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Remote-first work is taking over the rich world – research hints at why

economist.com

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Re: Remote-first work is taking over the rich world – research hints at why

#101

Post by rsj_hn »

Aeolun wrote: post #96
shp0ngle wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It depends. The rich countries still prefer to hire in rich countries, because of: * similar timezone/working hours * similar work culture * less language barriers * rich countries still got better skilled workers * less legislative overhead with employments, payments, firing * if you get a really good person in third world, he will in the end cost similarly as good person in first world

> if you get a really good person in third world, he will in the end cost similarly as good person in first world Inevitably. Because a person like that will very quickly move to the first world.

Exactly. Companies will fall over themselves to sponsor a visa. And he will jump at the chance to take it.

Maybe not in 100 years, but right now that's how it is.

Re: Remote-first work is taking over the rich world – research hints at why

#102

Post by jorblumesea »

All you need to do is work with a near on-shore team or an offshore team to dispel you of any notion of remote work being the death of high salaries. Maybe domestic remote work brings salaries down within the US, but the notion that everything is going to Eastern Europe is not accurate if you've ever worked in the field with that setup.

Re: Remote-first work is taking over the rich world – research hints at why

#104

Post by herval »

EMM_386 wrote: post #19

Everyone should keep in mind that water seeks its own level. And think of this on a global scale. I've been working remotely for almost a decade as a senior software engineer. Now, post-Covid, almost everyone realizes they can do the same. Salaries are going to drop in the "rich world", and it's not just because people are now fleeing places like SF/SV to lower cost of living areas. We are also beginning to compete g…

> The gold rush days may be over.

Maybe in the "rich world", but not globally :-) I've been hearing lots and lots of stories of growing salaries across places that were historically underpaid (Brazil, Portugal, Berlin, etc) - maybe we'll have a thousand gold rushes, as the water level rises to meet the "rich world" levels!

Re: Remote-first work is taking over the rich world – research hints at why

#105

Post by truffdog »

icelancer wrote: post #49
ZephyrBlu wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would tend to agree, but there are large cultural differences as well which I don't think are easily overcome.

The problem is that cultural differences are most often in conflict during lots of communication, especially face to face in meetings and so forth. The more you eliminate synchronous communication, in-person interaction, and office work... the less those cultural differences are going to matter.

I don't think thats true, having worked with teams in Russia, Belgium, and India. The cultural differences can be a huge deal and sink projects.

Re: Remote-first work is taking over the rich world – research hints at why

#106

Post by hnxs »

EMM_386 wrote: post #93
spsoto wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is different because Covid-19 has shown to everyone that they can do their jobs remotely. Citation needed.

> Citation needed. We're on HN, a technology site. Many of us have realized we can do our jobs the exact same way as we did before. I'm not talking about construction workers, police, fast food, etc. I'm not sure this needs a citation.

Many of us have also realized the quality of work is not the same when there is zero in-person collaboration

Re: Remote-first work is taking over the rich world – research hints at why

#107

Post by closeparen »

hogFeast wrote: post #37
closeparen wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Multi hour commute is, truly, insane. But that’s more a comment about our collective housing and transportation choices than something inherent to showing up at work.

Most cities used to have all the industry located in the centre. It led to huge slums (because there was insufficient supply and massive demand) and everyone leaving the city when the slums got cleared. Even if you have great transportation (Tokyo, London, New York), the commute is still pretty brutal. The only real "solution" that was ever presented to this problem was to create smaller garden cities that would have…

Slum is a comment about the quality of the structures. That happens when your civilization is poor and a typical worker’s wages don’t buy much building material. Marginal structures are a thing in rural settings too, only there it’s “rustic” instead of “slum.”

Anyway, we are not that fledgling economy anymore. Contemporary high-rise apartments are really nice! Even the mass-produced 5+1s are perfectly comfortable and dignified homes.

Re: Remote-first work is taking over the rich world – research hints at why

#108

Post by rsj_hn »

naveen99 wrote: post #103

India (and a lot of the rest of the 3rd world more accepting of English) could leapfrog China (and other my language only, no thanks English countries), with remote first work.

As a big fan of India, I've been waiting and hoping for them to leapfrog China.

But I realized it's not happening, because for some reason they don't seem so have the same state capacity to act. It's a bunch of individuals, thousands of little groups suspicious of each other, struggling to provide even basic infrastructure in their largest cities. And constant brain drain to the West.

I really wish India well, and hope one day they will overcome this. A democratic, friendly, yet independent minded counterweight to China would be very nice, and the Indians deserve effective governance.

Re: Remote-first work is taking over the rich world – research hints at why

#109

Post by tragictrash »

Aeolun wrote: post #88
EMM_386 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Yep. I've said it many times here and basically anywhere I can: Clamoring for remote-only work, maximum-introvert, never fly somewhere, don't value in-person communication/meetings/etc is a dangerous game to be playing. What's interesting is that I flew in for a meeting with my company recently, the first I've had since I've been hired. This took hours upon hours of my time. Time I could have spent working. We spen…

> There was zero benefit to any of this outside of a solid handshake and getting to "meet people in person". That’s a lot of benefit to me? I like knowing that the person on the other end of the camera actually exists in 3D.

Do you think they are a deepfake?

Re: Remote-first work is taking over the rich world – research hints at why

#110

Post by siva7 »

jupiter90000 wrote: post #78
EMM_386 wrote: post #19

Everyone should keep in mind that water seeks its own level. And think of this on a global scale. I've been working remotely for almost a decade as a senior software engineer. Now, post-Covid, almost everyone realizes they can do the same. Salaries are going to drop in the "rich world", and it's not just because people are now fleeing places like SF/SV to lower cost of living areas. We are also beginning to compete g…

It could have been done before COVID so it would’ve already been done. Business people aren’t dumb and if they could have offshores development, they would have (and they also have been doing this for years anyway). So why would they hire workers in their own country? People in this thread already have said it. Time zones, cultural business norms and understanding, native communication ability, tax and legal issues r…

Well said. It’s tiring hearing this cliché every year again almost as “Now this is really the year of Linux Desktop”.
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