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Lots of anti-remote work suddenly. Remote work means companies can get the best people for that company anywhere. Remote work means life changes can happen an

Lots of anti-remote work suddenly. Remote work means companies can get the best people for that company anywhere. Remote work means life changes can happen and you can retain the best people for that company. With jobs and life, changes happen, people move, have families, want to be close to family, want to change scenery, get a new significant other, go to school, buy a house, all of these things can mean you might have to quit if you have to physically always be in the office. Even when companies have remote/different city offices, virtual communication is very important anyways. Clients and customers are almost always remote with some sprinkled in meetings but mostly virtual communication and communication through the work. Companies would be wise to switch to remote first thinking and processes with a focus on virtual communication and a nice to have of physical meetups, integration sessions etc. Remote work helps companies focus on their external view not just their internal machinations. For truly unique talents and workers, location has never really mattered. The world is virtual and remote now, the companies that perform well in that and with their external view, not internal view, and do the best virtual communication will win, and not just in tech.

softwaredoug 6y ago
Remote means not building genuine relationships with any coworkers. Remote means not sharing a meal, getting coffee, building friendships, or growing past an automaton that gets work done.
- drawkbox 6y ago
  Not really, most work is virtual even at an office, or with another office, or with a client, or with a partner company, or with a friend that you see on occasion but always in touch online. Remote work allows relationships/lunches with friends as well, maybe not work friends but friends, networking, local groups in the same focus/area, it isn't just automaton. We rely too much on work environment rather than our local environment. Remote work allows freedom to dictate your day more and allows for more opportunities to meet people if you want. Co-working spaces for remote workers are also nice. External product/brand view is the most important thing companies need to learn today. Even within the office when people go in, most communication there is email, communication/chat, video etc. Remote and virtual communication is now how most business is done, even at physical offices. Offices that have ability to do meetups or have integration sessions are nice to haves as well. Even when it comes to shared desktop pair programming, you can get to know people not having to stand next to them. The lunches and other things are nice though, but they have little to do with work and better external products though. The best products come from people that have time to do research and development and more open mode versus closed mode, that kind of work is really hard to do at a modern office. Some jobs cannot be remote, the ones that can are usually in fields where most work/communication is virtual even in the same office and maybe even the same room.
- Polylactic_acid 6y ago
  In the years I have worked in an office I have never built a genuine relationship with anyone. And not from lack of trying. I talk to them every morning and share interesting things I found / projects I have worked on / hobbies. Usually I get a little bit of conversation back but I have never gotten to the point where I would invite someone from work out to the pub on the weekend. I haven't ever seen anyone else get to this point either.
- Consultant32452 6y ago
  >Remote means not building genuine relationships with any coworkers. I would argue most relationships with coworkers aren't genuine. You might have a different metric for this, but mine is that when you change jobs, these relationships evaporate. FWIW, I've worked remotely for 10+ years and some of my good friends are remote. We live on opposite sides of the country, and in one case the globe. But we catch up with each other, know about each others families, etc. And we haven't worked for the same employer in years.
  - pandler 6y ago
    > I would argue most relationships with coworkers aren't genuine. You might have a different metric for this, but mine is that when you change jobs, these relationships evaporate. True, my relationship with my coworkers is scoped to my work environment, but I don't think that makes them not genuine. Rather, they are circumstantial, limited, and probably have a time limit on them. I don't value them any less for what they are. In fact, I embrace them for what they are: a meaningful aspect of the large chuck of my life that I spend working, even if they never exit outside of that realm. Some of them do, like you say, slip through the cracks and do become friends outside of work. As an analog, I spent about 5 years traveling and working remotely out of a backpack. I met A LOT of people, and I had many genuine and sometimes perspective-changing interactions with people. Most of them I don't keep in touch with anymore, but that doesn't devalue the time that I spent with them, even if we knew from the moment we met that we would only ever interact face-to-face for a few months. Transactional and/or circumstantial and/or scoped to some time-bound aspect of your life != genuine
- jdauriemma 6y ago
  First, I think your premise is flawed. I've been WFH for almost five years; I frequently share meals, get coffee, and build friendships with people with whom I've never shared a physical space. Second, work is where human beings are referred to and treated as resources. The only way to be "genuine" at work is to embrace the reality that you are essentially an automaton. Any relationships built along the way happen in spite of, not because of, your job.

softwaredoug 6y ago

Remote means not building genuine relationships with any coworkers. Remote means not sharing a meal, getting coffee, building friendships, or growing past an automaton that gets work done.

drawkbox 6y ago
Not really, most work is virtual even at an office, or with another office, or with a client, or with a partner company, or with a friend that you see on occasion but always in touch online. Remote work allows relationships/lunches with friends as well, maybe not work friends but friends, networking, local groups in the same focus/area, it isn't just automaton. We rely too much on work environment rather than our local environment. Remote work allows freedom to dictate your day more and allows for more opportunities to meet people if you want. Co-working spaces for remote workers are also nice. External product/brand view is the most important thing companies need to learn today. Even within the office when people go in, most communication there is email, communication/chat, video etc. Remote and virtual communication is now how most business is done, even at physical offices. Offices that have ability to do meetups or have integration sessions are nice to haves as well. Even when it comes to shared desktop pair programming, you can get to know people not having to stand next to them. The lunches and other things are nice though, but they have little to do with work and better external products though. The best products come from people that have time to do research and development and more open mode versus closed mode, that kind of work is really hard to do at a modern office. Some jobs cannot be remote, the ones that can are usually in fields where most work/communication is virtual even in the same office and maybe even the same room.
Polylactic_acid 6y ago
In the years I have worked in an office I have never built a genuine relationship with anyone. And not from lack of trying. I talk to them every morning and share interesting things I found / projects I have worked on / hobbies. Usually I get a little bit of conversation back but I have never gotten to the point where I would invite someone from work out to the pub on the weekend. I haven't ever seen anyone else get to this point either.
Consultant32452 6y ago
>Remote means not building genuine relationships with any coworkers. I would argue most relationships with coworkers aren't genuine. You might have a different metric for this, but mine is that when you change jobs, these relationships evaporate. FWIW, I've worked remotely for 10+ years and some of my good friends are remote. We live on opposite sides of the country, and in one case the globe. But we catch up with each other, know about each others families, etc. And we haven't worked for the same employer in years.
- pandler 6y ago
  > I would argue most relationships with coworkers aren't genuine. You might have a different metric for this, but mine is that when you change jobs, these relationships evaporate. True, my relationship with my coworkers is scoped to my work environment, but I don't think that makes them not genuine. Rather, they are circumstantial, limited, and probably have a time limit on them. I don't value them any less for what they are. In fact, I embrace them for what they are: a meaningful aspect of the large chuck of my life that I spend working, even if they never exit outside of that realm. Some of them do, like you say, slip through the cracks and do become friends outside of work. As an analog, I spent about 5 years traveling and working remotely out of a backpack. I met A LOT of people, and I had many genuine and sometimes perspective-changing interactions with people. Most of them I don't keep in touch with anymore, but that doesn't devalue the time that I spent with them, even if we knew from the moment we met that we would only ever interact face-to-face for a few months. Transactional and/or circumstantial and/or scoped to some time-bound aspect of your life != genuine
jdauriemma 6y ago
First, I think your premise is flawed. I've been WFH for almost five years; I frequently share meals, get coffee, and build friendships with people with whom I've never shared a physical space. Second, work is where human beings are referred to and treated as resources. The only way to be "genuine" at work is to embrace the reality that you are essentially an automaton. Any relationships built along the way happen in spite of, not because of, your job.