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Yes, and some of us reject it. When you work with people you never or rarely meet in person loneliness can be a big issue. If you have addiction problems, havin

Yes, and some of us reject it. When you work with people you never or rarely meet in person loneliness can be a big issue. If you have addiction problems, having the freedom to drink, game, smoke, ect whenever you want can also be a huge issue. Yes, not having a commute can be great, but if you are young you can usually find apartments close to your work (I bike to work for instance). What I feel is best is having the flexibility to wfh when you want or feel its appropriate.

asdfman123 7y ago
The best setup for me is like what I have at my current company, where I work from home most days and go into the office two days a week. It's enough time to get face time and get back on the same page with everyone, but with most of the benefits of working from home. Full time working from home wasn't great for me -- it felt isolating and I found myself running a lot more just to see other human beings. (Of course, running was good, but the motivation for it was kind of weird.) I'm shy and naturally form relationships with people I bump into regularly, but I still have no clue to how to do it intentionally, and I also feel uncomfortable practically living at coffee shops.
sailfast 7y ago
The issue I find with "flexibility to work from home" is that if it's conditional / occasional then it's also an outlier, and you're not used to working that way. This is why most "telework" programs are weird - because people that are teleworking are seen as goofing off in their pajamas or somehow disconnected. If you're fully remote then you need to behave that way even when you're in an office environment. Sure, have in-person meetings when you can, but make sure remote folks are 100% present and enabled, otherwise those that choose to work from home will be less present - even in a healthy WFH culture. As for loneliness - a couple things help with that. First, get together in person for a week or so every quarter to link up. Second, you don't have to work from an office when you work remote. Third, working in the office starting out to understand the culture then going remote is helpful for networking / understanding the rhythm of those in the office if you do work with full-time office folks. Being within reach can be helpful but not required. I'm close enough to the office that I can go in for big meetings or in-person things without too much heads-up, but I'm not expected to be there, and I'm probably there once a month, max. As for addiction - clearly you gotta prioritize to make sure that stuff doesn't destroy your life. If remote work doesn't work for you, definitely don't do it. Doesn't mean it's not magic for many of us.
- julieplec 7y ago
  I just joined a team that is partially distributed and noticed that they always use video collab software (team.video) to join a call. Even when 8 people are in the same room and only 1 person is remote - everyone sits in the office with their headphones to do standup, pairing, etc. So, I'd say that the team needs to be remote friendly and actively find tools, ways to make the remote team members feel heard and more integrated with the team.
xvector 7y ago
I attend standups/morning meetings virtually and then mosey on into work after the standups. As I'm not a morning person this has been great for my mental health, and it's a good combo of "WFH" with "real work" without the addiction issues associated with the former.
ghostbrainalpha 7y ago
The addiction thing was what got me. I got into a bullshit mobile game, I didn't think it was a big deal to just leave it open all day while I worked. Checking in between every email, and every commit, to make sure I was perfectly optimizing my in game economy. Eventually I became one of the top players in the world and was spending 4.5 hours a day just to keep my spot in the top 100.
- sizzle 7y ago
  Also any addictive vices can ensnare you e.g. alcohol, pornography, gambling, gaming, etc.
- vsareto 7y ago
  Recognized global standing is incredibly addictive in games, actually If I placed in a world tournament in Smash Bros that was streamed, then I went on to bomb the next 5 tournaments, I'd probably still be trying to get that glory again
kjs3 7y ago
This is a really important point. I agree WFH and other forms of flex-time is a critical option in todays workplace, but it's not for everyone and everyone needs to be aware of your coworkers state of mind and capacity for self-discipline. Sometimes it's just "hey...you seem to pretty consistently miss the early meeting...you good?" or "you know you haven't been hitting it like you used to...but you seem to be killing it in EVE Online". But I've been through an employee where it was performance falling off->odd behavior on calls->slurring incoherently on calls->intervention->short term disability. Fortunately, recovery can work and they're back. In the office.
steve1977 7y ago
I have also experienced peer pressure to drink when working WITH other people, so I guess that problem can affect people either way.

asdfman123 7y ago

The best setup for me is like what I have at my current company, where I work from home most days and go into the office two days a week. It's enough time to get face time and get back on the same page with everyone, but with most of the benefits of working from home. Full time working from home wasn't great for me -- it felt isolating and I found myself running a lot more just to see other human beings. (Of course, running was good, but the motivation for it was kind of weird.) I'm shy and naturally form relationships with people I bump into regularly, but I still have no clue to how to do it intentionally, and I also feel uncomfortable practically living at coffee shops.

sailfast 7y ago

The issue I find with "flexibility to work from home" is that if it's conditional / occasional then it's also an outlier, and you're not used to working that way. This is why most "telework" programs are weird - because people that are teleworking are seen as goofing off in their pajamas or somehow disconnected. If you're fully remote then you need to behave that way even when you're in an office environment. Sure, have in-person meetings when you can, but make sure remote folks are 100% present and enabled, otherwise those that choose to work from home will be less present - even in a healthy WFH culture. As for loneliness - a couple things help with that. First, get together in person for a week or so every quarter to link up. Second, you don't have to work from an office when you work remote. Third, working in the office starting out to understand the culture then going remote is helpful for networking / understanding the rhythm of those in the office if you do work with full-time office folks. Being within reach can be helpful but not required. I'm close enough to the office that I can go in for big meetings or in-person things without too much heads-up, but I'm not expected to be there, and I'm probably there once a month, max. As for addiction - clearly you gotta prioritize to make sure that stuff doesn't destroy your life. If remote work doesn't work for you, definitely don't do it. Doesn't mean it's not magic for many of us.

julieplec 7y ago
I just joined a team that is partially distributed and noticed that they always use video collab software (team.video) to join a call. Even when 8 people are in the same room and only 1 person is remote - everyone sits in the office with their headphones to do standup, pairing, etc. So, I'd say that the team needs to be remote friendly and actively find tools, ways to make the remote team members feel heard and more integrated with the team.

xvector 7y ago

I attend standups/morning meetings virtually and then mosey on into work after the standups. As I'm not a morning person this has been great for my mental health, and it's a good combo of "WFH" with "real work" without the addiction issues associated with the former.

ghostbrainalpha 7y ago

The addiction thing was what got me. I got into a bullshit mobile game, I didn't think it was a big deal to just leave it open all day while I worked. Checking in between every email, and every commit, to make sure I was perfectly optimizing my in game economy. Eventually I became one of the top players in the world and was spending 4.5 hours a day just to keep my spot in the top 100.

sizzle 7y ago
Also any addictive vices can ensnare you e.g. alcohol, pornography, gambling, gaming, etc.
vsareto 7y ago
Recognized global standing is incredibly addictive in games, actually If I placed in a world tournament in Smash Bros that was streamed, then I went on to bomb the next 5 tournaments, I'd probably still be trying to get that glory again

kjs3 7y ago

This is a really important point. I agree WFH and other forms of flex-time is a critical option in todays workplace, but it's not for everyone and everyone needs to be aware of your coworkers state of mind and capacity for self-discipline. Sometimes it's just "hey...you seem to pretty consistently miss the early meeting...you good?" or "you know you haven't been hitting it like you used to...but you seem to be killing it in EVE Online". But I've been through an employee where it was performance falling off->odd behavior on calls->slurring incoherently on calls->intervention->short term disability. Fortunately, recovery can work and they're back. In the office.

steve1977 7y ago

I have also experienced peer pressure to drink when working WITH other people, so I guess that problem can affect people either way.