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This article presumes that trust is the only reason that employers don't allow or support remote work. It's also assumes that the individual's peak productivity

This article presumes that trust is the only reason that employers don't allow or support remote work. It's also assumes that the individual's peak productivity is the most important thing. However, neither are necessarily true - I actually really enjoy a team dynamic. A team working well together can lead to amazing leaps in productively. And it's very hard to replicate that remotely. Building remote teams is extremely hard and takes a lot of investment. If you look at the companies that do it well, it's almost a cultural obsession.

JoeAltmaier 10y ago
If you've ever agitated for working remotely, you'll discover that trust is probably two of the top three reasons managers don't want to let anybody do it.
- imsofuture 10y ago
  Which is funny, because remote workers almost to a fault work TOO MUCH. It becomes a lot easier to blend work and life. For some people that's okay (if not an ideal situation), for others it's not, and they either figure out how to segregate the two and work a normal amount or it becomes a one-way ticket to burn-out.
  - tedmiston 10y ago
    This is one of the biggest points Jason Fried & DHH made in REMOTE (https://37signals.com/remote https://37signals.com/remote). The other one was about a human being's natural need for socialization... "cabin fever".
jdauriemma 10y ago
> Building remote teams is extremely hard and takes a lot of investment. But finding, leasing, and maintaining an office is not hard and does not require a lot of investment?
- clay_to_n 10y ago
  Well it does, but when most of your org wants / needs to work in person, you need to pay that. The cost of an office is probably less than the value added by the employees who would leave if you went remote-only, at least in many firms.
- tedmiston 10y ago
  The answer to the expense of office space varies widely based on arrangements and location. Outside of the coasts, there are definitely areas where commercial space that startups use is cheaper per sq ft than residential. A couple of years ago, I was talking with a VC from New York about his (non-fancy) Manhattan office space being $80+ per sq ft while there were good spaces in my city for $1 per sq ft without tenants.
christophilus 10y ago
In my experience, trust is the #1 reason. The #2 reason is still related to trust, when you dig deeper, and has to do with a perception in loss of "culture" or productivity due to decreased collaboration. My evidence is anecdotal, but it has been a consistent experience for me talking to several dozens of non-remote vs remote workplaces in the Durham, NC and Charleston, SC areas.

JoeAltmaier 10y ago

If you've ever agitated for working remotely, you'll discover that trust is probably two of the top three reasons managers don't want to let anybody do it.

imsofuture 10y ago
Which is funny, because remote workers almost to a fault work TOO MUCH. It becomes a lot easier to blend work and life. For some people that's okay (if not an ideal situation), for others it's not, and they either figure out how to segregate the two and work a normal amount or it becomes a one-way ticket to burn-out.
- tedmiston 10y ago
  This is one of the biggest points Jason Fried & DHH made in REMOTE (https://37signals.com/remote https://37signals.com/remote). The other one was about a human being's natural need for socialization... "cabin fever".

jdauriemma 10y ago

> Building remote teams is extremely hard and takes a lot of investment. But finding, leasing, and maintaining an office is not hard and does not require a lot of investment?

clay_to_n 10y ago
Well it does, but when most of your org wants / needs to work in person, you need to pay that. The cost of an office is probably less than the value added by the employees who would leave if you went remote-only, at least in many firms.
tedmiston 10y ago
The answer to the expense of office space varies widely based on arrangements and location. Outside of the coasts, there are definitely areas where commercial space that startups use is cheaper per sq ft than residential. A couple of years ago, I was talking with a VC from New York about his (non-fancy) Manhattan office space being $80+ per sq ft while there were good spaces in my city for $1 per sq ft without tenants.

christophilus 10y ago

In my experience, trust is the #1 reason. The #2 reason is still related to trust, when you dig deeper, and has to do with a perception in loss of "culture" or productivity due to decreased collaboration. My evidence is anecdotal, but it has been a consistent experience for me talking to several dozens of non-remote vs remote workplaces in the Durham, NC and Charleston, SC areas.