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After spending more than a year remote, full remote is difficult ( not impossible ) . Most of us have settled on 3 days at home, 2 days at work, so we can socia

After spending more than a year remote, full remote is difficult ( not impossible ) . Most of us have settled on 3 days at home, 2 days at work, so we can socialize, make new connections or just simply have lunch. Going back to in office 100% is a thing of the past unless you are a team that has to be there - making hardware etc. For ex I cant imagine the Pixel team working 100% remote.

paulcole 6y ago
> just simply have lunch. I thought I had to be in an office for this as well then discovered this entire room in my apartment full of mostly unassembled food.
- maxerickson 6y ago
  You realize you aren't talking about the same sense of the word?
  - CountDrewku 6y ago
    You realize it's sarcasm right?
    - maxerickson 6y ago
      I see that it is sarcastic in form, but it doesn't address the meaning of the initial comment, which was about sitting down for a meal and chatting, not about food.
      - CountDrewku 6y ago
        That's the joke....
        kelnos 6y ago
        It wasn't funny.
        CountDrewku 6y ago
        I didn't ask if it was funny. I'm just telling you you're not understanding what the point was.
- function_seven 6y ago
  Does is also have unassembled companions?
  - xenophonf 6y ago
    That kind of assembly is usually, but not always, handled in a different room.
tootie 6y ago
I'm a senior manager and also a hardcore introvert. In my many years of office work I would actively avoid having lunch around anyone from the office as much as possible. Lunch is my only alone time when I'm crammed in an office all day.
- bilal4hmed 6y ago
  Super introvert as well, I like my solo time in the office, but some times to make new connections, learn about a new part of the business these small distractions are a good break from the regular.
- gher-shyu3i 6y ago
  How do you balance being a manager, a position that requires heavily dealing and engaging with people, with being an introvert?
  - nullserver 6y ago
    One viewpoint I like. Extroverts gain energy from social interactions. Introverts lose energy. The inverse for time alone. I’m introverted. But can be quite social, and even enjoy it. However I absolutely have to have down time after to recharge from it.
  - rainyMammoth 6y ago
    I am an introvert and absolutely hate group behaviors and nonsensical smalltalk around lunch time. However I have no issue being a manager and talking to people on 1:1s or with a clean agenda and subject to discuss.
    - grillvogel 6y ago
      >hate group behaviors and nonsensical smalltalk around lunch time. honestly im not sure how you can do well as a manager without some tolerance for that kind of thing
      - 6y ago
gregkerzhner 6y ago
Curious, do the members of your team have activities, hobbies, and relationships they are involved with outside of work? From what I have seen the folks itching to get back to the office are the ones that don't have many outlets outside of work. On the other hand, for many of us who do have significant non work passions (rock climbing for me) as well as social circles around these activities appreciate remote work because it allows us to structure our lives in a way where such activities coexist with work more easily. The interesting thing is that for work centered people, remote work has reduced social connections, while for more interdisciplinary folks it can do the opposite. I have personally worked 100% remote for 7 years now, but before that I lived and worked in San Fransisco. I never attended a Friday night work happy hour because every Friday night I would be in the car driving 4 hours to go climbing in Yosemite. Now, I can work remotely from a town with great outdoor access and spend my Friday nights hanging around with local friends instead instead of in the car. Remote work has allowed me to have a more balanced life filled with more things I want to do and less I don't. Have the years of video meetings made my professional career less productive? Perhaps, but I have still worked on plenty of cool projects with plenty of great folks along the way. Some of them have even become close friends. And even if it has suffered, its been worth it!
- jdavis703 6y ago
  Remote work is great for companies that have a work life balance. But remote work is a bummer at places that expect more than a 40-hour work week. At those places social activity happened over lunch or dinner. Then suddenly we were all locked down with no pre-existing social circle to fall back on.
- bilal4hmed 6y ago
  We all have hobbies, relationships etc and there is no doubt all those things have improved so much. Not having our long Texas commutes has been great. People with kids love the extra time esp for those that are college bound. I am loving the time with my family and other hobby projects. To give you some background, we are an IT shop for an Energy co. so there is a big chunk of our people who have to be at work, physically just because of the nature of the work. As others have alluded, we weren't set up with remote in mind. I would love to hear how being 100% you've built a network, bonds etc with your colleagues. We have a bunch of new people who dont have the rapport with us or finding it difficult to connect ( a few lunches or coffees, or hang out in the common area could help build ) I should also mentioned the 3 off / 2 in office is something of a peace offering to the non IT part of the business. Most of us know we can be fully remote.
exactlysolved 6y ago
Not something I have direct experience of, but don't most engineers, designers working on hardware projects spend a similar amount of time working at a computer with a screen, keyboard and mouse as software people do? I assume that the vast majority of them are not in a fab/laboratory/solder station on a weekly basis.
- wffurr 6y ago
  It’s pretty common to have local hardware that you’re talking to, e.g. flashing firmware, programming FPGAs, testing fixes on early stage devices. There’s various ways to create tunnels for remote services to talk to local devices, but it adds latency and complexity to an already complex workflow.
varispeed 6y ago
My friend works as an assembler for a company that does small scale electronic devices and anyone who wanted was given by the company all equipment necessary to complete assemblies at home. He had to sacrifice a part of his living room, but he has all the tools at home soldering stations, microscope, oven etc. company send him parts weekly and collect finished products weekly as well. He seem happy with that, but of course his wife doesn't like that they no longer have a living room, but on the other hand they have more time for themselves.

