Remote work requires communicating more, but less frequently • Hacker News Board

Re: Remote work requires communicating more, but less frequently

#161

Post by KronisLV » Fri, Aug 04, 2023, 5:56 PM UTC

> Instead of relying on constant, synchronous, and often interrupt-driven interactions, remote workers embrace asynchronous, and often higher-fidelity, forms of communication, such as long-form writing or thoughtful videos.

This has actually been difficult for some people to get used to, since they much preferred synchronous communication (calls) or drip feeding information (what they need, spread over multiple messages, starting out with a simple "hey").

I actually made a site a while back to elaborate on how to make others do context switching a bit less often, maybe it's helpful to some here: https://quick-answers.kronis.dev/

(the other guides that I found online about this had a bit of a mocking tone)

Of course, there are also times when you do need a bit of synchronous communication too, which is also fine.

Re: Remote work requires communicating more, but less frequently

#162

Post by esafak » Fri, Aug 04, 2023, 5:56 PM UTC

repeekad wrote: post #91

malfist wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've worked remotely for about 9 years now. At the start of the pandemic I'd argue there's a wide gulf between those who knew how to work remotely because they've done it for years, and those forced into it and still figuring it out. We spent 3 years in pandemic mode working from home for everyone. We've all figured it out by now. Go into the office if you'd like, but don't force everyone back to it.

And between those who don’t want remote work. Who enjoy building real relationships with people and brain storming ideas on a whiteboard. Remote work feels like contracting, and when everyone is a contractor is it really a cohesive company?

You need to build rituals to recapture that cohesion; do things online or offline that are not just about work. It is a good idea even if your company is not remote.

Re: Remote work requires communicating more, but less frequently

#163

Post by travisjungroth » Fri, Aug 04, 2023, 5:58 PM UTC

bravetraveler wrote: post #42

fsociety wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the experience of banging your head against the wall (for a bit) can be valuable. As long as the culture of the team encourages this and offers an escape hatch after a few hours (or whatever timeframe is appropriate for the problem).

Yep, this is learning. Asking for help is a key part. Without trying first, asking for help is asking for someone to do it for you. In office, remote, whichever - I've been ignored. It took a while to learn to ask questions. People will help, but "the squeaky wheel gets the grease", and all. There's movement [or an attempt] implied with this. The locality doesn't matter, effective communication can exist in either. I…

> As such, I'm skeptical of this 'Think of the Juniors' concern. It's manageable.

The top comment is saying how to manage it. TFA isn’t saying no remote work, it’s saying less frequent communication. That doesn’t work in all cases. Struggling for hours without getting much done or understanding more isn’t effective for productivity or learning by definition. These cases can often be prevented with quick questions. “Send me an email, I check it every Monday and Thursday” doesn’t support that.

Re: Remote work requires communicating more, but less frequently

#164

Post by CoastalCoder » Fri, Aug 04, 2023, 5:59 PM UTC

andsoitis wrote: post #50

pydry wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dont. Ive gone down many rabbit holes thanks to, for instance, subtly incorrect or outdated docs in working cultures that valued not being interrupted and it's a recipe for anxiety and a huge waste of time.

Hopefully you updated the docs as you encountered them and figured out the most up to date context.

> Hopefully you updated the docs as you encountered them and figured out the most up to date context.

I've been in an environment like this, and it really burned me out.

People broke docs faster than I could fix them, and it was an accepted part of the development process.

My conclusion was that fixing the docs was simply a waste of time. My resulting despair for the software and the company surely destroyed my productivity. (I'm not saying this is a valid excuse; just an explanation.)

Re: Remote work requires communicating more, but less frequently

#165

Post by platz » Fri, Aug 04, 2023, 6:03 PM UTC

The precise concept of "more" in this article is dubious.

Re: Remote work requires communicating more, but less frequently

#166

Post by briandswartz » Fri, Aug 04, 2023, 6:03 PM UTC

tonystubblebine wrote: post #98

We're struggling with this (80 people) and basically decided we have to get the entire company together twice a year. I'm not saying this is any perfect best practice, just that there is something that always gets lost in translation when we are remote. That gets cleared up instantly when we are together.

But what do you do for the weeks and months in between? Like, how do people turn to one another in real time?

(full disclosure, we're building a platform that integrates with Calendar, Zoom, and Slack to try to solve this problem and let people turn to one another in real-time, without interrupting heads-down time. Would love to interview you for user research if you're up for it)

Re: Remote work requires communicating more, but less frequently

#167

Post by goodpoint » Fri, Aug 04, 2023, 6:04 PM UTC

dinvlad wrote: post #142

hext wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Async communication is not even remotely close to socializing, and hardly feels like genuine human interaction.

Work != socializing. Quality work requires deep concentration over long stretches of time, not tapping on a shoulder at random intervals. Both IRL and virtually.

> Work != socializing.

That's plain unhealthy.

> Quality work requires deep concentration over long stretches of time, not tapping on a shoulder at random intervals. Both IRL and virtually.

This has little to do with socializing or not.

Re: Remote work requires communicating more, but less frequently

#168

Post by jensensbutton » Fri, Aug 04, 2023, 6:05 PM UTC

hypeit wrote: post #150

sussexby wrote: post #6

Currently in crisis because I simply can't handle communication in remote work. For something I do for the majority of my working day, I feel devoid of human interaction to such an extent that it's massively affecting my mental health. I regularly find myself clock-watching until the next time I can talk to someone because everyone is always busy - there are no water coolers or coffee breaks to stitch in between. Eve…

I have to admit as someone who enjoys WFH and would never work in an office again, that having co-workers like you is one of the main reasons. You should work on not relying so much on others. You may be benefiting from all that social "charging up", but you're taking that from the person on the other side of the conversation. I work to make money, not to fill someone's social void. You'll be happier if you explore t…

I mean, they can just as easily tell you to deal with in-person. This isn't a particularly useful contribution imo.

Re: Remote work requires communicating more, but less frequently

#169

Post by twobitshifter » Fri, Aug 04, 2023, 6:06 PM UTC

lapcat wrote: post #159

newsclues wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It a useless exercise to have people do so for solved problems. Sure, reinventing the wheel every time is a valuable experience, but it's not efficient to relearn how to do things every time. This is like letting toddlers struggle to learn how to tie shoes themselves, sure they will eventually figure it out, but it's better to just teach people have to do the basics, and let people bang their heads against hard probl…

> This is like letting toddlers struggle to learn how to tie shoes themselves Junior engineers aren't toddlers. Hopefully they're a lot more competent. Nobody hires toddlers to do work.

It’s just an analogy. human progress is made from “standing on the shoulders of giants” not starting from scratch.

Re: Remote work requires communicating more, but less frequently

#170

Post by pydry » Fri, Aug 04, 2023, 6:07 PM UTC

andsoitis wrote: post #50

pydry wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dont. Ive gone down many rabbit holes thanks to, for instance, subtly incorrect or outdated docs in working cultures that valued not being interrupted and it's a recipe for anxiety and a huge waste of time.

Hopefully you updated the docs as you encountered them and figured out the most up to date context.

I dont think I even had edit rights. I was also under pressure to do my actual job.

I would have loved to have been working in an environment where I could work with the system maintainers to fix their docs collaboratively but alas it was more of an "I'm busy go away" type environment.

I think this type of dysfunction was fairly common during lockdown WFH.