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Twitter Will Allow Employees to Work at Home Forever

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Re: Twitter Will Allow Employees to Work at Home Forever

#581

Post by afterburner »

dogman144 wrote: post #498
papito wrote: post #467

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"We are a family" is bullshit. You need to be a pretty egregious repeat offender to be ostracized from a real family. A company can fire you on a whim, simply because someone with a business degree sorted a spreadsheet with salaries in descending order, and you were in the top 20. The more correct analogy is a sports team. Everyone works well together to win the medal, but it's much more pragmatic in that sense. Perh…

I recently read Netflix's culture doc, and they outright said they treat employees like a sports team - welcome to the team, perform at your best, you may get benched, you may get cut. There's no shame in getting cut, and you should be proud that you had the talent to perform at our level for the time you did. My main takeaway was: fair enough, and when can I get into that interview pipeline. I want to be on a meat-e…

The athletes they and their victims are thinking of when spouting that shitty metaphor make a minimum of a million dollars a year, enough to carry them through the hardships of constantly fighting for their position.

Re: Twitter Will Allow Employees to Work at Home Forever

#582

Post by 2019-nCoV »

dogman144 wrote: post #498
papito wrote: post #467

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"We are a family" is bullshit. You need to be a pretty egregious repeat offender to be ostracized from a real family. A company can fire you on a whim, simply because someone with a business degree sorted a spreadsheet with salaries in descending order, and you were in the top 20. The more correct analogy is a sports team. Everyone works well together to win the medal, but it's much more pragmatic in that sense. Perh…

I recently read Netflix's culture doc, and they outright said they treat employees like a sports team - welcome to the team, perform at your best, you may get benched, you may get cut. There's no shame in getting cut, and you should be proud that you had the talent to perform at our level for the time you did. My main takeaway was: fair enough, and when can I get into that interview pipeline. I want to be on a meat-e…

Great to see Netflix hasn't shun meritocratic values.

Re: Twitter Will Allow Employees to Work at Home Forever

#583

Post by godot »

gregkerzhner wrote: post #356

I think if you work with a brilliant group of coworkers that you love to hangout out with, then you are lucky and I can see how you miss being in the office. But, thats not the case for many of us. The crux of work relationships is that they are not voluntary. You might get lucky and have ones you love, or you might get some that are distracting, or at worse, you dislike. Either way though you are stuck with them. I…

I think there is merit to the point that the "forced" social interaction (of the office) is what makes (a lot of) people even have social interactions at all. For example, it was easier to make friends in school and college because of forced interaction; similarly, anecdotally I see a lot of friendships made among coworkers of mine, some of them became groomsmen/bridesmaids for each other at their weddings.

Having said that, I'm not one of those folks, and I actually agree with your points and I am 100% for remote. I am at a remote role right now and could not be happier.

Re: Twitter Will Allow Employees to Work at Home Forever

#584

Post by dpoochieni »

WilliamEdward wrote: post #244
apengwin wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the rate the market dictates.

This is essentially the same as saying "the sky is blue because it just is"

But in the end it is reality. The question is who is actually in a position to be able to modify it? Because, this rate was reached by the cummulative effects of many many individuals optimizing their decisions for their own particular situation.

Re: Twitter Will Allow Employees to Work at Home Forever

#585

Post by gorgoiler »

This feels like a positive story for Twitter. Especially with the early action in March and the $1000 equipment stipend to help home workers get set up, in addition to their regular IT equipment.

It’s odd therefore to see this announcement come via Buzzfeed.

Re: Twitter Will Allow Employees to Work at Home Forever

#586

Post by 01100011 »

Hard_Space wrote: post #115
caseyw wrote: post #26

I’ve worked from home for a number of years. It’s all about having a normal schedule. My family knows when I’m in the office, I am at work. There isn’t anyone popping over my shoulder, and general interruptions are almost nil in my case. I think a lot of people are going to be super surprised what a quiet room and your playlist of choice can do to increase productivity. Just my 2 cents.

