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Agreed that tech companies will make the switch a lot sooner. What about a GE-types, though? Also, I'm generally bearish on remote-friendly or half-remote. Eit

Agreed that tech companies will make the switch a lot sooner. What about a GE-types, though? Also, I'm generally bearish on remote-friendly or half-remote. Either the culture is set up for it, or it isn't. You can't be just a little bit pregnant.

znpy 6y ago
> What about a GE-types, though? They'll either adapt or have a bad time finding office workers.
joelbluminator 6y ago
> Also, I'm generally bearish on remote-friendly or half-remote I don't see why. I actually think half remote is the way to go to preserve the advantages of both worlds. It's a big question how the post corona world will look - are we just gonna forget it ever happened or are we going to try not to pack people in very small places? I don't have an answer to that question yet. It really depends on what's gonna happen in coming autumn / winter. A second and third wave of this thing will probably change things for good.
- cmdshiftf4 6y ago
  >I actually think half remote is the way to go to preserve the advantages of both worlds It's also a way to preserve the disadvantages of both worlds. For the company, it means having to retain an office in an attractive location and design it with an estimated capacity based on the whims of the people employed there. For the employees, it means having to both retain housing near an office in an expensive location, which usually comes with not insignificant sacrifices, _and_ set up some sort of office for yourself at home, which may not be possible due to those sacrifices. It also means employees, when some but not all are remote, are going to be put in the position of having to juggle onsite/remote meetings which are very difficult to get right unless you mandate it to being remote-first, which doesn't gel well with open office spaces.
  - joelbluminator 6y ago
    > For the employees, it means having to both retain housing near an office in an expensive location If you're only commuting twice a week I don't see why you can't live 1 - 1.5 hours away from work. That should bring cost of living down significantly.
    - cmdshiftf4 6y ago
      Quite a few caveats in there though, based on the method of commute plus the location involved.
neogodless 6y ago
I think the variety of companies that exist is greater than your breadth of experience. Within a narrow scope there may be cases where all-remote is clearly superior to partially-remote, but I strongly suspect in the vast world of business, many other models can work well. The analogy also doesn't work. Perhaps imagine a party where some people enjoy cramming onto sofas playing games, others stand around the kitchen retelling stories, some sit spaced around a fire staring into the flames, and yet others stand far out in the open yard, tossing a ball back and forth. Everyone is part of the party, interacting in the way that works best for them, and if it ever makes sense to move to another part of the party, they will do so.
- sokoloff 6y ago
  At a party, everyone is roughly equal. At work, that’s not the case. If the guest of honor (the boss) is standing around the kitchen telling stories and you’re out in the yard tossing the ball around, you’re not really at the same party in a way that probably matters for a work analog.

znpy 6y ago

> What about a GE-types, though? They'll either adapt or have a bad time finding office workers.

joelbluminator 6y ago

> Also, I'm generally bearish on remote-friendly or half-remote I don't see why. I actually think half remote is the way to go to preserve the advantages of both worlds. It's a big question how the post corona world will look - are we just gonna forget it ever happened or are we going to try not to pack people in very small places? I don't have an answer to that question yet. It really depends on what's gonna happen in coming autumn / winter. A second and third wave of this thing will probably change things for good.

cmdshiftf4 6y ago
>I actually think half remote is the way to go to preserve the advantages of both worlds It's also a way to preserve the disadvantages of both worlds. For the company, it means having to retain an office in an attractive location and design it with an estimated capacity based on the whims of the people employed there. For the employees, it means having to both retain housing near an office in an expensive location, which usually comes with not insignificant sacrifices, _and_ set up some sort of office for yourself at home, which may not be possible due to those sacrifices. It also means employees, when some but not all are remote, are going to be put in the position of having to juggle onsite/remote meetings which are very difficult to get right unless you mandate it to being remote-first, which doesn't gel well with open office spaces.
- joelbluminator 6y ago
  > For the employees, it means having to both retain housing near an office in an expensive location If you're only commuting twice a week I don't see why you can't live 1 - 1.5 hours away from work. That should bring cost of living down significantly.
  - cmdshiftf4 6y ago
    Quite a few caveats in there though, based on the method of commute plus the location involved.

neogodless 6y ago

I think the variety of companies that exist is greater than your breadth of experience. Within a narrow scope there may be cases where all-remote is clearly superior to partially-remote, but I strongly suspect in the vast world of business, many other models can work well. The analogy also doesn't work. Perhaps imagine a party where some people enjoy cramming onto sofas playing games, others stand around the kitchen retelling stories, some sit spaced around a fire staring into the flames, and yet others stand far out in the open yard, tossing a ball back and forth. Everyone is part of the party, interacting in the way that works best for them, and if it ever makes sense to move to another part of the party, they will do so.

sokoloff 6y ago
At a party, everyone is roughly equal. At work, that’s not the case. If the guest of honor (the boss) is standing around the kitchen telling stories and you’re out in the yard tossing the ball around, you’re not really at the same party in a way that probably matters for a work analog.