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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

#391

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> leads to office politics That's exactly what they miss. Those people became powerful by playing that game of office politics and now have nowhere to do that anymore.

I think there's still plenty of room for it... but it's going to shift towards actual performance as a larger share of the process though.

> towards actual performance

which is the polar opposite of politics!

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

#393
40% of American SEs need to realize there are people in India and China that will do the same job for 1/6 the wage. If a company is going through the hassle and problems with remote workers, they might as well do it on the cheap.

It’s not the same as it was 15 years ago. My interactions in general have encountered well educated individuals familiar with American culture.

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

#394

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looking for children under a certain age is more or less a full time job. Trying to mix it with work is, well, simply a bad decision. Over that age, and if the kids themselves can manage it... sure, it's great. You're there for breaks and emergencies - much better than being absent for the whole day.

It is more for the commuting in and out of school that it helps. My kids could walk back from school but primary school do not allows them to get out without me. This is kind of stupid as I would sign a waiver if they wanted it but they won't. So until they both reach what you call high school in the USA I have to go to the primary school and back every day. The most funny thing is sometimes I go there by bicycle, le…

Our local primary school (UK) allows year 5+ (aged 9/10). Annoying that means I have to meet them off the school bus, despite the bus stop literally being on my land at the bottom of the garden, 20 yards from the house, which means having to wait around for upto 15 minutes depending how early/late it's running.

I'm not aware of any high school in the country that forces parental pickup from year 7 (aged 11/12)

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

#395

40% of American SEs need to realize there are people in India and China that will do the same job for 1/6 the wage. If a company is going through the hassle and problems with remote workers, they might as well do it on the cheap. It’s not the same as it was 15 years ago. My interactions in general have encountered well educated individuals familiar with American culture.

That kind of protectionist thinking isn't sustainable in the long run.

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

#396

I refuse to ever go back into an office again with my current job. A new job may convince me, but to be honest, I work better when I'm working from home. I'll just say that when you pay for a mortgage, and then you go somewhere for 8 or 9 hours a day, you're wasting your money. When you work from home, you're getting to experience the mortgage you're paying for and every dollar you spend matters. It changes your pers…

I had to kiss asses and say hi to people that I really didn't want to see or know in person.

If our environment is filled with people like that - maybe we should just move on, you know? Even if WFH masks this pain somewhat by requiring us to not plant our lips physically on on their asses on a daily basis, but merely astrally, via Slack and what not.

Being as the underlying rot is still there on some level, and ultimately, just as toxic.

(I know, I know, I know - eventually it pretty always ends up being "like that". No matter how rosy everything smells at the onset).

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

#397

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is my personal experience at my own workplace. I literally saw with my own eyes that if I don't force employees to have a proper work environment, then they won't set one up by themselves, only to get back pain a few days later.

Your sample size of one doesn't prove or disprove anything.

Your sample size of X also doesn't delegitimize my personal experience.

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

#398

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Being able to look after your offspring is great! This is a big no and main reason why I am against WFH. Here in Finland we have ample maternity leave and pretty good paternity leave as well, so why in the fuck are we allowing these new fathers to "work" from home while looking after the kid? The mother has maternity leave precisely so she can take care of the kid(s), she should be doing it for the 8 hours you are w…

> cheap > healthy food > prepared by someone else Pick two at best.

I didn't have to for years before the Covid stuff.

We had lunch catering for 6€ and had every day couple different "home style" choices.

Of course you can argue about the "cheap" part, but to me 6€ a day is cheap. Every restaurant charges at least double usually triple.

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

#399

I could be convinced to commute to a satellite office that's not affected by rush hour traffic. There's a lot of real estate available in the burbs. These don't really exist though, and their expense far outweighs their benefits. The problem is that companies expect employees to be mobile when they are not. It's called putting down roots for a reason. Pulling kids out of school, buying a new house is very disruptive.…

> Let people work from home. Suffer a 10-15% degredation in communications.

In my estimation you're grossly underestimating the degradation in communications.

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

#400

I could be convinced to commute to a satellite office that's not affected by rush hour traffic. There's a lot of real estate available in the burbs. These don't really exist though, and their expense far outweighs their benefits. The problem is that companies expect employees to be mobile when they are not. It's called putting down roots for a reason. Pulling kids out of school, buying a new house is very disruptive.…

My father was a chemical engineer. Back in the 60s & 70s, the company would pay to relocate our family to wherever they needed him (this included purchasing the house if we didn't sell it before the moving trucks showed up). That included several foreign countries. In my family's experience, that included England, Iran, Ireland & Saudi Arabia. During the 80s, his industry stopped relocating engineers. This correspond…

FWIW, big tech companies do pay for relocation for rank and file engineers. Meta paid for packing/moving + roughly $20k incidentals when I joined last year.
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