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I'm working as a remote engineer and it sucks. So many things are happening in the office that I'm missing out on. MAYBE if all you do is code and someone else

I'm working as a remote engineer and it sucks. So many things are happening in the office that I'm missing out on. MAYBE if all you do is code and someone else write clear spec for you, and you're not a fan of bonding with teammates, then it can work fine. But if you really care and want to optimize for winning and making an impact, remote isn't the way to go.

gibba999 7y ago
I've managed remote teams. Distributed teams work really well. One-person-out teams are a surefire recipe to crash-and-burn. With distributed teams, you get into a flow where Hangouts are as natural as going for a walk, where everyone has a proper headset, where there is appropriate shared whiteboarding software, where people communicate with tools which leave a digital trail (mailing lists, wikis, github, etc.), and so on. My distributed team worked better than local teams, hands down. With one-man-out, there's one person who wants this stuff to work, and the rest who, well, don't care too much. There will always be the dial-into-a-conference-room where you can't hear someone, the one-douchebag-doesn't-use-a-headset echo, the everyone-but-the-person-out-goes-to-dinner-together, and so on. It. Just. Doesn't. Work.
oulu2006 7y ago
I've managed single man remote teams. It can work depending on the mindset. You're right, if the single man team is looking to socialize and feels a lot of FOMO not being in the office then it won't work. You obviously don't hire a person like that for your single man remote team. I've found that in the vast majority of cases single man remote teams are remote because they're optimizing for a particular way of life that they enjoy; for example, the country side lifestyle with their partner and kids. Then it usually works out fine; we will still organize for a on-site every 2-3 months for a week just to give them a bit more of sense of belonging.
segmondy 7y ago
You can't have it all. You don't have to fight traffic, sit in traffic. You don't have to shower, dress up if you don't feel like it. You don't have to worry about your deliveries while away at work, come on, there are pros and cons. Working remote in a company that doesn't have a strong remote support culture sucks, but there are real gains.

gibba999 7y ago

I've managed remote teams. Distributed teams work really well. One-person-out teams are a surefire recipe to crash-and-burn. With distributed teams, you get into a flow where Hangouts are as natural as going for a walk, where everyone has a proper headset, where there is appropriate shared whiteboarding software, where people communicate with tools which leave a digital trail (mailing lists, wikis, github, etc.), and so on. My distributed team worked better than local teams, hands down. With one-man-out, there's one person who wants this stuff to work, and the rest who, well, don't care too much. There will always be the dial-into-a-conference-room where you can't hear someone, the one-douchebag-doesn't-use-a-headset echo, the everyone-but-the-person-out-goes-to-dinner-together, and so on. It. Just. Doesn't. Work.

oulu2006 7y ago

I've managed single man remote teams. It can work depending on the mindset. You're right, if the single man team is looking to socialize and feels a lot of FOMO not being in the office then it won't work. You obviously don't hire a person like that for your single man remote team. I've found that in the vast majority of cases single man remote teams are remote because they're optimizing for a particular way of life that they enjoy; for example, the country side lifestyle with their partner and kids. Then it usually works out fine; we will still organize for a on-site every 2-3 months for a week just to give them a bit more of sense of belonging.

segmondy 7y ago

You can't have it all. You don't have to fight traffic, sit in traffic. You don't have to shower, dress up if you don't feel like it. You don't have to worry about your deliveries while away at work, come on, there are pros and cons. Working remote in a company that doesn't have a strong remote support culture sucks, but there are real gains.