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I absolutely detest every single aspect of remote work. Every time my coworkers or I wfh (and all companies I worked were very lax as to when you can wfh) small

I absolutely detest every single aspect of remote work. Every time my coworkers or I wfh (and all companies I worked were very lax as to when you can wfh) small, tiny communication problems start occurring that bite us in the future. I find it easier to motivate myself in the office, with people, free snacks/food. I don't think slack/hangouts is a replacement for face-to-face conversation. I cannot even imagine working remote full time. It's not just that I don't trust myself, I don't trust other people too.

ravenstine 8y ago
> small, tiny communication problems start occurring that bite us in the future Like?
Heliosmaster 8y ago
Remote working might not be for everybody.. and that is okay. There are plenty of people who cannot make themselves go to the gym on their own, they won't travel alone, etc. And plenty of people who do. > It's not just that I don't trust myself, I don't trust other people too. This sentiment seems to say that you don't trust your colleagues in general, and that doesn't really make a difference remote or at the job. There are plenty of "chair warmers" at every office...
- c-smile 8y ago
  > Remote working might not be for everybody That's definitely so. In the same way as 5% (read in some study quite long ago) of us are capable to manage other people. Remote work requires self-discipline/determination to reach end result. Looking on developers I know personally I would estimate 30-20% of them are capable to do remote work. Actually that is not about just remote strictly speaking. In office those 70%-80% require tight supervision/mentoring/other forms of motivation.
stareatgoats 8y ago
This is currently the main impediment to a remote (distributed) organization I'm sure. I'm however also convinced it's a problem that will eventually be overcome, as savings/benefits of a distributed organization become evident while broadband infrastructure continues to penetrate the remotest (and cheapest) of places, and as new generations becomes accustomed to it. FWIW.
intertextuality 8y ago
What communication problems exactly? What is the difference of working remotely and working in office with your headphones on, only using slack to communicate? I know several places like that. I’ve worked full time remotely for the last 6 months it’s been absolutely wondrous. I would hate to have to commute and go back to an office.
criveros 8y ago
You just fix those problems in the future, it's just software.
pdimitar 8y ago
This sounds like you guys don't have a paper trail for your work communication and are probably making big decisions around the watercooler. If so, that's unprofessional.
hassan_shaikley 8y ago
you need to work on your communication skills and trust issues. those are you problems not remote work problems.
calcifer 8y ago
You are getting a barrage of comments telling you that you are the problem, so let me just say I completely agree with you. I have multiple colleagues who just casually disappear from the office (sorry, "work from home") for days to weeks and it's beyond irritating and disruptive to the rest of us.
- ghaff 8y ago
  I don't see any reason to conclude that the parent is the problem. But if lots of people just disappear for days to weeks for no reason (that you're aware of), that's a problem with co-workers and management, not remote work in general. Yes, remote work probably makes slacking easier, but it's the slacking that's the issue, not the remote work.
  - calcifer 8y ago
    .
    - ghaff 8y ago
      In a lot of roles people juggle various tasks and responsibilities that coworkers may not be aware of. That was the point I was making. In any case you seem to have a real issue with your coworkers wherever the actual fault lies. Doesn’t seem sustainable.
- gnulinux 8y ago
  I think it's irrelevant if I'm the problem or not. I'm still hired for the job and given (1) I have no communication problem when we're face to face and (2) when people wfh I observe people other me also have communication problems, the only way this can be relevant if my employer is willing to fire me -- and nobody else -- for having communication problems when people other than me disappear (I never ever wfh unless I'm sick so I have a potential to make other people at work sick). > I have multiple colleagues who just casually disappear from the office (sorry, "work from home") for days to weeks and it's beyond irritating and disruptive to the rest of us. I cannot agree more. I would also add that (you might not agree with this) this is not just a tiny, minor problem, inconvenience, I think this can possibly cause major problems, especially in the design phase of systems. If the design is not communicated perfectly there will be problems and the only way to ensure this is to communicate face-to-face long enough that all engineers agree design is impeccable. Call me old school.

ravenstine 8y ago

> small, tiny communication problems start occurring that bite us in the future Like?

Heliosmaster 8y ago

Remote working might not be for everybody.. and that is okay. There are plenty of people who cannot make themselves go to the gym on their own, they won't travel alone, etc. And plenty of people who do. > It's not just that I don't trust myself, I don't trust other people too. This sentiment seems to say that you don't trust your colleagues in general, and that doesn't really make a difference remote or at the job. There are plenty of "chair warmers" at every office...

c-smile 8y ago
> Remote working might not be for everybody That's definitely so. In the same way as 5% (read in some study quite long ago) of us are capable to manage other people. Remote work requires self-discipline/determination to reach end result. Looking on developers I know personally I would estimate 30-20% of them are capable to do remote work. Actually that is not about just remote strictly speaking. In office those 70%-80% require tight supervision/mentoring/other forms of motivation.

stareatgoats 8y ago

This is currently the main impediment to a remote (distributed) organization I'm sure. I'm however also convinced it's a problem that will eventually be overcome, as savings/benefits of a distributed organization become evident while broadband infrastructure continues to penetrate the remotest (and cheapest) of places, and as new generations becomes accustomed to it. FWIW.

intertextuality 8y ago

What communication problems exactly? What is the difference of working remotely and working in office with your headphones on, only using slack to communicate? I know several places like that. I’ve worked full time remotely for the last 6 months it’s been absolutely wondrous. I would hate to have to commute and go back to an office.

criveros 8y ago

You just fix those problems in the future, it's just software.

pdimitar 8y ago

This sounds like you guys don't have a paper trail for your work communication and are probably making big decisions around the watercooler. If so, that's unprofessional.

hassan_shaikley 8y ago

you need to work on your communication skills and trust issues. those are you problems not remote work problems.

calcifer 8y ago

You are getting a barrage of comments telling you that you are the problem, so let me just say I completely agree with you. I have multiple colleagues who just casually disappear from the office (sorry, "work from home") for days to weeks and it's beyond irritating and disruptive to the rest of us.

ghaff 8y ago
I don't see any reason to conclude that the parent is the problem. But if lots of people just disappear for days to weeks for no reason (that you're aware of), that's a problem with co-workers and management, not remote work in general. Yes, remote work probably makes slacking easier, but it's the slacking that's the issue, not the remote work.
- calcifer 8y ago
  .
  - ghaff 8y ago
    In a lot of roles people juggle various tasks and responsibilities that coworkers may not be aware of. That was the point I was making. In any case you seem to have a real issue with your coworkers wherever the actual fault lies. Doesn’t seem sustainable.
gnulinux 8y ago
I think it's irrelevant if I'm the problem or not. I'm still hired for the job and given (1) I have no communication problem when we're face to face and (2) when people wfh I observe people other me also have communication problems, the only way this can be relevant if my employer is willing to fire me -- and nobody else -- for having communication problems when people other than me disappear (I never ever wfh unless I'm sick so I have a potential to make other people at work sick). > I have multiple colleagues who just casually disappear from the office (sorry, "work from home") for days to weeks and it's beyond irritating and disruptive to the rest of us. I cannot agree more. I would also add that (you might not agree with this) this is not just a tiny, minor problem, inconvenience, I think this can possibly cause major problems, especially in the design phase of systems. If the design is not communicated perfectly there will be problems and the only way to ensure this is to communicate face-to-face long enough that all engineers agree design is impeccable. Call me old school.