5 ms·

Yet it feels very common to see employers buy subpar equipment, because they either don't understand how much of a difference it makes, or it "costs too much" t

by Xevi 6y ago

Yet it feels very common to see employers buy subpar equipment, because they either don't understand how much of a difference it makes, or it "costs too much" to give every developer higher quality tools. I'm also in the camp of preferring to work from home with my triple high-res monitor setup, good chair, height adjustable table, ergonomic keyboard/mouse, and so on. I dread the day I'll have to go back to the office.

petra 6y ago
Why is it so hard to explain to employers the value of using 2 displays ?
- falcolas 6y ago
  I’ve found that it’s because it’s all-but-impossible to quantify in numbers. Secondarily, it’s because the person doing the signoff doesn’t agree with you. You know that person, the one who prefers to work from his laptop on a conference table.
- krzyk 6y ago
  My company provides 2 displays. But I'm the only dev that doesn't use the second display. I tried it for a month and it was tiresome. I had to move my head to often, I also always maximize my windows so maybe it is useful to those that don't. I would much more prefer a big screen (30 inch?) instead of two 24 inch. But unfortunately my Corp doesn't have such options. I would much more prefer
  - ghaff 6y ago
    I have a dual monitor setup at home--one landscape (iMac) and one portrait. This is basically the same setup I've used for more than a decade. (I tried 3 monitors once and it was too much.) However, if I were starting over without a built-in monitor, I would seriously look at one of the big/wide curved screen monitors. A number of people I know prefer those to dual monitors. On the flip side, it is nice to have one screen with video conferencing set up to be as near the camera as possible. But I actually tend to do notes and so forth on a laptop while I'm conferencing because my mechanical keyboard on my desktop is very loud.
  - tayo42 6y ago
    I have this same problem, i never use the second screen. I got my self a 27inch 4k monitor. I can have windows next to each other if i need to. more then enough space for my self. Anything else i would need to move everything to far back and I would start to need my glasses, or like you said constantly be moving my head
  - Aeolun 6y ago
    Switching from dual monitors to 1 34” ultrawidescreen has definitely improved the ergonomics of it.
o-__-o 6y ago
It does cost too much for everyone. Unless you are a starting startup (<$10M in revenue) I bet you could request better hardware for yourself rather than expect it for everyone. Now that you say this, I wonder what the threshold is for size/revenue of a company that does prioritize computing equipment and accessories. Every public company I have worked for have cared about ergonomics. Below $50M in revenue/100 employees I’ve found it difficult to request certain equipment (sit-stand desk for example)
- fortyrod 6y ago
  The startups I have worked at went out of their way to get top-end equipment for everyone, and especially developers or engineers. They knew they had to move fast.
volume 6y ago
> I dread the day I'll have to go back to the office. Unless you have a real vote in the decision, then the the best move, is to accept either result. Otherwise you saddle yourself with the mental and emotional baggage and clutter. I suppose this is easier said than done, but worth the effort in converting the dread to acceptance. This is just some random opinion on the internet of course.
- KronisLV 6y ago
  Or perhaps simply change your place of employment for a place that has both remote work as the preferred way of getting things done (if that's what you prefer) and has actually established the culture around working remotely efficiently (like embracing asynchronous communications, for example). While figuring out the latter would take some first-hand experience of reading the accounts of others, the former is easier to filter companies by, for example: - https://github.com/yanirs/established-remote https://github.com/yanirs/established-remote - https://weworkremotely.com/top-remote-companies https://weworkremotely.com/top-remote-companies - https://remotemasters.dev/fully-remote-companies https://remotemasters.dev/fully-remote-companies - https://remotemasters.dev/remote-first-companies https://remotemasters.dev/remote-first-companies Of course, those are just the links that a quick Google search turned over, some job ad sites also have filters for remote/on-site positions etc. There is no reason to settle for something you deem to be sub par, unless you feel more comfortable that way (since people have valid complaints about the hiring practices in ICT nowadays), which is also okay.

by Xevi 6y ago

petra 6y ago

Why is it so hard to explain to employers the value of using 2 displays ?

falcolas 6y ago
I’ve found that it’s because it’s all-but-impossible to quantify in numbers. Secondarily, it’s because the person doing the signoff doesn’t agree with you. You know that person, the one who prefers to work from his laptop on a conference table.
krzyk 6y ago
My company provides 2 displays. But I'm the only dev that doesn't use the second display. I tried it for a month and it was tiresome. I had to move my head to often, I also always maximize my windows so maybe it is useful to those that don't. I would much more prefer a big screen (30 inch?) instead of two 24 inch. But unfortunately my Corp doesn't have such options. I would much more prefer
- ghaff 6y ago
  I have a dual monitor setup at home--one landscape (iMac) and one portrait. This is basically the same setup I've used for more than a decade. (I tried 3 monitors once and it was too much.) However, if I were starting over without a built-in monitor, I would seriously look at one of the big/wide curved screen monitors. A number of people I know prefer those to dual monitors. On the flip side, it is nice to have one screen with video conferencing set up to be as near the camera as possible. But I actually tend to do notes and so forth on a laptop while I'm conferencing because my mechanical keyboard on my desktop is very loud.
- tayo42 6y ago
  I have this same problem, i never use the second screen. I got my self a 27inch 4k monitor. I can have windows next to each other if i need to. more then enough space for my self. Anything else i would need to move everything to far back and I would start to need my glasses, or like you said constantly be moving my head
- Aeolun 6y ago
  Switching from dual monitors to 1 34” ultrawidescreen has definitely improved the ergonomics of it.

o-__-o 6y ago

It does cost too much for everyone. Unless you are a starting startup (<$10M in revenue) I bet you could request better hardware for yourself rather than expect it for everyone. Now that you say this, I wonder what the threshold is for size/revenue of a company that does prioritize computing equipment and accessories. Every public company I have worked for have cared about ergonomics. Below $50M in revenue/100 employees I’ve found it difficult to request certain equipment (sit-stand desk for example)

fortyrod 6y ago
The startups I have worked at went out of their way to get top-end equipment for everyone, and especially developers or engineers. They knew they had to move fast.

volume 6y ago

> I dread the day I'll have to go back to the office. Unless you have a real vote in the decision, then the the best move, is to accept either result. Otherwise you saddle yourself with the mental and emotional baggage and clutter. I suppose this is easier said than done, but worth the effort in converting the dread to acceptance. This is just some random opinion on the internet of course.

KronisLV 6y ago
Or perhaps simply change your place of employment for a place that has both remote work as the preferred way of getting things done (if that's what you prefer) and has actually established the culture around working remotely efficiently (like embracing asynchronous communications, for example). While figuring out the latter would take some first-hand experience of reading the accounts of others, the former is easier to filter companies by, for example: - https://github.com/yanirs/established-remote https://github.com/yanirs/established-remote - https://weworkremotely.com/top-remote-companies https://weworkremotely.com/top-remote-companies - https://remotemasters.dev/fully-remote-companies https://remotemasters.dev/fully-remote-companies - https://remotemasters.dev/remote-first-companies https://remotemasters.dev/remote-first-companies Of course, those are just the links that a quick Google search turned over, some job ad sites also have filters for remote/on-site positions etc. There is no reason to settle for something you deem to be sub par, unless you feel more comfortable that way (since people have valid complaints about the hiring practices in ICT nowadays), which is also okay.