11–20 of 593 posts
When I graduated from college, never have I envisioned once that my optimal workspace is just a laptop, working from home, while spending time with fam, and get some hobbies done at the same time.
Getting paid to waste time not doing your job is considered work now?
I like to think that providing a team with private offices and all the old-school perks would help create a working environment where they'd feel more appreciated, and thus end up working better. If I ever hire a team that isn't remote, that'd be something I'd want to explore. That and giving them assistants. I want to find out what an experienced dev team that doesn't have to bother with any admin or other distracti…
I would love to have someone else sit in on meetings, but i suspect I'm there in the hope that I'll ask an incisive question to shake a hidden requirement loose.
When I graduated from college, never have I envisioned once that my optimal workspace is just a laptop, working from home, while spending time with fam, and get some hobbies done at the same time.
>while spending time with fam, and get some hobbies done at the same time Getting paid to waste time not doing your job is considered work now?
At which point I might as well work from home, and sell the extraneous office space.
But, why offices at all? All my productivity problems are solved by just working from home.
"Team" does not appear once in the article. I find open plans to be superior as it makes the team go faster. People can unblock others, people can stop others from wasting time, people can immediately work together to think about a problem. And for times where you want to just pump out code you can put some earbuds / headphones on and use body language to signal that you are in deep focus.
I had great results working in 'team rooms' where people wheeled their cabinets in and out as they joined or left project-oriented teams. But I was young.
The staffies all had separate offices then. And today, I find myself most productive for the company when able to shut myself away and think.
I like to think that providing a team with private offices and all the old-school perks would help create a working environment where they'd feel more appreciated, and thus end up working better. If I ever hire a team that isn't remote, that'd be something I'd want to explore. That and giving them assistants. I want to find out what an experienced dev team that doesn't have to bother with any admin or other distracti…
You can already do that with remote staff. Stuff like planning travels or dealing with reimbursement of expenses is almost always extremely annoying for those who only have to interface with the arcane systems twice a year.
Having people around me working on the same project is invaluable for me for
* asking quick questions and getting an instant answer. vs chat where I may not get an answer for hours.
* running ideas by others. This doesn't happen on chat for me, and VC is too scheduled.
* brainstorming. Same as above
* getting a feeling for what everyone is up to
Sure I can go read their notes but it's not the same. One happens by osmosis so zero effort, it just happens. The other requires scheduling time
I don't feel connected to me team at all working from home. I feel no more connection to them then when I call my bank and talk to a banker. Nor do I feel any connection to sit at a coffee shop and work around others who are not on the same team.
In my whole professional life (last 15y) there was not a single time where I had anything resembling a private space where I could just close the door and work in peace. The norm here in German startup world seem to be open floors. And if you do have rooms they get crammed full of people. It's not the end of the world though. A room full of engineers is tolerable, and if they're on your team this is even desirable. T…
Until one of the engineers who has no social awareness decides to eat at their desk instead of taking lunch elsewhere, or you just need some silent time and there's just no option for it.
I'm very reluctantly pursuing on-site or hybrid positions as a last ditch (desperate) effort to find some work, and I'm not the slightest bit optimistic about being in a room full of anybody. I used to think an open room full of people was the better choice, but that was when I was young and naive. Serious focus demands control over your senses, and there's a difference between setting up at a bustling cafe and going in every day to sit directly adjacent to the same people with no concept of real private space.
Some do, not all do. I do much better in a room with ~6 people that are working on the same project. Much better than working at home. Much better than a private office (which I've had). Having people around me working on the same project is invaluable for me for * asking quick questions and getting an instant answer. vs chat where I may not get an answer for hours. * running ideas by others. This doesn't happen on c…