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Nearly 40% of software engineers will only work remotely

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

#331

Post by CydeWeys »

benji-york wrote: post #208
orangepurple wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reason most Westerners have only two kids is because they don't have a social support group which can take turns raising the extra children. The practical limit for a two-parent household is two kids if they are of a similar age and one partner is taking care of the kids full time. Beyond two kids you're pretty much going to start having to neglect someone some of the time simply because each kid demands so much…

As someone with four children who lived most of their early lives a thousand miles away from any established support network, I didn't find this to be true. On the contrary, the marginal cost of each child decreased with increased help from their siblings. Perhaps the given scenario is true in "helicopter parenting" modes, but we don't generally employ those.

Right, but now the older children are being parentized and have to do some of the child-rearing instead of just being care-free kids themselves. Not everyone wants that for their children.

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

#332

Post by CydeWeys »

Barrin92 wrote: post #61
sharemywin wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And yet if we don't want a massive population decline we need to figure out how to raise kids and have a decent standard of living. Even if there's only one parent in the picture.

throw the nuclear family back into the dumpster where it belongs. The most straightforward answer how two working parents raise a kids is, they don't. At least alone. It takes a village as the proverb goes. If you have your grandparents and your uncles, aunts and other folks around as I was lucky enough to have growing up you're never bored, and they're never bored.

I don't particularly live near any of my relatives though (the closest ones I could rely on are four hours away). Many people are in my situation of having moved for a better job, which necessarily leaves those other people behind.

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

#333

Post by roarcher »

mgaunard wrote: post #270

Working from home is a sham. It doesn't work. It's just a way to enable lazy people to keep on coasting. If you're dedicated to the job and want to be a team player, go to the office.

I've been doing this "sham" for 3 years, but somehow my work is still getting done. Weird.

The fact that you can't believe anyone would have the discipline to do their job without someone looking over their shoulder says far more about you than about remote workers.

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

#334

Post by vonmoltke »

sokoloff wrote: post #236
OJFord wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have an 'ideal' office (if there were such a thing) though, it's not really the comparison anyone means, or what's generally realistic. Your sort of office is the sort of thing that for most people is more attainable if they do work remotely, and then rent a space near home, or build/convert a shed/garage/outbuilding. Your happiness working from the office is also quite tied to your employer, I'd assume (I don't…

Everyone renting a place near them (or using a dedicated space in their home if they choose) misses out on “gathering around a whiteboard is fantastic and casual conversations over coffee can really help smooth over accidental communication gaps that exist in every organisation.”

They only miss out on this if the people they are working with are in the same office as them. This isn't always the case at large companies.

I suspect that people who work for companies where teams, organizations, or even the entire company are colocated will tend to favor in-office work to some degree, while people who work for companies where teams and offices are geographically distributed will tend to favor remote work.

I personally worked for Twitter in-office full time for 14 months pre-COVID, and almost every meeting or collaboration I had involved a teleconference with people in another timezone or was done over Slack. There was some opportunity for face-to-face collaboration with people from other teams from time to time, but in my opinion not enough to justify the daily commute. That said, I'm open to a hybrid arrangement for companies where the situation I had at Twitter would not be the case.

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

#335

Post by mgaunard »

sirwhinesalot wrote: post #308
mgaunard wrote: post #270

Working from home is a sham. It doesn't work. It's just a way to enable lazy people to keep on coasting. If you're dedicated to the job and want to be a team player, go to the office.

I am not dedicated to the job beyond doing what is asked for me to the best of my ability and my team is distributed all over the world (in fact, 0 are in my office). I exchange my time, skills and knowledge for money. If the company wants that time to be spent sitting on a chair at a particular location, they need to pay me more than one that does not. I feel sorry for people like you who make their job their life.…

having no drive to push beyond what's asked of you means you're not fit to have a strategic role.

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

#336

Post by orangepurple »

CydeWeys wrote: post #331
benji-york wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone with four children who lived most of their early lives a thousand miles away from any established support network, I didn't find this to be true. On the contrary, the marginal cost of each child decreased with increased help from their siblings. Perhaps the given scenario is true in "helicopter parenting" modes, but we don't generally employ those.

Right, but now the older children are being parentized and have to do some of the child-rearing instead of just being care-free kids themselves. Not everyone wants that for their children.

I have some friends whose parents made them take care of their siblings too much and they are worse off mentally than their peers. I won't subject my kids to that treatment.

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

#337

Post by Gordonjcp »

2000UltraDeluxe wrote: post #54
Gordonjcp wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe travel at a different time, then.

That's the thing, though; when you're bound by working hours and need to commute (which most people are), you don't really have much choice and will need to commute during rush hours. Personally, I'd rather find a non-tech sector job close to my home than commuting to a tech job. I am very happy to be fortunate enough to have the option to work from home all of the time -- most people don't

Tech jobs haven't been 9-5 for about twenty years. If your employer wants you punching a clock and sitting at a desk, you need to change your job, or Change Your Job.

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

#338

Post by Gordonjcp »

machinawhite wrote: post #58
Gordonjcp wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I generally travel at least 40 miles and sometimes a few hundred miles a day to get to work. When else do I get to sit on my arse for a couple of hours and listen to the radio?

1. Turn off pc 2. Turn off phone 3. Turn on radio 4. Enjoy

I don't have a "smart" phone.

I rarely use my computer at home, unless I'm working on some music or video in which case I can't really listen to the radio.

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

#339

Post by Gordonjcp »

throwaway675309 wrote: post #50
Gordonjcp wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I generally travel at least 40 miles and sometimes a few hundred miles a day to get to work. When else do I get to sit on my arse for a couple of hours and listen to the radio?

Literally ANYTIME else. Nothing prevents you from passively consuming radio content a few hours a day at home.

2am, when everyone else including a ridiculously energetic toddler is in bed?

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

#340

Post by Gordonjcp »

prmoustache wrote: post #53
Gordonjcp wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never understood why people think time spent travelling is "lost".

If you can walk to a train station in 5 minutes, then socialized with your train friends for half an hour to 45 minutes or read a book. Or if you commute by walking, cycling and running and it is considered your daily physical activity, it is fine. If you spend your time running to a bus stop, not being able to do anything in the bus because it is crowded and bouncy, then have to catch a train, that is also full then…

> If you are driving chance is it is also lost for the most part.

I will never understand why people think time spent driving is "lost".

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