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Programmers are most likely to work from home

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Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#121

Post by k__ »

CydeWeys wrote: post #86
ahallock wrote: post #43

I've invested thousands of dollars in my home setup (which will never be done), to create an amazing working environment. Why would I want to give that up? Sure, employers may give you a little $ to customize your desk and equipment, but if I'm going to be spending so much of my life at a computer, it'd better be amazing.

My employer's work environment is worth much more to me per year than the entire cost of your home setup thanks to all of the free meals and the gym equipment alone. Just something worth thinking about.

I don't know what bothers me more. People willingly selling their souls to companies or the companies that spend humongous amounts of money to keep their employees away from their homes and lifes...

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#122

Post by JamesBarney »

NumberSix wrote: post #112

The article does not discuss the impact of the open office movement. I've worked from home, in actual offices, in cubicles both cramped and spacious, and open offices. It can be quite difficult to focus at home due to various distractions, especially if you do not have a separate room or area for work. It is difficult to separate work and non-work with a home office. There are a variety of communications issues with…

There was recently some evidence that open offices led to reduced collaboration because a real office means asking someone a question disturbs one instead of 20 people. So people end up asking less questions, and interacting with there co-workers less.

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#123

Post by cuckcuckspruce »

HenryBemis wrote: post #9
draw_down wrote: post #3

It's not really a perk. It comes with its own set of problems, friends.

Lack of focus, being taken advantage of and ending up working 10-12 hours instead of 8 and plenty more (lack of networking, etc.) If it works "for you" then it'a a great thing to have in your life WFH!! If not, then there is always the office.

>lack of networking

Not when I worked at home. When I was working at home, I could get done with work exactly at 5 and head over to the weekly meetings of local organizations (ACM, local LUG, the hackerspace in town, 2600 meetings sometimes) and network there much more than I could if I had to drive out to where they were from my office.

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#124

Post by skizm »

eddieh wrote: post #12

I like working from my office. I don't understand people that like working from home. Possible confounding variable: I live exactly two blocks from my office and don't have to commute. Perhaps, in actuality, people don't like to commute?

I will name some the reasons I like to work from home and none involve a commute:

- I'm in an open office situation.

- Standing desk is awkward when everyone else is sitting.

- If I make a loud noise eating or sneezing or something like 5 people stare at me trying to figure out what is going on.

- I can't have twitch or a baseball game on in the background because nosey co-workers will walk by, see my screen, and comment or internalize that I'm a slacker because I like a running commentary instead of music when I work.

- Constantly being pulled aside for conversations that can be answered in a sentence or two via slack or email. (not having me in person forces people to think about and write down exactly what they want to say or ask before they actually say it)

- My home setup is significantly nicer than my office set up.

- Open office means I hear all about everyone's past or upcoming weekends, vacations, etc.

- I enjoy stretching or doing small exercises throughout the day, which is super weird to do while in the office (plus no yoga mat).

- People low key hate me because I am the only person with a mechanical keyboard and make lots of noise when I start typing a lot. (I've learned to ignore the not so subtle stare downs)

So probably my biggest thing is the open office problem. As a programmer, being in the middle of a group of chatty 20-30 somethings all day is not great for productivity.

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#126

Post by hackermailman »

nickthemagicman wrote: post #80
pc86 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True top performers are constantly trying to expand their skills. The only way you do that is by interacting with other people, even less experienced/talented folks. You don't get new insights by being around the same great people all the time.

Linus Torvalds wrote Linux from his dorm room. John Carmack wrote the Doom engine solo. Einstein worked alone, the inventor of PCR did it alone, Wozniak, Picasso, Hendrix, Mitnick. Holy crap almost all incredible innovations were invented by solitary passionate people working alone! Then we have Cascading Style Sheets..that.. was invented by a committee...

Einstein didn't work alone http://www.nature.com/news/history-einstein-was-no-lone-geni...

Torvalds didn't either https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Linux#Chronology note 100+ devs in 1993 working on the kernel to build a userland for it. If they didn't you'd just have another toy kernel floating around nobody uses.

Edit: Apparently Hendrix didn't work alone either he claimed Foxey Lady was just something him and his band put together while randomly playing during a rehearsal.

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#127

Post by edw519 »

After 38 years of commercial programming, 15 of them remote, here's the thing that almost no one talks about: working remotely actually benefits the company much more that the programmer. Here's why:

1. Profitability manufacturing something increases dramatically when lowering overhead and driving direct labor. Direct labor in software are the programmers. Time spent programming (usually) produces product. Time spent not programming flushes money down the toilet. I have never found a better way to increase the direct labor / overhead ratio than by working remotely.

2. Proper process building software can give geometric increases in value. Things like business requirements, technical specifications, test plans, UAT, QA, project management, etc. When programmers are in the office, it's just too easy for managers and analysts to "wave their hands" and "call a meeting". Too often, that's their answer to everything. The meetings rarely serve their (ususally undefined) purpose. They give the appearance of progress without the progress. Problem #1: You've just wasted a little bit of your programmers' time. Problem #2: You will waste a whole lot more of their time at the other end when things aren't right.

3. Workingly remotely enforces discipline. Things need to be written down. It's hard to peer review meeting notes or Skype recordings. Specs, reqs, test plans, etc. need to be documented and reviewed BEFORE wasting programmer time. I generally try to turn down any meeting or Skype without something in writing. (Skype / Webex is just another way for managers to waste programming resources that doesn't feel as bad as a physical meeting.)

I have hard data via thousands of tickets over the years to say that working remotely has easily made me at least twice as productive. Mainly by getting others to leave me alone and to drag them kicking and screaming into the 21st century by doing their jobs. The most important job of someone who doesn't program? Enabling those who do.

The main reason I love remote is not because of my home office, or short commute, or good 4-legged company, or working in my underwear, or anything else about me. It's because I have never found a better way to get shit done.

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#128

Post by eikenberry »

Hard to imagine why. Better work environment, better equipment, better office mates, better commute, fewer distractions, lower stress, etc. Plus it structures the communications better, so you have less of the random conversations and more use of ticketing systems and like.

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#129

Post by jonmb »

archeantus wrote: post #107

I've been thinking a lot about this lately and I've decided that working remote IS the most important benefit of my job. I've been fully remote doing iOS development for nearly four years now, and I am not interested in entertaining any new job offer unless my fully remote status can be retained. Are there downsides to this mentality? Yes. Am I missing out on networking/schmoozing opportunities by being remote? Almos…

>> I'm home to watch my five kids grow up. And when you're old and looking back on your life, this is what you're likely going to appreciate much more than being a director inside of an office's four walls. Good stuff.

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#130

Post by brightball »

BeetleB wrote: post #82

I work in a big company. It's easy to see all the useful things I would have missed out on if I worked remotely. Examples: - Networking: Serendipity plays a bigger role than anything else. And you get a lot less of it the fewer people you interact with. Simply bumping into people at the cafe is quite valuable. - Career coaching: Lots of classes, talks, invited speakers, etc. Some can be done remotely, but roughly hal…

Agree with that. It's more about the flexibility than anything else. Sometimes, I really need to work out of the house. Other times, I'd prefer to be in the office.

A lot of it depends on what type of work you're doing. If there's a lot of cross communication...office is WAY better. If it's "slap on the headphones and go full code monkey" it doesn't really make a difference where you are.

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