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Is going to the office a broken way of working?

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Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#11

Post by jedberg »

My friend runs a company that is remote first in the way described here. They have employees all over the world, but they all get together at some random place on the planet (pre-covid) about once every two months.

The employees love it because of all the free trips around the world (and often tie their vacation to the beginning or end of a meeting so they can explore that place on their own) and it's great for the company because they can hire talent all over the world.

It also makes their in person time far more productive because everyone puts effort into planning that time for effectiveness and everyone knows that they only have limited time together and have to make the most of it.

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#12

Post by nappy-doo »

Ancalagon wrote: post #8

I’m gonna go against the HN grain here and, despite having been fully for remote work for the first year or so of the pandemic, come out and say that life has really gotten a lot more repetitive and frankly disappointing since covid and the death of the office. I kind of miss meeting people in the office. I was in the unfortunate position of having moved to a new city for a new tech job where I knew nobody just seven…

How much of this is fixable though if you could have a normal social calendar? I don't think current circumstances offer a fair comparison.

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#13

Post by notyourwork »

pmontra wrote: post #7

IMHO no even if I've been working from home since 2006 when I became self employed. What's broken is having to go to the office every single day. In my experience before and after starting to work from home there is an absolute need to work face to face either to create some bonds between the team members or with a customer or in those rare phases when you have to create something and you need to go full speed with b…

Our team has started monthly in-person get togethers. We recently went kayaking and had dinner after. Each month we pick someone to plan the next month's activities and use this as a way to bond and realize we are people, not just online aliases. It's worked pretty well now that vaccines and such are readily available and people are becoming more comfortable with in person stuff.

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#14

Post by Ancalagon »

nappy-doo wrote: post #12
Ancalagon wrote: post #8

I’m gonna go against the HN grain here and, despite having been fully for remote work for the first year or so of the pandemic, come out and say that life has really gotten a lot more repetitive and frankly disappointing since covid and the death of the office. I kind of miss meeting people in the office. I was in the unfortunate position of having moved to a new city for a new tech job where I knew nobody just seven…

How much of this is fixable though if you could have a normal social calendar? I don't think current circumstances offer a fair comparison.

true but I mean its been a year and a half since the first lockdowns...this kind of seems like it is the new normal, right?

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#16

Post by malandrew »

Ancalagon wrote: post #8

I’m gonna go against the HN grain here and, despite having been fully for remote work for the first year or so of the pandemic, come out and say that life has really gotten a lot more repetitive and frankly disappointing since covid and the death of the office. I kind of miss meeting people in the office. I was in the unfortunate position of having moved to a new city for a new tech job where I knew nobody just seven…

You need social hobbies on the weekend. I just wish weekends were three days so I got two days for hobbies and one day break for rest, errands and other life necessities.

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#17

Post by jedberg »

Ancalagon wrote: post #8

I’m gonna go against the HN grain here and, despite having been fully for remote work for the first year or so of the pandemic, come out and say that life has really gotten a lot more repetitive and frankly disappointing since covid and the death of the office. I kind of miss meeting people in the office. I was in the unfortunate position of having moved to a new city for a new tech job where I knew nobody just seven…

Isn't that more an effect of your local social scene being shut down though, and not lack of commuting to an office?

If all the local bars/clubs/libraries/whatever you like to do were open, wouldn't that solve the problem?

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#18

Post by wussboy »

codetrotter wrote: post #5
delaaxe wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Working is broken?

The world is broken.

This is unfair. In an uncaring universe, humans have done quite well. The world was never “fixed” for us to break, and it never will be. The fact most of us live in civil societies of any kind is a miracle or the first order.

I get frustrated at this nihilism. A quick trip to any point in the part would reveal how truly lucky we are right now, and would inspire us to drag our sorry species even further from the abyss.

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#19

Post by chrismcb »

Ancalagon wrote: post #8

I’m gonna go against the HN grain here and, despite having been fully for remote work for the first year or so of the pandemic, come out and say that life has really gotten a lot more repetitive and frankly disappointing since covid and the death of the office. I kind of miss meeting people in the office. I was in the unfortunate position of having moved to a new city for a new tech job where I knew nobody just seven…

Working from home during the pandemic is different than working from home during normal times

Re: Is going to the office a broken way of working?

#20

Post by 09bjb »

malandrew wrote: post #16
Ancalagon wrote: post #8

I’m gonna go against the HN grain here and, despite having been fully for remote work for the first year or so of the pandemic, come out and say that life has really gotten a lot more repetitive and frankly disappointing since covid and the death of the office. I kind of miss meeting people in the office. I was in the unfortunate position of having moved to a new city for a new tech job where I knew nobody just seven…

You need social hobbies on the weekend. I just wish weekends were three days so I got two days for hobbies and one day break for rest, errands and other life necessities.

Cramming most socializing into whatever bits of free time are left after hobbies seems unlikely to work for most people.
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