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It is interesting to ponder if more remote working in the United States will lead to a rebirth of community institutions, the clubs and volunteer organizations

It is interesting to ponder if more remote working in the United States will lead to a rebirth of community institutions, the clubs and volunteer organizations whose decline over past decades Robert Putnam charted in his book Bowling Alone. Americans have increasingly made their interaction with their coworkers the core of their social lives. If people switch to working remotely and there are no coworkers to interact with IRL anymore, then maybe they will more active in their local communities? On the other hand, it could simply lead to spending even more time on social media to fill the gap.

hutzlibu 7y ago
"On the other hand, it could simply lead to spending even more time on social media to fill the gap." Or both?
Waterluvian 7y ago
I work remote and this is kind of happening. I worked locally for five years and most of my relationships were my colleagues. But now my colleagues are just people I work with. I'd consider them acquaintances and I like them. But I'm not seeking a friendship. For that I'm looking elsewhere and it has its own pros and cons. As a parent with not much me time, coworkers make for very convenient friendships.
zrail 7y ago
As a remote worker I really want this to happen. As a parent of two tiny humans it’s hard to even fathom where the time goes most days. After my new remote job settles down in a few months, attempting to start a low key coworking group in my small but quickly growing community is going to be my new project.
- Mediterraneo10 7y ago
  > attempting to start a low key coworking group in my small but quickly growing community is going to be my new project. But if you are liberated from an office environment, why try to create a new office environment all over again? Why not seek out special-interest groups or volunteering/philantrophic organizations to provide social interaction?
  - zrail 7y ago
    It’s not a bad point. I personally need some separation between my home and work environments and I’ve found working completely on my own to be somewhat isolating. Right now I have a small portion of a guest bedroom dedicated to office and it’s not great. In my ideal world I would have a small space shared with a few people within a short walk from home.
  - dmux 7y ago
    I'm guessing strangers in a co-working space would feel less entitled to walk up and interrupt you throughout the day. That's largely my issue with the open office where I work.
WhompingWindows 7y ago
I don't think Americans have made coworkers increasingly their core, more that the cores outside of work have eroded slowly. Those outside-work social cores are less relevant and ever-present in 21st century than in 20th and earlier.
- malvosenior 7y ago
  It's definitely romanticized in American culture though. Ally McBeal, The Office... It's expected that your work culture will be fun and socially interesting.
  - Retra 7y ago
    I'd be worried about selection bias there. Plenty of TV doesn't show people at work, instead showing circles of friends or family. The fact that there exists some popular shows premised on work relationships is not itself evidence of much.
    - malvosenior 7y ago
      It's not just the existence of the shows. It's a very real culture that exists in the workplace for people < 40.
jamesmadison66 7y ago
great point, tech meetups provide some of this
klipt 7y ago
Why would anyone employ a remote worker who demands a US salary when the same remote work can be done in any country with cheaper cost of living and consequently lower salaries? If you have to be on-site, you're only competing with locals. If you're remote, you're competing with the world.
- Mediterraneo10 7y ago
  A strikingly large amount of remote-work offers require the person to be in a particular time zone. Managers want you to be able to communicate with the team at times that are normal working hours for everyone. Even if there are Eastern Europeans or whatever who are comfortable working nights, they still wouldn’t get hired in spite of the opportunity to pay them less.
- iLemming 7y ago
  Taxation and other regulatory, bureaucratic nuances
- pragmatic 7y ago
  Communication. It's already hard to communicate with others with slack, video,etc. Now throw in various languages and the lag of third world internet and it is pure hell.

hutzlibu 7y ago

"On the other hand, it could simply lead to spending even more time on social media to fill the gap." Or both?

Waterluvian 7y ago

I work remote and this is kind of happening. I worked locally for five years and most of my relationships were my colleagues. But now my colleagues are just people I work with. I'd consider them acquaintances and I like them. But I'm not seeking a friendship. For that I'm looking elsewhere and it has its own pros and cons. As a parent with not much me time, coworkers make for very convenient friendships.

zrail 7y ago

As a remote worker I really want this to happen. As a parent of two tiny humans it’s hard to even fathom where the time goes most days. After my new remote job settles down in a few months, attempting to start a low key coworking group in my small but quickly growing community is going to be my new project.

Mediterraneo10 7y ago
> attempting to start a low key coworking group in my small but quickly growing community is going to be my new project. But if you are liberated from an office environment, why try to create a new office environment all over again? Why not seek out special-interest groups or volunteering/philantrophic organizations to provide social interaction?
- zrail 7y ago
  It’s not a bad point. I personally need some separation between my home and work environments and I’ve found working completely on my own to be somewhat isolating. Right now I have a small portion of a guest bedroom dedicated to office and it’s not great. In my ideal world I would have a small space shared with a few people within a short walk from home.
- dmux 7y ago
  I'm guessing strangers in a co-working space would feel less entitled to walk up and interrupt you throughout the day. That's largely my issue with the open office where I work.

WhompingWindows 7y ago

I don't think Americans have made coworkers increasingly their core, more that the cores outside of work have eroded slowly. Those outside-work social cores are less relevant and ever-present in 21st century than in 20th and earlier.

malvosenior 7y ago
It's definitely romanticized in American culture though. Ally McBeal, The Office... It's expected that your work culture will be fun and socially interesting.
- Retra 7y ago
  I'd be worried about selection bias there. Plenty of TV doesn't show people at work, instead showing circles of friends or family. The fact that there exists some popular shows premised on work relationships is not itself evidence of much.
  - malvosenior 7y ago
    It's not just the existence of the shows. It's a very real culture that exists in the workplace for people < 40.

jamesmadison66 7y ago

great point, tech meetups provide some of this

klipt 7y ago

Why would anyone employ a remote worker who demands a US salary when the same remote work can be done in any country with cheaper cost of living and consequently lower salaries? If you have to be on-site, you're only competing with locals. If you're remote, you're competing with the world.

Mediterraneo10 7y ago
A strikingly large amount of remote-work offers require the person to be in a particular time zone. Managers want you to be able to communicate with the team at times that are normal working hours for everyone. Even if there are Eastern Europeans or whatever who are comfortable working nights, they still wouldn’t get hired in spite of the opportunity to pay them less.
iLemming 7y ago
Taxation and other regulatory, bureaucratic nuances
pragmatic 7y ago
Communication. It's already hard to communicate with others with slack, video,etc. Now throw in various languages and the lag of third world internet and it is pure hell.