People love working remotely • Hacker News Board

Re: People love working remotely

#261

Post by Const-me » Tue, Aug 20, 2019, 7:10 PM UTC

g051051 wrote: post #16

I was full-time WFH for 6 wonderful years. I was happy, my productivity was off the charts, I was saving tons of money because I didn't have to spend it on my car and clothes, I had extra time that I wasn't wasting on my commute, etc. Then, we had a big shake-up. A bunch of senior people left, and new "leadership" came in to "transform" our workplace. All WFH was cancelled in our division (in spite of still being off…

> a 15 minute fact-to-face is better than a multi-day email chain

I agree with that. But 15 minutes phone or video call works just as well as a meeting in person.

Speaking from experience, I’ve been working from home for 8 years now.

Re: People love working remotely

#262

Post by rootusrootus » Tue, Aug 20, 2019, 7:11 PM UTC

targonca wrote: post #253

g051051 wrote: post #16

I was full-time WFH for 6 wonderful years. I was happy, my productivity was off the charts, I was saving tons of money because I didn't have to spend it on my car and clothes, I had extra time that I wasn't wasting on my commute, etc. Then, we had a big shake-up. A bunch of senior people left, and new "leadership" came in to "transform" our workplace. All WFH was cancelled in our division (in spite of still being off…

>white noise over the speakers W-what? I know some people swear that white noise makes them concentrate better, but forcing everyone to listen to white noise? Wtf. I'm not even sure that's legal from an occupational health & safety standpoint.

It is common. You have likely experienced it without even realizing it. The point of the white noise is to reduce the distance voices carry in open environments so they are less distracting. Some places crank it pretty loud, though, to the point where it becomes an irritant.

Re: People love working remotely

#263

Post by geddy » Tue, Aug 20, 2019, 7:18 PM UTC

teddyuk wrote: post #113

Having millions of people regularly commuting into major cities is a disaster. You create all this traffic, congestion on trains, sometimes people packed liked sardines for what? To sit in an office and work less than you would in the peace and quiet at home. Much better if governments encouraged people to work from home, maybe have local hubs where people can go to if they can't work at home. Cut down on the traffic…

Same numbers and thoughts here, except swap London with NYC. The government needs to incentivize behavior that's good for everyone. Offering some incentive to businesses who allow, for instance, 1-2 days a week from home would be huge. The amount of congestion that would cut down alone would be massive, in theory removing 20% of commuters every day.

Re: People love working remotely

#264

Post by cliffy » Tue, Aug 20, 2019, 7:20 PM UTC

jackmodern wrote: post #167

eloff wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Time to find a new job. I've worked fully remote my whole career, first by necessity and then by choice. There are lots of companies out there.

how do you find those companies?

Networking with people who manage/hire for distributed teams is really helpful.

Also having a good reputations with other engineers who also work remotely, they'll get you in places you wouldn't have heard of otherwise.

Re: People love working remotely

#265

Post by zarkov99 » Tue, Aug 20, 2019, 7:21 PM UTC

Yes, but do their employers? It is easy to come up with things that employees or employers will love, it is pleasing the two groups simultaneously that is hard.

Re: People love working remotely

#266

Post by alfromspace » Tue, Aug 20, 2019, 7:27 PM UTC

g051051 wrote: post #16

I was full-time WFH for 6 wonderful years. I was happy, my productivity was off the charts, I was saving tons of money because I didn't have to spend it on my car and clothes, I had extra time that I wasn't wasting on my commute, etc. Then, we had a big shake-up. A bunch of senior people left, and new "leadership" came in to "transform" our workplace. All WFH was cancelled in our division (in spite of still being off…

Why are open-plan offices being pushed so hard, relentlessly, everywhere, all the time - when nearly everybody hates working in them, and all evidence points to them being unproductive and harmful?

Re: People love working remotely

#267

Post by mgkimsal » Tue, Aug 20, 2019, 7:28 PM UTC

eikenberry wrote: post #237

alexhutcheson wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't found any mode of communication that's as effective for building trust as face-to-face interaction. Video conferencing, email, tickets, etc. all work well for the "Let's make a decision on this issue" or "Let's get this specific thing done" use-case, but it's much harder to actually get to know someone and build trust over those mediums. That's unfortunate, because trust between people on a team is a huge f…

And this is why you have occasional gatherings. To help establish trust and a better sense of community. Every remote position I've held has had at least a yearly get-together for just this reason.

and... if you start 2 weeks after the last yearly get together... you're on the outs for a long time.

nothing against yearly meetings, but would hope people have ways of getting together more often if the group decides its necessary.

Re: People love working remotely

#268

Post by mcguire » Tue, Aug 20, 2019, 7:28 PM UTC

colordrops wrote: post #246

wolco wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Happened to me. What I did was go into the office and constantly talk to the vp's and ceo. Not about anything important really boring weather/how are you doing? The more removed the person from my department the more I would go out of my way to talk to them. Start asking difficult questions at the all staff forums. Always threw in doubts in meetings with non-tech people. I asked for a special chair for my back. Start…

This sort of sabotage wouldn't get past the management where I work. They'd see right through it and fire me.

Do you need that kind of sabotage, then?

They must be either good, or you need to run away, fast.

Re: People love working remotely

#269

Post by thanatropism » Tue, Aug 20, 2019, 7:39 PM UTC

ownagefool wrote: post #151

nimblegorilla wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There's nothing wrong about a multi day email chain. Email chains can work for some things, but they mostly suck compared to face to face meetings. You never know if someone else is silent because they agree, they haven't read the whole email, or they haven't taken time to write a response. Most things able to be solved by email chains are better off in some sort of issue tracking or wiki system.

Face to face meetings also suck because the extroverts own the floor. You don't know if people didn't pipe up because they agree, or because they aren't rude enough to stop Bob talking, and now it's too late.

I know both extroverts and introverts who are really bad at email type text communication.

Re: People love working remotely

#270

Post by donretag » Tue, Aug 20, 2019, 7:46 PM UTC

I have been working remotely for 3-4 years, and I am currently job hunting.

I did not like working remotely honestly. As an extrovert, I did not like the isolation. However, the major drawback was not being able to steer any of the tech/political discussion because I was remote. I had poor managers/CTO that needed a good smack to the head because they were too scatterbrained, but I was not there to do it. Impossible over Slack.

Now that I am job hunting again, I am wary of remote jobs. Of the three roles I am pursuing now, only one is remote. I have a good feeling about this one since there already is a sizable part of the office that is remote.