7 ms·

I feel more productive in the office, but I would guess that I'd be more productive at home than in the hospital. I will be really happy when this is all over

by davidw 7y ago

I feel more productive in the office, but I would guess that I'd be more productive at home than in the hospital. I will be really happy when this is all over and I can just go into the office and not think about it.

MperorM 7y ago
Oh yes for sure! I did not mean to suggest WFH is a bad idea under these circumstances. I'm only trying to argue against a common sentiment here on HN, that working from home is more productive. My personal beliefs are that a single WFH day a week in most instances might be net-positive for the company.
- tjr225 7y ago
  I think it can be much more productive if done properly. The problem is most likely of our established companies are only equipped- culturally- to do things the old way. I’ve never grown more or learned more from other people than in the last 13 months at a remote startup. Even if it all folds over tomorrow I’m better off because of the opportunity. I say all of this as someone who is vocal about the challenges of remote work here and among my friends and colleagues.
hermitdev 7y ago
For myself, WFH is hit and miss in terms of productivity. Some days I'm super productive and might even stay logged on for extra hours. Other days, I'm hardly productive at all. My home "office" is a desk in my living room, so there can be a lot of distractions between wife watching TV and pets. I can usually get by listening to music with headphones on. Contrasting with work in the office, there are far more distractions. People walking by, drive bys from the boss, etc. And I dont even work in an open office, just low cube walls that I can see over while seated.
- zinckiwi 7y ago
  Your home office is not a home office. My fear, being a proponent of distributed work, is that high-profile places will half-heartedly try it due to the current circumstances, declare it to be a failure, and take us two steps back.
  - CydeWeys 7y ago
    Well yeah, but most people don't have home offices and never will. My girlfriend and I live in a one bedroom apartment that costs $3,800 per month. We're sure as hell not gonna pay the extra thousands per month to get a three bedroom apartment so we can each have a home office. Having extra rooms in your dwelling dedicated for work is a huge luxury. Having companies provide an office space for you to work in (that they pay for) is quite nice. There is an interesting idea here for companies to subsidize employees' home offices with all the money they're saving on not renting office buildings of their own, but that would make the housing crisis substantially worse and further increase hatred of tech. Imagine how badly rents would be driven up on apartments typically desired by families if you've got lots of single workers using work subsidies to get larger apartments than they actually needed.
    - eropple 7y ago
      It'd only cause those negative effects if people don't leave the Bay Area, though, with that newfound flexibility. There are plenty of places, even desirable urban centers, that aren't the Bay. (I've worked for SFBA companies and I live in Boston--with its own housing crunch, though not nearly as bad, and TBH I'd live here even if I didn't work in tech, it's just my home.)
      - CydeWeys 7y ago
        I think you underestimate the reasons why people find living in certain cities desirable. There's a lot more to do with it than merely having your job located there. Downtown SF and NYC are always going to be hugely desirable, regardless of whether people are working from home or not.

by davidw 7y ago

MperorM 7y ago

Oh yes for sure! I did not mean to suggest WFH is a bad idea under these circumstances. I'm only trying to argue against a common sentiment here on HN, that working from home is more productive. My personal beliefs are that a single WFH day a week in most instances might be net-positive for the company.

tjr225 7y ago
I think it can be much more productive if done properly. The problem is most likely of our established companies are only equipped- culturally- to do things the old way. I’ve never grown more or learned more from other people than in the last 13 months at a remote startup. Even if it all folds over tomorrow I’m better off because of the opportunity. I say all of this as someone who is vocal about the challenges of remote work here and among my friends and colleagues.

hermitdev 7y ago

For myself, WFH is hit and miss in terms of productivity. Some days I'm super productive and might even stay logged on for extra hours. Other days, I'm hardly productive at all. My home "office" is a desk in my living room, so there can be a lot of distractions between wife watching TV and pets. I can usually get by listening to music with headphones on. Contrasting with work in the office, there are far more distractions. People walking by, drive bys from the boss, etc. And I dont even work in an open office, just low cube walls that I can see over while seated.

zinckiwi 7y ago
Your home office is not a home office. My fear, being a proponent of distributed work, is that high-profile places will half-heartedly try it due to the current circumstances, declare it to be a failure, and take us two steps back.
- CydeWeys 7y ago
  Well yeah, but most people don't have home offices and never will. My girlfriend and I live in a one bedroom apartment that costs $3,800 per month. We're sure as hell not gonna pay the extra thousands per month to get a three bedroom apartment so we can each have a home office. Having extra rooms in your dwelling dedicated for work is a huge luxury. Having companies provide an office space for you to work in (that they pay for) is quite nice. There is an interesting idea here for companies to subsidize employees' home offices with all the money they're saving on not renting office buildings of their own, but that would make the housing crisis substantially worse and further increase hatred of tech. Imagine how badly rents would be driven up on apartments typically desired by families if you've got lots of single workers using work subsidies to get larger apartments than they actually needed.
  - eropple 7y ago
    It'd only cause those negative effects if people don't leave the Bay Area, though, with that newfound flexibility. There are plenty of places, even desirable urban centers, that aren't the Bay. (I've worked for SFBA companies and I live in Boston--with its own housing crunch, though not nearly as bad, and TBH I'd live here even if I didn't work in tech, it's just my home.)
    - CydeWeys 7y ago
      I think you underestimate the reasons why people find living in certain cities desirable. There's a lot more to do with it than merely having your job located there. Downtown SF and NYC are always going to be hugely desirable, regardless of whether people are working from home or not.