Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Programmers are most likely to work from home

qz.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 377 posts

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#41

Post by earleybird »

HenryBemis wrote: post #13
johan_larson wrote: post #8

I've been working from home now for a year and a half, and I love it. It's really quiet, and no one interrupts me. The best possible arrangement would be a private office at work, but working at home is miles better than an open-plan office.

I find that when I'm coding, if I get stuck I take a break and go to my baby daughter and start talking to her about the problem (she's 4 months old so her skills are not that great). 3/4 times while talking to her I find workarounds. Her smile is the extra bonus!

At 4 months old, her listening skills are awesome, which is what you need.

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#42

Post by nathanaldensr »

humbleMouse wrote: post #15

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 can be one of the reasons, but not necessarily the only reason. I have experienced this in my own career, for sure. Top performers sometimes are implicitly disallowed from performing because they are too busy making up for the mistakes of others. Unfortunately, often these top performers don't have the authority to make the necessary staffing changes that would actually lead to success.

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#43

Post by ahallock »

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.

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#44

Post by CydeWeys »

zepolen wrote: post #10
draw_down wrote: post #3

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

Your comment does not provide any value until you list the problems you have found.

Social isolation is a huge issue for me. When I spend multiple consecutive days working from home I start to get mildly depressed. Going out at night after a day of working from home doesn't fix it. I think it has to do with what I'm used to from nearly two decades of schooling: socializing with and being in the company of many other people during the daylight hours of weekdays.

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#45

Post by John23832 »

humbleMouse wrote: post #34
School-Cotton wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you really are a top performer, a big part of the justification for your high pay is because you multiply your impact by mentoring more junior employees.

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…

Nobody wants your unwavering loyalty... mentorship is a part of any job. From bagging at your local grocery store, to the CEO of a Fortune 500.

No offense, but it just sounds like you don't really like being around/interacting with people. Theres not necessarily anything wrong with that, but it's not really conducive to long term success... whether that success be in your job, or life in general.

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#46

Post by reverend_gonzo »

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 too prefer working from the office, for the most part. My commute is easy. My setup at work is far better than at home.

However, if I could not be in the office, that means I could find a mountain cabin in the winter, and go ski after work, or a beach cabin in the summer, or just go travel the world, while still working during the day.

These are the kinds of benefits that are extremely desirable.

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#47

Post by samsonradu »

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 like working in the office too, working from home is boring as hell and I did it for years. But it s the commute, it kills the little free time you have in the evenings. You get back home later and much more tired.

I still choose to work from home one day every week or two in order to take care of various other stuff like going to the dentist or checking up the car.

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#48

Post by [deleted] »

Nursie wrote: post #23
humbleMouse wrote: post #15

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…

How is that a dirty secret? Helping build the team, sharing your knowledge and expertise, it's all part of your work. Odd attitude. If you purely want technical tasks, go freelance. Of course then you need to spend time getting business so...

[deleted]

Re: Programmers are most likely to work from home

#50

Post by fsociety »

humbleMouse wrote: post #15

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…

As a junior software developer, it's sad to hear this point of view. Many of us put an extraordinary amount of time towards improving our craft.

On the other hand I've worked with many people who have very similar opinions as yours and they suffered from reality distortion. Their code was poorly implemented and poorly tested, despite what they say, and caused many headaches.

Are you actually a top performer in the software world?

Post reply on HN