I hope work from home continues • Hacker News Board

Re: I hope work from home continues

#51

Post by BitwiseFool » Tue, Apr 06, 2021, 3:16 PM UTC

Covid WFH is a real issue for our new developers. Especially the ones who are fresh out of college. They're missing out on so much institutional knowledge transfer. Especially the kind of monkey-see-monkey-do experience you need to build confidence using tools such as git.

They're also hesitant to ping coworkers and ask for screen sharing time because they can't sense if the more senior developers are working on something. Mentorship has also been difficult when the mentor and mentee cannot work side by side.

Management is looking into alternatives, such as having volunteers come into the office on a rotating basis.

Re: I hope work from home continues

#52

Post by lostlogin » Tue, Apr 06, 2021, 3:16 PM UTC

mikece wrote: post #24

benbristow wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lucky you. I live in a top-floor apartment so don't have the luxury of a garden and I'm isolated by myself as I live alone. It's not the same for everyone.

Luck had nothing to do with the choices I made in my career and life.

Where, when and to who you were born, and your health. There is plenty of luck involved.

Re: I hope work from home continues

#53

Post by ska » Tue, Apr 06, 2021, 3:16 PM UTC

Not only would I not like to go back to the office described in this article, I would have left ages ago (and am lucky enough to be able to choose that).

One interesting thing about all this should-we shouldn't-we discussion about offices is that it gives everyone a bit better view - positive and negative - of how different people work lives can be.

Re: I hope work from home continues

#54

Post by refulgentis » Tue, Apr 06, 2021, 3:17 PM UTC

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #12

What kind of office was this person working in? Having to breathe jet exhaust fumes while suffering through 85 degree indoor temperatures and drinking algae-filled water is nowhere near normal. The company he’s describing is severely broken if everything he’s describing is true. Most of what he describes are not normal office problems. Some of them are even health and safety violations. Working from home will only di…

I believe they're describing a call center, and I agree vehemently: the title is broad and doesn't reflect the subject, someone on HN needs to hire this guy, not debate/agree with whether he needs to go back to the office

Re: I hope work from home continues

#55

Post by spoonjim » Tue, Apr 06, 2021, 3:17 PM UTC

chrisseaton wrote: post #2

Many people have decided in the last couple of months that it's safe to restart the war on remote working. I think the attacks are likely to get increasingly intense and blunt.

There are already employers committing to supporting remote. If your company isn’t one of them, and you need it, change employers. Frankly I want not only to go back to the office but also to not have to work with remote people, so I hope my employer does not allow remote and all of the hardcore WFHers leave the company.

Re: I hope work from home continues

#56

Post by JumpCrisscross » Tue, Apr 06, 2021, 3:17 PM UTC

BitwiseFool wrote: post #51

Covid WFH is a real issue for our new developers. Especially the ones who are fresh out of college. They're missing out on so much institutional knowledge transfer. Especially the kind of monkey-see-monkey-do experience you need to build confidence using tools such as git. They're also hesitant to ping coworkers and ask for screen sharing time because they can't sense if the more senior developers are working on some…

> Covid WFH is a real issue for our new developers

I'm seeing this across the board. Learning curves are shallower. Matt Levine commented on it with respect to the Goldman Sachs B.S.:

"...it's usually that 100 hours of work for a first year analyst is probably closer to 80 hours of work for a second year analyst. But first years aren't learning as quickly working remotely, so the time isn't being shaved down, it's just staying at 100 hours a week."

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-03-25/matt-l...

Re: I hope work from home continues

#57

Post by antiterra » Tue, Apr 06, 2021, 3:18 PM UTC

This is a tough problem, because some people do work much better from home and aren’t particularly interested in interacting outside of pure work discussions.

However, some people’s productivity is significantly worse from home (mine, for example,) even if it’s their primary choice. While I wish work was as simple as treating everyone as responsible adults, I’ve experienced working with well-entrenched coworkers who barely contribute at all, and whose productivity is weakened by their inability to interact in-person.

Further, even the heads down antisocial developer needs to communicate with a project/product manager or a support engineer on a regular basis. In this situation, talking in person seems to help communication between coworkers that often make too many assumptions otherwise.

Re: I hope work from home continues

#58

Post by l-p » Tue, Apr 06, 2021, 3:18 PM UTC

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #12

What kind of office was this person working in? Having to breathe jet exhaust fumes while suffering through 85 degree indoor temperatures and drinking algae-filled water is nowhere near normal. The company he’s describing is severely broken if everything he’s describing is true. Most of what he describes are not normal office problems. Some of them are even health and safety violations. Working from home will only di…

> Having to breathe jet exhaust fumes while suffering through 85 degree indoor temperatures and drinking algae-filled water is nowhere near normal.

I was told to suck it up and do at least 50+ hours (35h paid) when working at temps over 42c (110f). Both are illegal here, they don't care, they will always find a poor sucker in a dire situation needing the job.

Re: I hope work from home continues

#59

Post by Ocerge » Tue, Apr 06, 2021, 3:18 PM UTC

jmkni wrote: post #23

I’m completely the opposite to be honest. I’ve found working from home lonely and isolating, and am badly missing the structure of getting up, showered and going into an office! For people at a certain stage of life, I’m sure working from home is great, but have some empathy for those of us it sucks for.

Ditto for me. This is the loneliest I've ever been and worst my mental health has ever been. I had no idea this is how I would react to remote work, but I'm counting the days until I get to separate home and work again.

Re: I hope work from home continues

#60

Post by tomca32 » Tue, Apr 06, 2021, 3:18 PM UTC

spoonjim wrote: post #44

mylons wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s fine. Don’t make me come back to the office because you have undesirable accommodations.

Nobody’s making you do anything, if your employer forces a return to the office and you don’t like it you can find a new employer.

If the only option to stay remote is to quit then that's the definition of "My employer is making me return to the office".