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Ask HN: How is the remote vs in-person trend looking?

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Re: Ask HN: How is the remote vs in-person trend looking?

#191

Post by doktorhladnjak »

upupandup wrote: post #132

I just don't understand why some people are so keen on making in-person or hybrid work, it won't in the long run because you are competing with companies that doesn't have the overhead of an office, HR, logistics etc. This is the new normal , you either accept it or keep trying to go back to what will never be going forward. I also don't really believe people claiming they are losing productivity in WFH, its most lik…

I just don’t understand why some people assume that others must only be exactly like them with the same preferences or affinity for a certain kind of work environment.

Re: Ask HN: How is the remote vs in-person trend looking?

#192

Post by twh270 »

upupandup wrote: post #132

I just don't understand why some people are so keen on making in-person or hybrid work, it won't in the long run because you are competing with companies that doesn't have the overhead of an office, HR, logistics etc. This is the new normal , you either accept it or keep trying to go back to what will never be going forward. I also don't really believe people claiming they are losing productivity in WFH, its most lik…

I think during the lockdown phase most people worked hard to do their part, whether they liked it or not, because it was seen as temporary, and hey we're all in this together fighting a friggin' pandemic, and other reasons. And companies of course had no choice in the matter either. So everyone made it work, as best they could, to a greater or lesser degree.

Now we're transitioning into a post-lockdown "new normal". Some companies and people are finding that full-remote is great: they've figured out how to make it work (hint: culture, trust, and communication are huge factors). Others, not so much.

I think the next few years are going to be interesting. My suspicion is companies that have figured out how to do remote well are going to absolutely crush it, and companies with a poor culture that go back to 100% in-office are going to have a bad time. (I'm currently at one of these companies and am actively looking for a new job.)

Re: Ask HN: How is the remote vs in-person trend looking?

#193

Post by ipaddr »

ragnot wrote: post #70

We are still full remote and I don't think anyone has any intention to go back to "in-person" honestly. As a side note: I think the reason you are going to find so much friction with this is for the first time in recent history "workers" (specifically software engineers) have incredible leverage over management. I honestly don't think we've seen this since the days of labor unions. Think about it: software engineers…

Yet most of us live in agile standup factory farming shops and where each time we interview we have to win a star search competition.

Re: Ask HN: How is the remote vs in-person trend looking?

#194

Post by ipaddr »

lefstathiou wrote: post #24

Early on (during Covid) I made the decision that remote work was not for our company (SAAS for financial services) and two years in have zero regrets about it. We are clear about our expectations so there are no surprises to employees and new hires (or we filter out people that want it). Most of our clients in financial services have reached the same conclusion. One of my clients at a large bulge bracket said “if the…

So no one is leaving and you are not hiring any technical positions. Growth seems flat.

The question is if you ditched the costly New York city office and support staff would you be in a better position.

That may not matter to you because your company is part of your identity. Living in New York and going into the office is a million times better than doing it from home for most. I'm not sure life is the same elsewhere.

Re: Ask HN: How is the remote vs in-person trend looking?

#195

Post by ipaddr »

ImprobableTruth wrote: post #131
lefstathiou wrote: post #24

Early on (during Covid) I made the decision that remote work was not for our company (SAAS for financial services) and two years in have zero regrets about it. We are clear about our expectations so there are no surprises to employees and new hires (or we filter out people that want it). Most of our clients in financial services have reached the same conclusion. One of my clients at a large bulge bracket said “if the…

>One of my clients at a large bulge bracket said “if these people insist on not being in the office we may just outsource the job for a tenth of the comp”. I think more companies will take that view personally. That's obviously an empty threat. If they could save 90% by outsourcing, they'd already have done it. The idea that the tech market rate is as high as it is because of good-hearted managers is absolutely laugh…

And a warning that they will drop you for similiar but cheaper.

Re: Ask HN: How is the remote vs in-person trend looking?

#196

Post by nine_k »

CoffeeOnWrite wrote: post #102
nine_k wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> my humble abode appears on video Isn't blurring the background, or using a virtual background, nearly universal now? (Around me, it is.)

It's fairly popular in my organization yes, but too much trouble for me until/unless Google Meet supports it in Firefox.

For me, it does. I run Linux on a laptop with an integrated GPU.

Re: Ask HN: How is the remote vs in-person trend looking?

#197

Post by ipaddr »

nimajneb wrote: post #15

I don't know if this answers your question, but my employer (engineering firm) just announced last Friday that starting July 5th being in the office Tue-Thu is mandatory. Then Sept 5th Mon-Fri is mandatory. Pre-covid there were very very few remote positions at my employer, we are going back to that I guess. I've been going in Mon-Fri anyways, so it doesn't really effect me.

Just in time for the next covid wave.

Re: Ask HN: How is the remote vs in-person trend looking?

#198

Post by ipaddr »

Uptrenda wrote: post #163
akhmatova wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And the irony is -- they suddenly think you're "hot" because you're getting competing offers (or competing invites to do 7 or 8 rounds of culture fit interviews and/or LC grinding, in any case). Which is another way for them to say: "Actually we really don't know how to evaluate these candidates, so instead we rely on random externalities, like the number of other interviews they're having this particular week."

Agreed. I also find it problematic that you have no control over the schedule of when the interviews start, when offers are made, how long companies might wait. E.g. if you have offers and you're still interviewing do you tell those companies to wait? If so - might they consider it a lack of interest? Possibly too much competition to waste further time on you with? Do you risk making them wait too long and rescinding…

At this point they spent money on ads, have filtered most candidates and spent countless hours/money interviewing you. You not accepting is a setback where they might have to redo the process costing even more. A delay is acceptable to most, even a slight salary increase request.

Re: Ask HN: How is the remote vs in-person trend looking?

#199

Post by methusala8 »

fbrncci wrote: post #31

I interviewed a lot this year; the amount is probably between 50-75, with at least 15 take homes (all 100% remote jobs). The great majority of those came from LinkedIn recruiters, and that all sucked, I got three offers which I declined because they weren't great. In the end, what got me a new job was my blog and the branding I have on Twitter. At some point my posts where getting traction, and companies started reac…

This is cool/ I would like to do something similar where I leverage my blog and Twitter: Any pointers on how you did this? Thanks.

Re: Ask HN: How is the remote vs in-person trend looking?

#200

Post by marcus_holmes »

jokethrowaway wrote: post #158
marcus_holmes wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always see this attitude as a management failure. For a couple of reasons: 1. as a manager, I need to be able to manage people when I can't see them. I need to look at what they're outputting, what results they get, not just whether they're moistening a chair for enough hours in the day. 2. people aren't fungible. Or rather, if they are, then I've recruited the wrong people. If I could outsource the job for a tenth…

Most of the tech world is 2 though. Our entire category lives because management is too dumb or power hungry to realise that. Sure, you probably shouldn't outsource to the cheapest places who barely speak English (eg. India, South East Asia, Russia, Eastern Europe), you'll have tons of communication problems. If you outsource from the States to the UK or Western Europe (and test the language knowledge in advance) you…

Currently working with an African engineer and a few Eastern Europeans. They present some management challenges due to cultural differences, but otherwise they're awesome.

And because other people are realising that, their salary rates are increasing way over inflation. The Eastern Europeans are earning nearly western salaries. The African guy is doing very well (and better every year).

I genuinely believe remote work will change the world. For the better.

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