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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

#231
post #206
post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would V8 have been written in an open office environment? https://www.ft.com/content/03775904-177c-11de-8c9d-0000779fd...

Paywall link. What's the summary?

You can use google cache:

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:AUQIVz...

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When companies are laying off their top performers to save money either (a) they are falling apart, likely near death, and you should leave anyway or (b) they are just a stupid shitty company that doesn't understand the value of top developers so you should leave anyway. So if you get laid off, it is probably a favor.

Not much of a favor if you don't see it coming and still have bills to pay.

But a true "top performer" would have another job in a week (especially in a tech hub), no?

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#233

There is a dirty secret that nobody talks about and the real reason that companies want programmers in the office. Companies want their top performers in the office so they can serve as trainers/mentors/teachers to the new college kids and the incompetent older people they hire. I think this is the real reason companies crack down on working from home. It's infuriating as a top performer - I just want to get my assig…

That's a very myopic view of your job responsibilities. Presuambly you had mentors yourself earlier in your career that helped you out greatly. I know I did. If they'd all been working from home, and thus were unavailable for the kind of help that they gave me, I might not be where I am today. Helping along the next generation of coders is part of your job description. Most employers would rather have a good programm…

What's wrong with asking questions over email? Is physical presence actually needed for effective mentoring?

Your view taken to the extreme would mean that this thread itself is dysfunctional because people aren't face-to-face and instead discussing on a message board.

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#234
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.

Imagine our cities if everyone had the flexibility to work from home as needed/wanted.The time when you did need to commute into the office would be much quicker due to the reduced traffic. It would be a huge win as long as everyone at every company doesn't decided to commute on the same day.

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#235
post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 com…

Yeah, all but one of your complaints would be solved by a door[1]. Are there actually programmers who prefer the open-office setting? It's not like I magically stop socializing if you put me in an office. The only thing worse than open-office for me is a setting where my back is to a space that people are walking through. I can't even have my back to an open doorway in an office (assuming the hallway outside is somew…

>Are there actually programmers who prefer the open-office setting?

Yes, I prefer it. I can very easily drown out everyone and everything in the room by simply listening to music when I need to, and I like the proximity to everyone else that the open office provides.

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think what people miss most often is that this is NOT a "one solution fits all" kind of thing. For some office cultures one is better, and for some people one is better. I myself am very easily distracted, and I'm far more productive at home, where I have a private office set to my preferences, including sound (this sounds ridiculous, but my ear cartilage is sensitive, so I can't wear earbuds and over-the-ear headp…

I genuinely cannot figure out what "playing the pronoun game" means in this context.

Sorry - my bad for assuming the expression was commonly known.

TL;DR: pronouns in a text exchange are easily confusing.

In conversation, most people aren't actually understanding each sentence. Instead, we're mentally and subconsciously keeping a list of terms that we don't understand - usually pronouns - retroactively applying them as more clues come up to what they are. If you watch as an outsider to a short discussion between two people, you can usually see this in action.

In text, with greater pauses between parts of the exchange (email) and/or out-of-sync replies (IRC/Slack/Hipchat/Discord), it becomes easier for a pronoun to remain unclear. Oddly, instead of saying "I don't know what 'it' is in that sentence" (because we're tracking subconsciously) we tend to just consider what they are saying as unclear in general and mentally skip over it.

If you're communicating via text often, it pays to avoid most pronouns and bypass this sort of problem. Consider the first sentence of this post - had I said "my bad for assuming it was commonly known", you PROBABLY would have followed, because you had sent only one sentence. Had you sent three sentences, "it" would be less clear. Had you written at annoying length as I am, the word "it" would have been quite likely to be unclear.

I'm sure you've had the experience where you send something like "Would it be better to do A? Or does it make more sense to do B?" and the person replies "Yes". Similar cause, though no actual pronoun, just an implied one. Take any email thread with management involved (because everyone top posts and doesn't trim) and you can usually find where people are talking past each other or repeating themselves because pronouns/subjects of sentences weren't clear to the other party.

This post to the contrary, I've found that having SHORT posts but being explicit about subjects and direct objects greatly increases comprehension. I also tend to try and lead with what I need the person to do, or end with a single clear question or statement.

Because communicating by text is a skill, not an automatic perfect ability.

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#237
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...

To add to sibling, Hendrix didn't work alone. Not only did Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell (the rest of the Jimi Hendrix Experience) contribute massively to his work, but Hendrix spent the first 3 years of his (unfortunately only 6 year) career cutting his teeth (literally) as a backing player for much bigger performers (Isley Brothers, Sam Cooke).

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I respectfully disagree. The justification for my high pay is because I integrate complex systems with shitty vendor web service api's and automate the transmission of sensitive data. The work I am doing has a huge impact on profitability of my company - much more than the joke of a 6 figure rate they are paying to keep me around. I avoid being a fulltime employee because I don't want to have some unwritten commitmen…

Sorry, but if your 6-figure rate is a joke, go get a higher rate, or even better, go out and start your own company. If you build your own company you will understand the value that other roles have and get away from the arrogant mentality that good code is the most valuable thing. The fact is, you aren't in a position to evaluate the value that all the other roles are bringing to the company. There's a reason that v…

Also, a large part of being an architect is basically shuffling and convincing people to get on board with your vision, since you're not going to write much of the code yourself. Being personable goes far, being difficult means people tend to not actually do what you need and make fun of you after the meeting. I've witnessed both.

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#239
post #136

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…

Unfortunately, having your own office is costly plus it doesn't satisfy the boss's need to see a large group of people actively doing his/her bidding.

an office doesn't necessarily have: (2) walls that are made of drywall and are floor to ceiling (1) drywall + door (1) window

I am looking at new office space now and I am thinking about setting up glass cubicles and having an office sound system that will pump out white noise.

I am concerned about aesthetics though.

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