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Good points but I think you missed one of the biggest ones. Hire people who want and can work remotely. Some folks aren't wired for the self-discipline or don

Good points but I think you missed one of the biggest ones. Hire people who want and can work remotely. Some folks aren't wired for the self-discipline or don't enjoy the isolation of remote work. They thrive in an office where they can interact face to face with their co-workers and have their manager looking over their shoulder. And that's fine. There's nothing wrong with that. But don't hire them for your remote-only business and expect them to be happy and productive.

konschubert 7y ago
It would be nice if we could find a way to work remotely without being isolated. I believe that lots of synchronous video communication is key here.
- t34543 7y ago
  I work remotely and want to be isolated. How would lots of synchronous video help me?
  - konschubert 7y ago
    Not you, but most people don’t want to be isolated. Personally, I’m quite socially awkward and tend to avoid people, but being isolated still depresses me.
  - joaodlf 7y ago
    Some of us don't want to be isolated. I have the choice of working from home, with complete freedom, but mostly choose to work from the office. I don't look to annoy others at work, I just don't like to be at home (unless I really need to focus on something, which can happen).
- lewaldman 7y ago
  For me the key to avoid isolation are my hobbies... The main two that helps me with that are to ride my bicycle at least twice per week and to play Jazz jam sessions on a pub nearby. also... wife + kids + regular family time... all that helps a lot! =)
sytse 7y ago
At GitLab we translated this this requirement to 'manager of one'. It is a term introduced by Basecamp that means every person has to be able to manage themselves.
- jpincheira 7y ago
  Love this. For those interested: https://signalvnoise.com/posts/1430-hire-managers-of-one https://signalvnoise.com/posts/1430-hire-managers-of-one
- Ididntdothis 7y ago
  I can identify with that. The more autonomy I have the more I get done. I am happy to collaborate with others but I don't need nor want a manager to tell me what to do. At my current job there is a trend to more and more planning, prioritizing and scheduling. I understand there is a need for that but personally I perform best if I get a big goal and can figure it out for myself.
novok 7y ago
In most of my on site jobs, I never had a manager looking over my shoulder. Most of the time they were off in some meeting! People want offices so they won't be socially isolated. You might not, but others do. Also sync video talking can often be faster than chat, and issues that are controversial are usually resolved a lot better in a meeting. I once had something that took 2 weeks of unproductive back and forth with a team half way around the globe resolved with 20 minutes of a video meeting.
Ididntdothis 7y ago
Totally agree. You have to be cut out for this.

konschubert 7y ago

It would be nice if we could find a way to work remotely without being isolated. I believe that lots of synchronous video communication is key here.

t34543 7y ago
I work remotely and want to be isolated. How would lots of synchronous video help me?
- konschubert 7y ago
  Not you, but most people don’t want to be isolated. Personally, I’m quite socially awkward and tend to avoid people, but being isolated still depresses me.
- joaodlf 7y ago
  Some of us don't want to be isolated. I have the choice of working from home, with complete freedom, but mostly choose to work from the office. I don't look to annoy others at work, I just don't like to be at home (unless I really need to focus on something, which can happen).
lewaldman 7y ago
For me the key to avoid isolation are my hobbies... The main two that helps me with that are to ride my bicycle at least twice per week and to play Jazz jam sessions on a pub nearby. also... wife + kids + regular family time... all that helps a lot! =)

sytse 7y ago

At GitLab we translated this this requirement to 'manager of one'. It is a term introduced by Basecamp that means every person has to be able to manage themselves.

jpincheira 7y ago
Love this. For those interested: https://signalvnoise.com/posts/1430-hire-managers-of-one https://signalvnoise.com/posts/1430-hire-managers-of-one
Ididntdothis 7y ago
I can identify with that. The more autonomy I have the more I get done. I am happy to collaborate with others but I don't need nor want a manager to tell me what to do. At my current job there is a trend to more and more planning, prioritizing and scheduling. I understand there is a need for that but personally I perform best if I get a big goal and can figure it out for myself.

novok 7y ago

In most of my on site jobs, I never had a manager looking over my shoulder. Most of the time they were off in some meeting! People want offices so they won't be socially isolated. You might not, but others do. Also sync video talking can often be faster than chat, and issues that are controversial are usually resolved a lot better in a meeting. I once had something that took 2 weeks of unproductive back and forth with a team half way around the globe resolved with 20 minutes of a video meeting.

Ididntdothis 7y ago

Totally agree. You have to be cut out for this.