6 ms·

Adapt or die unfortunately, companies with remote friendly cultures are weathering the storm much better than more traditional companies. I'm very proud of the

Adapt or die unfortunately, companies with remote friendly cultures are weathering the storm much better than more traditional companies. I'm very proud of the leadership where I work; we pivoted so quickly and so effectively, it was a sight to behold. I do miss going to the offices once a week though, but that's because I like my coworkers.

varjag 7y ago
Is there ever a business in life or death situation because of the wrong choice over offices/cubicles/remote/open plan? Those who appear to be struggling are doing so mostly due to disrupted customer demand, supply chain or business relationships.
- whateveracct 7y ago
  And yet I've had a VPE with a FAANG pedigree tell me that "remote teams are a surefire path to mediocrity"
  - Nasrudith 7y ago
    I suspect they may have been spoiled by their hotspot location's selection bias (higher end talent isn't always in the expensive area with high pay but they would be more tempted to it), tried to pay comparable peanuts on remote talent and got relative monkeys or both.
  - Spartan-S63 7y ago
    I would conjecture this is the result of the FAANG culture and its historical lack of support for widespread remote work. It seems like it's the sort of comment that telegraphs, "this is the way we've always done it, why change it?"
  - dasil003 7y ago
    FAANG pedigree is not really applicable to remote work though. These companies scaled impressive engineering orgs for building the modern internet, but they are also now megacorps with all the same process and communication overhead, just a different flavor from the previous generation. I have no doubt that companies that are dedicated to the remote work can build a successful culture, and covid and the upcoming recession/depression will gave them a huge leg up.
  - notfromhere 7y ago
    Unless they were there when they grew rapidly, a FAANG pedigree isn’t worth anything. It’s easy to ride the wave when the money printing machine is already set up.
- GrayTextIsTruth 7y ago
  I'm just leaving a company which has been experiencing stagnated growth for a couple of years and everyone I talk to says that the 100% remote strategy has played a role. My company just couldn't figure out how to get momentum or rally the troops and "light the fire" again. It wasn't just the remote, but the typical baggage people adopt with remote. For example, it made the mistake of adopting "work when you want" kind of attitude because that was always the norm with 100% companies, which is terrible for a VC funded startup. It set the tone of "what did you cook for lunch?", "oh wow, look at your view of the ocean in portugal" instead of kicking ass. Obviously not the only problem, but remote was definitely an extra layer of hurdles. A lot of problems would have been easier to address in a physical office. EDIT: the sibling post that says its a "path to mediocrity" is pretty spot on. But maybe you're fine with your company being a lifestyle company, a "good enough" company. That's fine for some people.
  - whateveracct 7y ago
    > It set the tone of "what did you cook for lunch?", "oh wow, look at your view of the ocean in portugal" instead of kicking ass. Sounds wonderful. If a move towards remote work makes it harder for those with capital to extract maximum value from their employees, all the better for society imo. I've seen a lot of propaganda on social media about how people should be excited to work _more_ (to 'kick ass') now that they don't have a commute lmao. The employer-employee relationship is inherently adversarial to some degree, and remote work clearly shifts power towards the employee and gives the employer less ability to monopolize people's lives. If your company needs people to drown in kool-aid to be successful, sorry! People seem to be slowly but surely leaving that capitalist hypnosis BS in the last decade.
    - GrayTextIsTruth 7y ago
      it sounds great, but I didn't mention why I'm leaving. Got laid off because the company is stagnating, been doing lay-offs since before the quarantine. Turns out a kick-ass culture is safer for job security since the market isn't going to give your company a break just because you want to chill. But i think you can have a high-energy culture but still be healthy, its just incredibly hard to figure out.
pugworthy 7y ago
> but that's because I like my coworkers I feel like this is key even for remote work. Teams that didn't get along or who didn't like each other are going to continue to struggle in new (and worse) ways if working remote. If people didn't communicate well before, I doubt they are going to do any better now.
- watwut 7y ago
  That depends. Distance from somebody you really really dislike can make it easier to work with that person. What you dont see can not annoy you and you can limit communication to written.
  - loco5niner 7y ago
    Yes! The "loud laugher" at my office... I'm no longer mad when I see her
52-6F-62 7y ago
I'm in a similar boat. Funny thing is, the work day actually works out better. I'm not commuting. I sleep longer. Our meetings are shorter and more efficient in general, though we still chit-chat. And we've even taken to multiple times a week game sessions for an hour out of the end of the day when we have time.
RandallBrown 7y ago
Where I work has always been fully remote, so when this started it was business as usual. We expected a rough few months as people stopped buying things, but we've actually been able to increase sales a pretty considerable amount.

