3 ms·

You have a point. If someone does not enjoy remote work, then they should not get a remote job. I'm not a very good country music singer. When I sing country m

• percept 11y ago
  As a remote worker you can sing it loud and proud.
  • buf 11y ago
    I didn't want to rub it in.
• gkop 11y ago
  Ok, so your company only hires country singers? You are missing out on amazing, qualified candidates that don't sing country music. Even if you are having a successful time hiring great people that are happy remote, how are you going to retain them? A remote software job is much closer to a commodity than a traditional software job. (I read the 37signals book and built a remote team over 5 years; in the end the difficulty finding people that are truly happy remote meant retention was difficult and, overall recruiting and cost of living considered, a remote team was, for me, a net wash). Edit: after thinking more, it's even worse; you don't know if most applicants can really be happy singing country music for a year, 2 years, or longer... Even those that seem to really value and are excited about the prospect of singing country music may learn before too long that it's not for them.
  • Swizec 11y ago
    > A remote software job is much closer to a commodity than a traditional software job In the current climate all software [engineering] jobs are commodities from an employee viewpoint.
    • gkop 11y ago
      True. But until we start to see the proportion of remote jobs to all jobs decline, remote is just as easily available as traditional, but lacking the physical and social stickiness that distinguishes traditional jobs and facilitates retention; remote is "closer to a commodity".
      • Swizec 11y ago
        I guess that's true. But my inner cynic thinks that (ab)using people's herd instincts like that to "facilitate retention" cheapens traditional jobs. I would rather work remotely and have a meaningful social life, than work in an office and have a social life that my employer engineers to make me less likely to leave for a better job. As an introvert, there is only so much social interaction I can take in a day. The office burns through most of it.
        • gkop 11y ago
          I agree with you. I need to be more nuanced and less cold in my language. The reality is, I prefer going to an office and seeing my coworkers; fortunately this is well-aligned with the retention interests of my company.
          • Swizec 11y ago
            As I said, I'm probably just too cynical, and seeing things through the fact that I don't like going to an office. I agree that when it comes to team productivity rather than personal productivity, offices do work better. Especially when people of varying skill levels are involved.
• workitout 11y ago
  I was with you even though I've not used most of the tools you mentioned which must have been first released in the past 6 months for the hipsters. Why describe country music using terms like "discomfort", "shame" and "depression"? I can't think of any music that should make anyone feel that way. It almost seems to suggest a narrative, if you don't know what the new group of hot new tools are that were released yesterday, "Speech", "Slacker" (is that Slacker radio or Slack Linux?) and you like country music; don't bother to work for us. I'm guessing it also means if you're older than 25 no need to apply.
  • buf 11y ago
    Not sure what you're suggesting. We're all over 30.