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I absolutely think you lose something from lack of face-to-face contact. Some of the most productive leadership and decison-making sessions I've had came from s

I absolutely think you lose something from lack of face-to-face contact. Some of the most productive leadership and decison-making sessions I've had came from sitting around a table or sharing a meal or a drink with a team, and going back and forth about something. Additionally, casual contact helps too. I put a couch in my office, and people would come just sit down and talk. The setting set the vibe. I had some great conversations with people just kicking back that I would have never otherwise had. I absolutely realize people will disagree, but this is my experience.

trowawee 6y ago
I don't think people necessarily disagree, but I also think that the benefits of that are limited by human biases and tendencies toward clique-ish behaviors, and that hurts both the people who inevitably get left out of those events and the broader company, because the opportunities for unpredictable synergies are limited by those biases/cliques.
riffraff 6y ago
as someone who's been remote for 10+ years: both (the value of casual conversation and higher face-to-face productivity) ring true to me. If you want to have a remote team I advice having a space for casual conversation and non-work video calls, it improves things a bit for the first. For the latter, IRL gatherings/meetups are valuable but obviously not something you can do all the time.
- topkai22 6y ago
  Absolutely - we have a dedicated "water cooler" channel, and as a lead I try to ensure people feel comfortable going "off topic" during small group meetings.
balfirevic 6y ago
I don't see how it's possible to reasonably disagree with that. You obviously lose something. You also obviously gain in other ways. Whether it's worth it is another (important) question. And I say this as someone who thinks it is worth it - for me personally, at least - having been working remotely for a about a year now.
departure 6y ago
Well of course you like it, you are lucky enough to have an office. If everyone had that or least not open office bull pens then I could also see the appeal.
loco5niner 6y ago
> I put a couch in my office, and people would come just sit down and talk. Yep, if I had an office with a door that closed, big enough for a couch, I would also enjoy working in an office.

trowawee 6y ago

I don't think people necessarily disagree, but I also think that the benefits of that are limited by human biases and tendencies toward clique-ish behaviors, and that hurts both the people who inevitably get left out of those events and the broader company, because the opportunities for unpredictable synergies are limited by those biases/cliques.

riffraff 6y ago

as someone who's been remote for 10+ years: both (the value of casual conversation and higher face-to-face productivity) ring true to me. If you want to have a remote team I advice having a space for casual conversation and non-work video calls, it improves things a bit for the first. For the latter, IRL gatherings/meetups are valuable but obviously not something you can do all the time.

topkai22 6y ago
Absolutely - we have a dedicated "water cooler" channel, and as a lead I try to ensure people feel comfortable going "off topic" during small group meetings.

balfirevic 6y ago

I don't see how it's possible to reasonably disagree with that. You obviously lose something. You also obviously gain in other ways. Whether it's worth it is another (important) question. And I say this as someone who thinks it is worth it - for me personally, at least - having been working remotely for a about a year now.

departure 6y ago

Well of course you like it, you are lucky enough to have an office. If everyone had that or least not open office bull pens then I could also see the appeal.

loco5niner 6y ago

> I put a couch in my office, and people would come just sit down and talk. Yep, if I had an office with a door that closed, big enough for a couch, I would also enjoy working in an office.