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Remote work doesn't seem to affect productivity, Fed study finds

bloomberg.com

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Re: Remote work doesn't seem to affect productivity, Fed study finds

#461

Post by RestlessMind »

hwillis wrote: post #382
RestlessMind wrote: post #365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You need to get out of your bubble. After having traveled to more than 60 countries on all the continents (except Antarctica), I can assure you that a majority of humans do not have good reliable public transport. It is a luxury that only some parts of the world have. Just as an example, right now I am in an Indian city where there is some minimal public transport but a majority of people need their own vehicle to co…

You're being silly. The majority of the world also doesn't have access to airplanes, but that doesn't mean they don't work . OP is certainly not in the ridiculous bubble you're describing.

OP's words: "Thankfully the US is a major outlier in this aspect globally."

I don't think OP understands the meaning of the word globally

Re: Remote work doesn't seem to affect productivity, Fed study finds

#462

Post by RestlessMind »

genman wrote: post #415
RestlessMind wrote: post #365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You need to get out of your bubble. After having traveled to more than 60 countries on all the continents (except Antarctica), I can assure you that a majority of humans do not have good reliable public transport. It is a luxury that only some parts of the world have. Just as an example, right now I am in an Indian city where there is some minimal public transport but a majority of people need their own vehicle to co…

I do not think that it is valid to compare a developing country that can't provide even proper sanitation to US. We can compare US to Japan, to Europe, perhaps to some parts of China but certainly not to India - it would be too much apples to cucumbers comparison.

I agree. Then let's say "developed world". Saying US is a global outlier is silly when much of the globe is underdeveloped.

Re: Remote work doesn't seem to affect productivity, Fed study finds

#463

Post by coldpie »

hospitalJail wrote: post #447
coldpie wrote: post #307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My commute is about 40 minutes each way by bus, plus a 5 minute walk on both ends. I love it. I get outdoors for a short walk four times a day, I read books and magazines on the bus, see what's being built or new businesses opening around town, sometimes I get to meet neighbors and other commuters, or help out random strangers with directions or whatever. My commute to work is definitely a benefit to my life.

The human brain is incredible at rationalization.

In this thread, hospitalJail discovers that some people enjoy leaving their basement :)

Re: Remote work doesn't seem to affect productivity, Fed study finds

#464

Post by dmoy »

hnbad wrote: post #434
BeetleB wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I know it's a bit of an outlier (SAH mother + WFH father) Not much of an outlier.

In this economy? Maybe not in your income bracket.

In the US at least, it's like 2:1 ratio, maybe 30-35% of families with kids have a stay at home parent.

So, less common, but not an incredible outlier.

Re: Remote work doesn't seem to affect productivity, Fed study finds

#465

Post by malermeister »

intended wrote: post #457
teaearlgraycold wrote: post #452

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just commute during work hours. My boss is fine with this and I'm in the office around 6.5 hours per day.

Which is perfect. If that time is counted as part of work, thats a good deal. That is ideally what it should change to.

It still sucks. I want to be solving interesting problems during my work hours, not deal with traffic.

Re: Remote work doesn't seem to affect productivity, Fed study finds

#466

Post by teaearlgraycold »

malermeister wrote: post #465
intended wrote: post #457

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is perfect. If that time is counted as part of work, thats a good deal. That is ideally what it should change to.

It still sucks. I want to be solving interesting problems during my work hours, not deal with traffic.

Thankfully I take the train/bike (and I love biking quickly up the SF hills, absolutely smoking people using electric motors).

Re: Remote work doesn't seem to affect productivity, Fed study finds

#467

Post by steveBK123 »

wharvle wrote: post #449
steveBK123 wrote: post #380

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know how important all this social science stuff is to be honest. I've worked for 20 years in global teams, and written communication is very important. Having US/UK/Ireland/HK/Singapore split team isn't much different from remote. Over the years I've worked in smaller orgs with a higher % of local people. What I can tell you is that the amount of chatter grew exponentially. One place I used to call it "bilat…

In my experience, remote takes already-inefficient and error-prone workplace communication cultures that manage to muddle by with in-office workers at "merely" a significant productivity cost, and makes it totally unworkable. The obvious solution is to fix your very-noticeably fucked up communication culture, since that would also improve in-person work. Some orgs and managers seem to have decided, comically incorrec…

You mean having 3 layers of management do a drive-by at developer desks in the space of a day, with conflicting asks is bad?

Or having the universe revolve around Jira, berating devs for lack of story progress in standup, and shouting about velocity in sprint ceremonies.. while also doing the above said verbal drive-bys? Who is causing all this churn?? Where is our focus? Where are people spending their time??

It's unknowable.

Re: Remote work doesn't seem to affect productivity, Fed study finds

#468

Post by RGamma »

helboi4 wrote: post #428
RGamma wrote: post #417

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1) heavily depends on the person (you seem the extraverted type who seem to suffer the most; for instance I can go weeks without much f2f interaction and not be disturbed by it). And 2), well, that sucks. Needs a suitable culture and the right setup...

Don't worry I moved to a company where people have to come in 2-3 times a week and the culture is great and I'm not depressed any more. It works much better than any other setup I've tried. My problem with the extraversion/introversion dichotomy is that I'm not either extreme. I am far too introverted to competently fulfil my basic social needs without some form of passive socialising like having an office full of pe…

Good to hear, may we all find a niche that works for us.

Re: Remote work doesn't seem to affect productivity, Fed study finds

#469

Post by chatmasta »

nine_k wrote: post #341
intended wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would add one major change that the work from home experiment has achieved - its made the opportunity cost of the work commute clear. This is a time cost paid for by the worker. As you stated, this is variable. If you have a short commute, or you like it, or you get some exercise - office is great. If you hate your commute, if its 3 hours in pollution and traffic - not so much. Earlier the position was that WFH was…

BTW this is where commute by public transport shines. My 30 minutes to the office are my dedicated reading time, an hour a day. If instead I had to drive, that would be lost time, because paying enough attention to the book distracts enough from driving to add unnecessary risk.

It shines when comparing to commute by private transport, but not so much when comparing it to no commute at all. If you didn't have a commute to the office, you would still have an hour to do your reading, but you could do it in bed, or in a coffee shop, or in your kitchen, or on a walk...

Re: Remote work doesn't seem to affect productivity, Fed study finds

#470

Post by malermeister »

repeekad wrote: post #402
steveBK123 wrote: post #380

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know how important all this social science stuff is to be honest. I've worked for 20 years in global teams, and written communication is very important. Having US/UK/Ireland/HK/Singapore split team isn't much different from remote. Over the years I've worked in smaller orgs with a higher % of local people. What I can tell you is that the amount of chatter grew exponentially. One place I used to call it "bilat…

Oh and to be clear I’m less commenting on productivity, more on the soft stuff like sense of belonging to the org, enjoying time at work, and building real relationships. These things are strictly local, no one expects to form relationships with the accounting team in Ireland, and having an explicit process for interacting with them is probably more important than an explicit process for interacting with your manager…

I always thought that's kind of a bullshit thing.

I have plenty of friends outside of work. I work for a living and I'm a professional doing a job, not a kid on a play date.

The cynic in me always felt that people who emphasize this benefit of office work just can't make friends unless people are forced to hang out with them every day.

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