Remote employee for 7 years, 4.5 at Google. This pretty much sums it up — going into the office is great for collaboration and socializing but I’m always at a

Remote employee for 7 years, 4.5 at Google. This pretty much sums it up — going into the office is great for collaboration and socializing but I’m always at a loss as to when anybody actually manages to get work done. Working from home is amazing for getting things done because I can get deep into my work for a few days in a row with relatively few distractions or context switches. Google uses Hangouts for video chat and it “just works” really well for one-on-one or even group video where all other participants are in one location. I’ve also found that getting “face time” with other teams to be incredibly important for getting their buy-in for whatever I’m trying to convince them to do. Being a random guy on the other end of a chat or email isn’t as useful as verbal chat for just a few minutes — especially lacking the ability to just stop by someone’s desk for an impromptu chat.