Live data from Hacker News

Nearly 40% of software engineers will only work remotely

techtarget.com

31–40 of 411 posts

Re: Nearly 40% of software engineers will only work remotely

#31

Could generate the mess of comments here from ChatGPT but fine, I will do it myself: (100% human made) - Why would I subject myself to a commute? - I like being in the office and talking to my coworkers - You have no social life. I actually have friends unlike you - Managers are twirling their moustaches to make us come in - no it's the company executives trying to justify their office space purchases - actually it's…

You missed a couple:

- real whiteboards are just better

- real whiteboards aren't as good as screen sharing

But yes indeed, nothing new has been said on this subject for years.

Re: Nearly 40% of software engineers will only work remotely

#32
Recent interview:

Employer 1: “All work is on-site, no exception. No lunch. Open source? What’s that? Sounds like you’re earning money on the side!”

Employer 2: “Work is fully flexible, but usually people like to go in the office 2-3 days a week. We like to pick the same days. Paid lunch. We rely on open source, but we don’t actively contribute.”

Me to Employer 1: “I have another offer, 10% higher salary, fully flexible work conditions, Rust, and they won’t fire me for doing open source.”

Employer 1: “You can work home one day per week, you can do open source, and here’s +3% salary.”

I’m sure they had to respect their own budget. But the number of companies that reverted to 100% work on-site after covid just grew right back.

Re: Nearly 40% of software engineers will only work remotely

#33
post #11

While everyone has their preferences I find myself hating the office a lot less than I used to these days. (and I was very vocal about hating the office pre-covid[0]) However, some things of note: 1) My "Office" (not home) is not an "Open Office", it's a place where I can reasonably sit in peace and have control of my surroundings (this is something not afforded to most people in offices, and something that work from…

It's not that "office" is inherently bad. Commute time and staggering living cost in some cities are inherently bad.

Re: Nearly 40% of software engineers will only work remotely

#34
post #8
post #2

Why would I commute (and in doing so lose 2 hours of my time per day)? Focusing in the office is next to impossible, the equipment is sub-par (I have a 3-monitor setup at home)? What is it about software engineering that requires physical presence? Currently we meet once a week in the office and I get almost no work done that day, and I’m not the only one.

I never understood why anyone would spend hours traveling each day just so they can sit in front of a computer in another place for a while and go back home. Glad the world has caught up with this being complete nonsense!

[deleted]

Re: Nearly 40% of software engineers will only work remotely

#35
I do 100% remote work and will never go back. I'm lucky that the company I work at is remote first, so all processes are optimized for it. I get 90 days a year to work from other countries too, this year I stayed in Barbados for 4 weeks (it was an amazing experience) while I championed a project with a public release date (work still gets done). I have a routine with walks at lunch, exercise after work etc. I can shift my working day by 1-2 hours if I decide. If I get bored of working at home I grab my WeWork card and meet with a friend at one of the locations in town. Or I go to a cafe. I don't have a ton of recurring Zoom meetings like in the "remote" companies. I can see people on the team at the offsites (more free travel to other cities/countries) and have fun with them too.

No more office for me. kthxbai

Re: Nearly 40% of software engineers will only work remotely

#37
post #11

While everyone has their preferences I find myself hating the office a lot less than I used to these days. (and I was very vocal about hating the office pre-covid[0]) However, some things of note: 1) My "Office" (not home) is not an "Open Office", it's a place where I can reasonably sit in peace and have control of my surroundings (this is something not afforded to most people in offices, and something that work from…

It's not that "office" is inherently bad. Commute time and staggering living cost in some cities are inherently bad.

The real revelation for me is just how mentally taxing driving is. I _hated_ going to the office and felt like shit every weekday. Then I moved to an inner city apartment and walked to work and I loved the office and the walk in. I’ve been remote working for 2 years now as it let met access better jobs in another city but it’s really starting to get to me so I’m moving to that city so I can get back to the office.

Re: Nearly 40% of software engineers will only work remotely

#38

Could generate the mess of comments here from ChatGPT but fine, I will do it myself: (100% human made) - Why would I subject myself to a commute? - I like being in the office and talking to my coworkers - You have no social life. I actually have friends unlike you - Managers are twirling their moustaches to make us come in - no it's the company executives trying to justify their office space purchases - actually it's…

"I could easily make a dump at your doorstep but I won't do it. I'll just describe for you how this dump would look like if I'd do it."

Well, tbh I was trying to kill engagement on the post in a way that will cause others to copy it later thereby killing engagement on this junk forever but there is some skill here that I lack. The gnashing of teeth and wailing will proceed.

Re: Nearly 40% of software engineers will only work remotely

#39
post #2

Why would I commute (and in doing so lose 2 hours of my time per day)? Focusing in the office is next to impossible, the equipment is sub-par (I have a 3-monitor setup at home)? What is it about software engineering that requires physical presence? Currently we meet once a week in the office and I get almost no work done that day, and I’m not the only one.

I personally would prefer to working remotely (at least 4 days a week) unless my commute is less than 15-20 minutes but executives put significant value in seeing people working from the office. If they'll decide to save (offices are not cheap) and hire a remote developer what would stop from hiring around the world? Developer salaries in developed countries (and especially the US) are much higher than world average.

Working from office you compete with candidates in the same city or in the same country if willing to relocate. Working remotely one have to compete with the whole world.

Post reply on HN