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How to set junior employees up for success in remote

slite.com

71–80 of 370 posts

Re: How to set junior employees up for success in remote

#71
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMO, an expensive keyboard/mouse/monitor isn't necessary for a junior to succeed. Plenty of coders learned on much worse.

I actually find it hard to switch from my "bad" hardware, I'm so used to one single small screen and average keyboard that it's how I do all my coding, despite having enough money to buy an expensive set up. I find it distracts me from my actual job, which is thinking.

At least a second monitor tends to be super useful, especially if you ever need to refer to documentation or another file while coding.

To add, while this study isn't measuring actual productivity, people say they expect/feel like their productivity increased 40% with a second monitor:

https://www.jonpeddie.com/press-releases/jon-peddie-research...

Re: How to set junior employees up for success in remote

#73
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's penny wise, pound foolish thinking. A good keyboard and mouse and monitor for your developers (who directly earn you revenue) is not going to break the bank. But the lack of them will reduce productivity and morale, possibly even causing (on the margin) some talented people to leave. RSI and posture problems are no joke! In other industries you need immense capital investment in equipment for workers to be pro…

Your comment reminds me of all the people screeching about their good school district, as if it is somehow capable of covering for them if they choose to be a crap parent. In both cases the stuff people are fussing over is basically a rounding error compared to the big factors. Beyond some basic utility, e.g. being able to compile the code in under 5min, the hardware one uses is of negligible impact to their success.…

A glitchy mouse sends the message that a company is not willing to spend $35 on a mid-tier Logitech mouse for the benefit of a resource they are likely spending six figures on (not just in salary but other costs).

If they are making this easily fixable mistake, imagine what else they're doing poorly.

Re: How to set junior employees up for success in remote

#74
post #2

While I can understand some of the arguments made about juniors getting some extra benefit from having everything close to hand, the sheer pace of the hit pieces against remote the last month or so is hilarious and very telling.

Slite is a SaaS company providing tooling for remote work and is a fully remote company itself, all of that since well before the pandemic. So I think calling the article a "hit piece against remote" is unwarranted in this case. Disclaimer: I have an acquaintance who works there.

Founder of Slite here, your reply is spot on, we try to be as honest on the pros and cons of remote when we think internally of the future of this market, and when we share our research or insights outside.

It's not all pink, and our mission is very much to remove the roadblocks, so we need to acknowledge the issues that prevent remote from being seen as a no brainer by some teams today.

Re: How to set junior employees up for success in remote

#75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it's really that much of a problem, most companies will let you bring your own. Everyone at my last place did that with no issue.

It's been the norm for decades that companies provide workers with the tools they need to do their job. And good companies provide good tools. If you're bringing in your own means of production, what is the company for?

My mouse and keyboard together are less than $75. A Visual Studio Pro license is ~$1600. I think I'm still coming out ahead.

Re: How to set junior employees up for success in remote

#76
post #59

I can not relate to this. I found my first real job after university in a medium sized company (100-200 employees). This company is a truly in-office company by heart. Before covid everybody had to go to the office. Working from home was not an option. Not even for one day. The whole culture was built around the in-person work experience. But due to covid everybody worked remote. So did I. I actually never met most o…

I think it's just how the environment is set up. If the company sets you up for success in remote work, there might be some sub-optimal things, but it will work out. (Remember, not everything is perfect in the office as well).

If the company does not accommodate for this properly, then you will fail. Experience will help you compensate for some of these shortcomings, but that will also only go so far.

Re: How to set junior employees up for success in remote

#77
This is definitely something I've observed, even with young-senior people, since COVID.

If you're set in your ways, remote work is a blessing - the office was just a hindrance to the optimal workflow. But if you're adapting your workflow, then remote work is an extra barrier.

There's a lot of reasons someone may need to adapt their workflow: maybe they're junior, maybe they're new, maybe they're just a good PM/salesperson/manager who's trying to clear the way. Remote work is a distribution shift in the difficulty of their work.

Re: How to set junior employees up for success in remote

#78
post #2

While I can understand some of the arguments made about juniors getting some extra benefit from having everything close to hand, the sheer pace of the hit pieces against remote the last month or so is hilarious and very telling.

Slite is a SaaS company providing tooling for remote work and is a fully remote company itself, all of that since well before the pandemic. So I think calling the article a "hit piece against remote" is unwarranted in this case. Disclaimer: I have an acquaintance who works there.

Their evidence that leads to a bold font subsection of "Why junior employees are more likely to fail in remote" is a linkedin and reddit poll with I agree this isn't a hit piece, but it is definitely lacking substance to arrive at a controversial conclusion.

Re: How to set junior employees up for success in remote

#79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it's really that much of a problem, most companies will let you bring your own. Everyone at my last place did that with no issue.

It's been the norm for decades that companies provide workers with the tools they need to do their job. And good companies provide good tools. If you're bringing in your own means of production, what is the company for?

If your laptop is the means of production, just quit your job and work for yourself, you'll make loads more money.

Either that's true (sometimes it is!), and you should do it, or it's false, and the company is providing something after all.

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