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Remote startups will win the war for top talent

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Re: Remote startups will win the war for top talent

#361

Post by SantalBlush »

tomtheelder wrote: post #241
randomdata wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> that those whose personalities differ are self-selecting for working in an office environment? Remote doesn't specify where you work, though. In my 20 years of working remotely, I've worked from home, from cars, hotels, cafes, offices, out in the middle of a field, you name it I've probably done it. 100% remote working conditions can mean working in an office environment every single day, if that's your preference.…

Working in an office without your coworkers is in no way a substitute for working in an office with them. What people are talking about when they say they prefer an office environment is face to face collaboration and socialization. You don't get that unless the people in the office with you are you coworkers.

>Working in an office without your coworkers is in no way a substitute for working in an office with them. What people are talking about when they say they prefer an office environment is face to face collaboration and socialization.

This, right here, explains the pushback against those who favor in-office work; it's not that they simply want to be in the office, but they want their colleagues to make the commute to join them in the office and chat with them.

Conversely, remote workers do not place any such requirements on where their colleagues work. They aren't requiring that anyone else be in a specific location at a specific time, hence why it is better and more accommodating to others.

Re: Remote startups will win the war for top talent

#362

Post by Karrot_Kream »

jofer wrote: post #141

I've been working 100% remotely for about 6.5 years now. Overall I love it. However, there are very real drawbacks that have taken me awhile to fully realize. For me, the primary one is that it's _way_ too easy for everyone to get deeply frustrated with each other. Social interactions and chit-chat lead to a better understanding of people and a more accurate mental model of what people actually mean when they say som…

I've spent a lot of effort trying to be present in Zoom now that we've gone all remote. I've invested in a decent setup. I connect using ethernet on my work laptop so there aren't any latency concerns. I have a high quality headset so there's no feedback and good quality audio. I have a nice camera and some lights to make sure my face is illuminated. I rely a lot on whiteboarding at work, so I try (and find this to be a huge pain point, I'd love alternatives) to use an old Wacom tablet to draw in GIMP (well Seashore, but I dislike both) to whiteboard over Zoom. Whiteboarding still gives me the most heartburn in my setup.

I still find it hard to build new connections over Zoom but I find that by putting effort into being present over Zoom that I connect much better and others are encouraged to have smalltalk with me before/after meetings.

Re: Remote startups will win the war for top talent

#363

Post by nonethewiser »

I agree a lot with the sentiment. But these points are terrible:

> Fortune 500 company found that just 10 percent of all communications occurred between employees whose desks were more than 500 meters apart. This suggests that once companies span multiple floors, buildings, or campuses, they’ve already lost much of the collaborative value of being “in the office” together.

1. 500 meters is a huge distance. It's actually surprising the distance at which 10% of communications happens is that far, which undermines the point the author is making.

2. You aren't supposed to collaborate with the whole company. You are supposed to collaborate primarily with your team, and less frequently with adjacent stakeholders.

Re: Remote startups will win the war for top talent

#364

Post by MisterBastahrd »

next_xibalba wrote: post #245

Be careful what you wish for. Remote will eventually cause a serious compression in the total comp of US based workers.

If top end compensation decreases by 20% but bottom end compensation rises by 50% as I'm seeing in local jobs which promote remote work, then I really don't care. It's still a fantastic upgrade over before.

The entire reason that I'm in the DFW area is because I couldn't find meaningful work in the New Orleans area, where my family has been for over 300 years. The culture of Texas is just like the hue of the buildings in its cities: beige crap. The cultural equivalent of a generic strip mall. Yet here I am, because there wasn't any remote work at the time. Because of remote employment, the wages that are now available in the NOLA area are about far higher than they were a few years ago. So I really do not care if the people making 500K are eventually forced to accept 400K, because the people who were forced to accept 80K for a senior position are now getting 140K for the same type of work, and that number is accelerating upward. Compression is a great thing at the bottom.

Re: Remote startups will win the war for top talent

#365

Post by commandlinefan »

jofer wrote: post #141

I've been working 100% remotely for about 6.5 years now. Overall I love it. However, there are very real drawbacks that have taken me awhile to fully realize. For me, the primary one is that it's _way_ too easy for everyone to get deeply frustrated with each other. Social interactions and chit-chat lead to a better understanding of people and a more accurate mental model of what people actually mean when they say som…

Although I've had the same observation, I've been observing it long before I started working remotely: I'd drive 30-45 minutes into an office and then spend the day emailing or IM-ing people in different cities, countries and continents. It's been over 20 years since even most of the people I interacted with on a daily basis were anywhere near the same physical location as I was.

