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When people say that they can't communicate as well with someone who isn't in the same room that doesn't necessarily mean that a remote setup doesn't work. It c

When people say that they can't communicate as well with someone who isn't in the same room that doesn't necessarily mean that a remote setup doesn't work. It could simply mean they're just lazy and not willing to adjust to a different kind of work environment. It could also mean they actually have sufficient social skills that they're able to make full use of the higher bandwidth available face-to-face, and aren't willing to suffer thru the markedly inferior communications that are all that's possible over the 'net.

PeterStuer 9y ago
And that they probably are also not afraid to use that 'full bandwidth', disrupting everyone workflow, repeatedly, like calling an hour long team status update meeting for a communication that could have perfectly occurred in a 2 line email message. Which you'll also receive. Oh yeah, who's taking the minutes by the way?
- BeetleB 9y ago
  >And that they probably are also not afraid to use that 'full bandwidth', disrupting everyone workflow, repeatedly, like calling an hour long team status update meeting for a communication that could have perfectly occurred in a 2 line email message. To be frank, people using IM to communicate with me disrupt my flow a lot more. They start a thread/conversation/request, and then are slow to respond, or disappear. You can't do that face to face. Face to face (or even telephone) forces people to prepare. Rarely do I see people work that way with IM. People tend to realize that they are interrupting someone if it's a face to face. In my experience, many (most?) workers don't view IM as a significant interruption to the other party. So they feel much more free in using it.
  - FullMtlAlcoholc 9y ago
    >They start a thread/conversation/request, and then are slow to respond, or disappear. That's the primary benefit of qorking remotely IMO. Not having to immediately stop everything im doing allows me to stay in flow state. It also improves the quality of my responses and solutions since i can let the request percolate in my head. Usually, I come up better answers when Im not actively thinking
    - BeetleB 9y ago
      So what's the benefit over just sending an email? If I do not need to respond immediately, why do I need an immediate notification (sound + popup/flashing window) that you've sent me an IM? Let it go to my email and I'll think about it after reading the email. >Not having to immediately stop everything im doing allows me to stay in flow state. So is it OK in remote work for me to turn off IM for 2-4 hours to remain in flow state? If not, then there will be no flow state for me.
    - dsacco 9y ago
      That does not strike me as a quality of remote work. That seems to me to be more a cultural issue with the team in question. I have seen plenty of teams have a “heads down” mode where they are effectively on Do Not Disturb despite being in the office. Conversely, I’ve seen plenty of “mandatory meetings” in remote work as well. Neither paradigm seems particularly advantageous.
    - notyourday 9y ago
      And that's exactly why managers aren't interested in people working remotely. Good managers ask when they actually need something and they expect those working for them to accommodate such requests immediately. That is why, after all, they are managers.
      - gaastonsr 9y ago
        Bad managers IMO. Since their work should be minimize interruptions and facilitate communication inside and across teams.
        notyourday 9y ago
        No, the work of the manager is to do whatever is needed to deliver the result on the task assigned to them, including if necessary decisions to scrap, mothball, reassign, adjust, ignore whatever is happening in the company based on current/future state of the group they manage or based on the situation of the company. That's why they are managers and not low level developers. Developer does not like it? Well, a developer can migrate to writing less code and caring more about business related stuff. It is not like those who can write serializer cannot figure if a certain fire drill is required based on the amount of $$ coming in from a customer who is affected by a bug/wants something.
- Spivak 9y ago
  Being remote doesn't fix that. They'll just initiate a video call or start a conference.
  - gaastonsr 9y ago
    Working remotely you can minimize these interruptions by turning off notifications. Which in my experience is common. And bad etiquette to interrupt (buzzing channels) unless it’s urgent.

PeterStuer 9y ago

And that they probably are also not afraid to use that 'full bandwidth', disrupting everyone workflow, repeatedly, like calling an hour long team status update meeting for a communication that could have perfectly occurred in a 2 line email message. Which you'll also receive. Oh yeah, who's taking the minutes by the way?

BeetleB 9y ago
>And that they probably are also not afraid to use that 'full bandwidth', disrupting everyone workflow, repeatedly, like calling an hour long team status update meeting for a communication that could have perfectly occurred in a 2 line email message. To be frank, people using IM to communicate with me disrupt my flow a lot more. They start a thread/conversation/request, and then are slow to respond, or disappear. You can't do that face to face. Face to face (or even telephone) forces people to prepare. Rarely do I see people work that way with IM. People tend to realize that they are interrupting someone if it's a face to face. In my experience, many (most?) workers don't view IM as a significant interruption to the other party. So they feel much more free in using it.
- FullMtlAlcoholc 9y ago
  >They start a thread/conversation/request, and then are slow to respond, or disappear. That's the primary benefit of qorking remotely IMO. Not having to immediately stop everything im doing allows me to stay in flow state. It also improves the quality of my responses and solutions since i can let the request percolate in my head. Usually, I come up better answers when Im not actively thinking
  - BeetleB 9y ago
    So what's the benefit over just sending an email? If I do not need to respond immediately, why do I need an immediate notification (sound + popup/flashing window) that you've sent me an IM? Let it go to my email and I'll think about it after reading the email. >Not having to immediately stop everything im doing allows me to stay in flow state. So is it OK in remote work for me to turn off IM for 2-4 hours to remain in flow state? If not, then there will be no flow state for me.
  - dsacco 9y ago
    That does not strike me as a quality of remote work. That seems to me to be more a cultural issue with the team in question. I have seen plenty of teams have a “heads down” mode where they are effectively on Do Not Disturb despite being in the office. Conversely, I’ve seen plenty of “mandatory meetings” in remote work as well. Neither paradigm seems particularly advantageous.
  - notyourday 9y ago
    And that's exactly why managers aren't interested in people working remotely. Good managers ask when they actually need something and they expect those working for them to accommodate such requests immediately. That is why, after all, they are managers.
    - gaastonsr 9y ago
      Bad managers IMO. Since their work should be minimize interruptions and facilitate communication inside and across teams.
      - notyourday 9y ago
        No, the work of the manager is to do whatever is needed to deliver the result on the task assigned to them, including if necessary decisions to scrap, mothball, reassign, adjust, ignore whatever is happening in the company based on current/future state of the group they manage or based on the situation of the company. That's why they are managers and not low level developers. Developer does not like it? Well, a developer can migrate to writing less code and caring more about business related stuff. It is not like those who can write serializer cannot figure if a certain fire drill is required based on the amount of $$ coming in from a customer who is affected by a bug/wants something.
Spivak 9y ago
Being remote doesn't fix that. They'll just initiate a video call or start a conference.
- gaastonsr 9y ago
  Working remotely you can minimize these interruptions by turning off notifications. Which in my experience is common. And bad etiquette to interrupt (buzzing channels) unless it’s urgent.