How does Esty pay you? Do they have a financial presence in the UK? Nice write up too!
we have a UK office (and company), so I get paid from there, tax is normal UK PAYE.
Remote Working – 3 Year Retrospective
31–40 of 68 posts
Re: Remote Working – 3 Year Retrospective
#32Excellent analysis of remote working. I worked for nine years remotely (full-time for the last three years) with an entirely remote team, and most of this article rings true. Flying team members in every so often for in-person meetings is hugely valuable. This subject is near and dear to me, as I live in a rural area and I'd like to find another full-time remote position. I'm frustrated by the opposition to remote de…
This subject is interesting to me. I've worked remote my entire career, and mostly positive experiences. One negative experience was at a place struggling to fill positions and opened up to remote team members, but they did not change the company culture to support the remote members, and as a result all of the remote members were gone within a year or two and the experiment deemed "a failure".
So I understand why some companies are reluctant to bring on remote members. It requires your entire company culture to change if you want a remote team member and not just someone used as basically contract labor. For a team used to making decisions and having conversations in person, it's a big change to have to move everything online to include the remote person/s. It can breed resentment on both sides. In my negative experience I would find out decisions had been made days ago while the on-site team was out to lunch together, and no one had informed those of us working remotely.
Change is not easy. Companies that started with a remote workflow or commit fully to embracing a remote workflow can make teams located anywhere work. Adding on remote team members without a culture change to support it is a recipe for disaster.
Re: Remote Working – 3 Year Retrospective
#33The part about "Substandard Treatment" hits home for me. When I first went remote the hardest that was the hardest thing for me to adjust too. Lunches and/or dinners being bought for them, weekend team trips, etc. It's a trivial thing in the grand scheme of things, but it can affect morale.
"weekend team trips" Also jealousy issues... Realize that most people can't stand those things and it tends to turn into a test of personality, who will kiss up no matter how awful the experience, or who has the guts to admit the emperor has no clothes... In my wife's work at home experience there was some jealousy that she got to avoid teambuilding by default, while the office people were punished by having to atten…
> Realize that most people can't stand those things
THIS.
I hated it...
Re: Remote Working – 3 Year Retrospective
#34I lead a 100% distributed team for a subsidiary of NYSE:KAR [US-based] and have worked remotely for 5 years. I think this post is very accurate - although we don't have a fancy video-conferencing system, good communication and skype are paramount to remote success (along with VOIP phones, wikis, github enterprise, email and rest of the usual suspects). Additionally, it takes the right personality -- a self-starter wh…
Email address?
edited my profile :)
Re: Remote Working – 3 Year Retrospective
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
>It's the future. If you're not remote, find a way to fix that. Would you suggest this even for new grads looking for a first job? I just know that commuting every day is going to be incredibly depressing but I haven't seen much in the way of remote opportunities for fresh grads.
> Would you suggest this even for new grads looking for a first job? Nope. I've been a full-time remote worker for 6.5 years, and 1/2 time (2 days a week) for 4 years before that. During that time I've managed and hired remote workers. The reality is remote work is not for everyone, and I think that is even more so for new grads. There is a lot of mentoring that happens early in someone's career, and that is difficul…
I think developers forget sometimes - and I really don't mean this in a negative way - that they are people too, not machines.
People generally need some level of human contact, in person, to grow and form strong bonds with each other.
I think remote works great, but it only works if you get to see some people you work with sometimes.
The money the company saves can be put into a fund to bring the team together a few times a year for team building/vacation.
The details (optional? mandatory? where? who?) are per company, but I think companies should start thinking differently.
Remote all the time, in person when needed. Not in person all the time, and remote during extremes (car breaks, weather, etc.)
Re: Remote Working – 3 Year Retrospective
#36Nice writeup. I've noticed that a lot of the negatives (which the author nails, by the way) go away if you move the entire company remote. I've been working for the last 4 years with a 150 person software company that has no office whatsoever. Everybody is remote. As such, we get to remove the biggest land mine, which is being the "remote guy" on an otherwise onsite team, missing out on communication and finding your…
Wow. That was really motivating. Can you give some advice on how to search for remote work?
Re: Remote Working – 3 Year Retrospective
#37Nice writeup. I've noticed that a lot of the negatives (which the author nails, by the way) go away if you move the entire company remote. I've been working for the last 4 years with a 150 person software company that has no office whatsoever. Everybody is remote. As such, we get to remove the biggest land mine, which is being the "remote guy" on an otherwise onsite team, missing out on communication and finding your…
>It's the future. If you're not remote, find a way to fix that. Would you suggest this even for new grads looking for a first job? I just know that commuting every day is going to be incredibly depressing but I haven't seen much in the way of remote opportunities for fresh grads.
Absolutely not. You gain vital experience working in a real office with real more experienced people. Don't forgot about that benefit when you're just starting out.
Re: Remote Working – 3 Year Retrospective
#38Nice writeup. I've noticed that a lot of the negatives (which the author nails, by the way) go away if you move the entire company remote. I've been working for the last 4 years with a 150 person software company that has no office whatsoever. Everybody is remote. As such, we get to remove the biggest land mine, which is being the "remote guy" on an otherwise onsite team, missing out on communication and finding your…
>It's the future. If you're not remote, find a way to fix that. Would you suggest this even for new grads looking for a first job? I just know that commuting every day is going to be incredibly depressing but I haven't seen much in the way of remote opportunities for fresh grads.
If your going to commute, make the most of it.
I've been working in Montréal for 2 years, walking 10 minutes to the office. It's only a hard commute when it's freezing/snowing. Now that I'm back in a big city and I have to take the subway for 45 minutes twice a day, I'm not depressed. Sure, I miss enjoying the sun once in a while, but at least now I have time to read.
Re: Remote Working – 3 Year Retrospective
#39Nice writeup. I've noticed that a lot of the negatives (which the author nails, by the way) go away if you move the entire company remote. I've been working for the last 4 years with a 150 person software company that has no office whatsoever. Everybody is remote. As such, we get to remove the biggest land mine, which is being the "remote guy" on an otherwise onsite team, missing out on communication and finding your…
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Re: Remote Working – 3 Year Retrospective
#40Nice writeup. I've noticed that a lot of the negatives (which the author nails, by the way) go away if you move the entire company remote. I've been working for the last 4 years with a 150 person software company that has no office whatsoever. Everybody is remote. As such, we get to remove the biggest land mine, which is being the "remote guy" on an otherwise onsite team, missing out on communication and finding your…
>It's the future. If you're not remote, find a way to fix that. Would you suggest this even for new grads looking for a first job? I just know that commuting every day is going to be incredibly depressing but I haven't seen much in the way of remote opportunities for fresh grads.
It's going to be tough getting a remote job as a new grad. Not impossible, but tough. If I could give any advice it would be to get a decent location-dictated job first.
I worked for a little less than one year at my first job before jumping ship and finding my first (and current) remote job. PM me if you have any questions.