Re: Remote startups will win the war for top talent

#366

Post by ghaff »

jcims wrote: post #225
lm28469 wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> where I pay fees/taxes into some virtual substrate The thing is that you're supposed to be tax where you live to finance the public infrastructure you use, pension schemes of locals, &c. I know a few of wantrepreneurs who live abroad, bill under an Estonian "e company" , don't pay taxes locally and on top of that illegally get unemployment benefits from their home country This trend has to cease and with the new "r…

Sure that happens today, in part because it's so painful to 'do the right thing'. I stayed in San Diego for a month last year and didn't pay a single penny of income tax to the city. Meanwhile my home city was paid for my income and I was a lightweight customer during that month. I think the idea would be something along the lines of creating virtual citizens that live in the locality and meet all of the obligations…

>I stayed in San Diego for a month last year and didn't pay a single penny of income tax to the city.

States are starting to crack down on income taxes for non-residents working there. Obviously in many cases they have no way of tracking but if you're there on business (and have expenses), Concur for one offers companies an audit service. The rules vary by state but if you spend enough time in a state and pass some threshold you can be on the hook to file income taxes. (A lot of the original impetus for these sorts of laws was to tax entertainers and pro athletes.)

Re: Remote startups will win the war for top talent

#367

Post by dunefox »

andrewingram wrote: post #75
rngname22 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you considered that those of your view and those espousing that remote is more difficult might have different personalities, levels of need of social interaction, or lifestyles? Have you considered that your company is self-selecting for those who flourish in remote, but that those whose personalities differ are self-selecting for working in an office environment? It's OK for there to not be a one size fits all…

Right. During my somewhat passive job search, I've only been considering companies that have an office local to me (i.e. Central London). I've been working remotely since the start of the pandemic, and I simply don't like it. Sure, I don't miss having to commute or offices with bad noise pollution controls, but I miss everything else. Most of all, I miss being in town at the end of the day and being able to pop to th…

Then drive into town after work and go out? Not doing that is entirely your decision and has nothing to do with home office.

Re: Remote startups will win the war for top talent

#368

Post by dogman144 »

mym1990 wrote: post #285
dogman144 wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But one “I” is asking for others to center their life around work for the sake of socialization, the other “I” is happy for the extroverted employee to find that extroversion however suits them, just leave me out of it. Those don’t seem equal asks

No where did I see OP ask for others to center their life around work for socialization. They admitted that many companies are cut off from their job search as a result, BUT ALSO THAT THEY ARE OKAY WITH THAT. You're twisting it completely.

No, see what I mean in another thread. Return-to-office is in large part steered by public opinion and commercial real estate issues.

For every bold company that leans into remote, the majority rest check the public temperature and do what seems in line pending open revolt form their employees or competitors offering remote.

So much of the public temperature around remote work is oriented around heavy support from public figures for return to office. By some employees supporting it as well, everyone risks getting swept back into office whether they like it or not and don’t have a job with enough power (like a talented dev) to go against the grain and protest.

If you’re not in those jobs with leverage and at a company considering RTO or not, Employees supporting remote work are espousing very safe career views, and the employees who disagree risk going against the grain with mgmt who want the office back so stay silent.

So this is what I mean by OP’s opinions mean everyone else gets swept in it as well.

Re: Remote startups will win the war for top talent

#369

Post by rodrigodlu »

lm28469 wrote: post #93
vladvasiliu wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a friend who's physically in the UK and works for a US company. I was interviewing for a remote job in the UK while being physically in France. In both situations, the setup is a local company (possibly self-owned) that bills the actual company. So you're not UsCorp's employee, you're an YourOwnCorp employee, and UsCorp is YourOwnCorp's client. This way, all taxes and related issues are handled locally. Sure,…

How do you deal with health insurance, pension, unemployment benefits, &c. ? Sounds like a massive headache

I have my own solo company, I send an invoice with my company details and my company's bank account number. that's it.

Then the company you own pays all these things. Not the company that hired my own company. It's more a B2B relationship than employee mentality.

I hired another startup to do all my accounting since it's really simple.

I keep some cash inside my company to pay taxes and so on. In my jurisdiction it's even cheaper the tax you pay as company than as an individual.

I have some sort of salary because my local legislation demands, but most is taken as dividends.

The spare money due to reduced costs I can also afford extra private "unemployment" insurance. One that covers two months, not even counting my personal emergency reserve.

So yes, you need to stop living by paycheck even if it means buying less stuff on Amazon.com.

Re: Remote startups will win the war for top talent

#370

Post by brundolf »

marrone12 wrote: post #345
brundolf wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a big one that it took me a while to fully appreciate I've found that even just turning my camera on in Zoom meetings makes a difference. Joining the standup call a little early, having "face to face" chitchat, builds up a small buffer of rapport that significantly improves empathy and perceived intent Especially if you need to have a conversation where there might be some existing friction/tension/frustratio…

Just FYI, it's "rapport" not "repor"

Edited, thanks :)
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