varjag 7y ago

Is there ever a business in life or death situation because of the wrong choice over offices/cubicles/remote/open plan? Those who appear to be struggling are doing so mostly due to disrupted customer demand, supply chain or business relationships.

whateveracct 7y ago
And yet I've had a VPE with a FAANG pedigree tell me that "remote teams are a surefire path to mediocrity"
- Nasrudith 7y ago
  I suspect they may have been spoiled by their hotspot location's selection bias (higher end talent isn't always in the expensive area with high pay but they would be more tempted to it), tried to pay comparable peanuts on remote talent and got relative monkeys or both.
- Spartan-S63 7y ago
  I would conjecture this is the result of the FAANG culture and its historical lack of support for widespread remote work. It seems like it's the sort of comment that telegraphs, "this is the way we've always done it, why change it?"
- dasil003 7y ago
  FAANG pedigree is not really applicable to remote work though. These companies scaled impressive engineering orgs for building the modern internet, but they are also now megacorps with all the same process and communication overhead, just a different flavor from the previous generation. I have no doubt that companies that are dedicated to the remote work can build a successful culture, and covid and the upcoming recession/depression will gave them a huge leg up.
- notfromhere 7y ago
  Unless they were there when they grew rapidly, a FAANG pedigree isn’t worth anything. It’s easy to ride the wave when the money printing machine is already set up.
GrayTextIsTruth 7y ago
I'm just leaving a company which has been experiencing stagnated growth for a couple of years and everyone I talk to says that the 100% remote strategy has played a role. My company just couldn't figure out how to get momentum or rally the troops and "light the fire" again. It wasn't just the remote, but the typical baggage people adopt with remote. For example, it made the mistake of adopting "work when you want" kind of attitude because that was always the norm with 100% companies, which is terrible for a VC funded startup. It set the tone of "what did you cook for lunch?", "oh wow, look at your view of the ocean in portugal" instead of kicking ass. Obviously not the only problem, but remote was definitely an extra layer of hurdles. A lot of problems would have been easier to address in a physical office. EDIT: the sibling post that says its a "path to mediocrity" is pretty spot on. But maybe you're fine with your company being a lifestyle company, a "good enough" company. That's fine for some people.
- whateveracct 7y ago
  > It set the tone of "what did you cook for lunch?", "oh wow, look at your view of the ocean in portugal" instead of kicking ass. Sounds wonderful. If a move towards remote work makes it harder for those with capital to extract maximum value from their employees, all the better for society imo. I've seen a lot of propaganda on social media about how people should be excited to work _more_ (to 'kick ass') now that they don't have a commute lmao. The employer-employee relationship is inherently adversarial to some degree, and remote work clearly shifts power towards the employee and gives the employer less ability to monopolize people's lives. If your company needs people to drown in kool-aid to be successful, sorry! People seem to be slowly but surely leaving that capitalist hypnosis BS in the last decade.
  - GrayTextIsTruth 7y ago
    it sounds great, but I didn't mention why I'm leaving. Got laid off because the company is stagnating, been doing lay-offs since before the quarantine. Turns out a kick-ass culture is safer for job security since the market isn't going to give your company a break just because you want to chill. But i think you can have a high-energy culture but still be healthy, its just incredibly hard to figure out.

pugworthy 7y ago

> but that's because I like my coworkers I feel like this is key even for remote work. Teams that didn't get along or who didn't like each other are going to continue to struggle in new (and worse) ways if working remote. If people didn't communicate well before, I doubt they are going to do any better now.

watwut 7y ago
That depends. Distance from somebody you really really dislike can make it easier to work with that person. What you dont see can not annoy you and you can limit communication to written.
- loco5niner 7y ago
  Yes! The "loud laugher" at my office... I'm no longer mad when I see her

52-6F-62 7y ago

I'm in a similar boat. Funny thing is, the work day actually works out better. I'm not commuting. I sleep longer. Our meetings are shorter and more efficient in general, though we still chit-chat. And we've even taken to multiple times a week game sessions for an hour out of the end of the day when we have time.

RandallBrown 7y ago

Where I work has always been fully remote, so when this started it was business as usual. We expected a rough few months as people stopped buying things, but we've actually been able to increase sales a pretty considerable amount.