I've been working from home for about 16 months, and I'm afraid my partner doesn't quite get what a different head space I am in when I'm working, when she comes for a friendly visit if she isn't busy herself. I can seem cold and even abrupt, sometimes, when she comes to see me. But it takes so long to get in that space, it is hard to be brought out of it. Ironic thing is, she also works from home about 80-90% of the…

This is the biggest issue for me. Work puts me into a very different mindset(i.e. an asshole) and without obvious signs of when I am or am not working my wife doesn't know how to interact with me.

Re: Twitter Will Allow Employees to Work at Home Forever

#587

Post by airstrike »

papito wrote: post #467
chrismarlow9 wrote: post #412

For me too many companies use the "family" aspect of things too much. No, we're not a family. My family would let me sleep on their couch if I got fired or lost my home. Does the company plan to let me live in the office if they let me go? Are we still doing Thanksgiving? What about a family tree, whos going to keep that up after I die? But seriously, after seeing some nasty employee outcomes over a few jobs it kind…

"We are a family" is bullshit. You need to be a pretty egregious repeat offender to be ostracized from a real family. A company can fire you on a whim, simply because someone with a business degree sorted a spreadsheet with salaries in descending order, and you were in the top 20. The more correct analogy is a sports team. Everyone works well together to win the medal, but it's much more pragmatic in that sense. Perh…

> simply because someone with a business degree

You say that like having a business degree is almost something to be ashamed of, or a lesser degree relative to perhaps "computer engineers" and "computer scientists"

Re: Twitter Will Allow Employees to Work at Home Forever

#588

Post by roenxi »

gregkerzhner wrote: post #356

I think if you work with a brilliant group of coworkers that you love to hangout out with, then you are lucky and I can see how you miss being in the office. But, thats not the case for many of us. The crux of work relationships is that they are not voluntary. You might get lucky and have ones you love, or you might get some that are distracting, or at worse, you dislike. Either way though you are stuck with them. I…

Speaking cynically, you've just outlined the case against a work from home policy. You intend to use it to reduce your integration in the workplace by cutting out an hour of smalltalk with people in the office.

Even the fact that business relationships are fairly shallow - all the more reason for the businesses themselves to encourage them.

Re: Twitter Will Allow Employees to Work at Home Forever

#589

Post by 01100011 »

caseyw wrote: post #26

I’ve worked from home for a number of years. It’s all about having a normal schedule. My family knows when I’m in the office, I am at work. There isn’t anyone popping over my shoulder, and general interruptions are almost nil in my case. I think a lot of people are going to be super surprised what a quiet room and your playlist of choice can do to increase productivity. Just my 2 cents.

A normal schedule helps, but there are a number of other things which need to align in order for it to work. I'm guessing you have those things and take them for granted or you would have listed them.

A proper work environment is key, including limiting distractions and proper ergonomics. You also need co-habitants which respect and understand the boundaries and work rules. It really helps to have a house. I live in an apartment and can't control the distractions(literally as I hit 'reply' someone started a power saw in the garage below my office).

Re: Twitter Will Allow Employees to Work at Home Forever

#590

Post by alden_penny »

themacguffinman wrote: post #480
toohotatopic wrote: post #408

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to The Paradox of Choice[1], more freedom doesn't necessarily lead to more happiness. Without choice, people can grow on each other. With friends, we move on if it becomes difficult. With coworkers we have an opportunity for personal growth. In a way, coworkers are more like family than friends. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paradox_of_Choice

I think this is the reason people's closest friends often come from school. It's so easy in adult life to avoid the difficult work of connecting with people who you don't immediately click with, and it seems like many people take this easy choice once they're out of the mandatory school environment. This is a problem I struggle with even in the office, and I'm beginning to realize how much worse it can be when workin…

Alternatively, my time is a lot more valuable than it was when I was stuck in school all day every day. I am not limited to where I can meet people. Why waste time trying to start a relationship that begins with difficulty when theres so many options that don't.
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