through the network" People need to stop fetishizing "breaking down silos" and "serendipitous hallway encounters" and all that nonsense and think about the big picture. You're more likely to have something worth saying, and a wor…
Random encounters that create value sound good. It sounds less good when you flip this logic, and ask whether the reliance on randomness is a function of weak information-sharing within formal structures. It is easier to break down silos if you put this online, then there is genuine sharing. That is what the internet is for.
Re: The effects of remote work on collaboration among information workers
#19This fits my experience pretty well. The available communication tools suck so much, people are for the most part not used to communicate effectively / frequently enough in remote setting. I think it's solvable with better technology (something like Facebook's Horizon Workrooms), but at the same it seems very far.
Re: The effects of remote work on collaboration among information workers
#20This implies that innovation is somehow a formalized process.