paulcole 6y ago

> just simply have lunch. I thought I had to be in an office for this as well then discovered this entire room in my apartment full of mostly unassembled food.

maxerickson 6y ago
You realize you aren't talking about the same sense of the word?
- CountDrewku 6y ago
  You realize it's sarcasm right?
  - maxerickson 6y ago
    I see that it is sarcastic in form, but it doesn't address the meaning of the initial comment, which was about sitting down for a meal and chatting, not about food.
    - CountDrewku 6y ago
      That's the joke....
      - kelnos 6y ago
        It wasn't funny.
        CountDrewku 6y ago
        I didn't ask if it was funny. I'm just telling you you're not understanding what the point was.
function_seven 6y ago
Does is also have unassembled companions?
- xenophonf 6y ago
  That kind of assembly is usually, but not always, handled in a different room.

tootie 6y ago

I'm a senior manager and also a hardcore introvert. In my many years of office work I would actively avoid having lunch around anyone from the office as much as possible. Lunch is my only alone time when I'm crammed in an office all day.

bilal4hmed 6y ago
Super introvert as well, I like my solo time in the office, but some times to make new connections, learn about a new part of the business these small distractions are a good break from the regular.
gher-shyu3i 6y ago
How do you balance being a manager, a position that requires heavily dealing and engaging with people, with being an introvert?
- nullserver 6y ago
  One viewpoint I like. Extroverts gain energy from social interactions. Introverts lose energy. The inverse for time alone. I’m introverted. But can be quite social, and even enjoy it. However I absolutely have to have down time after to recharge from it.
- rainyMammoth 6y ago
  I am an introvert and absolutely hate group behaviors and nonsensical smalltalk around lunch time. However I have no issue being a manager and talking to people on 1:1s or with a clean agenda and subject to discuss.
  - grillvogel 6y ago
    >hate group behaviors and nonsensical smalltalk around lunch time. honestly im not sure how you can do well as a manager without some tolerance for that kind of thing
    - 6y ago

gregkerzhner 6y ago

Curious, do the members of your team have activities, hobbies, and relationships they are involved with outside of work? From what I have seen the folks itching to get back to the office are the ones that don't have many outlets outside of work. On the other hand, for many of us who do have significant non work passions (rock climbing for me) as well as social circles around these activities appreciate remote work because it allows us to structure our lives in a way where such activities coexist with work more easily. The interesting thing is that for work centered people, remote work has reduced social connections, while for more interdisciplinary folks it can do the opposite. I have personally worked 100% remote for 7 years now, but before that I lived and worked in San Fransisco. I never attended a Friday night work happy hour because every Friday night I would be in the car driving 4 hours to go climbing in Yosemite. Now, I can work remotely from a town with great outdoor access and spend my Friday nights hanging around with local friends instead instead of in the car. Remote work has allowed me to have a more balanced life filled with more things I want to do and less I don't. Have the years of video meetings made my professional career less productive? Perhaps, but I have still worked on plenty of cool projects with plenty of great folks along the way. Some of them have even become close friends. And even if it has suffered, its been worth it!

jdavis703 6y ago
Remote work is great for companies that have a work life balance. But remote work is a bummer at places that expect more than a 40-hour work week. At those places social activity happened over lunch or dinner. Then suddenly we were all locked down with no pre-existing social circle to fall back on.
bilal4hmed 6y ago
We all have hobbies, relationships etc and there is no doubt all those things have improved so much. Not having our long Texas commutes has been great. People with kids love the extra time esp for those that are college bound. I am loving the time with my family and other hobby projects. To give you some background, we are an IT shop for an Energy co. so there is a big chunk of our people who have to be at work, physically just because of the nature of the work. As others have alluded, we weren't set up with remote in mind. I would love to hear how being 100% you've built a network, bonds etc with your colleagues. We have a bunch of new people who dont have the rapport with us or finding it difficult to connect ( a few lunches or coffees, or hang out in the common area could help build ) I should also mentioned the 3 off / 2 in office is something of a peace offering to the non IT part of the business. Most of us know we can be fully remote.

exactlysolved 6y ago

Not something I have direct experience of, but don't most engineers, designers working on hardware projects spend a similar amount of time working at a computer with a screen, keyboard and mouse as software people do? I assume that the vast majority of them are not in a fab/laboratory/solder station on a weekly basis.

wffurr 6y ago
It’s pretty common to have local hardware that you’re talking to, e.g. flashing firmware, programming FPGAs, testing fixes on early stage devices. There’s various ways to create tunnels for remote services to talk to local devices, but it adds latency and complexity to an already complex workflow.

varispeed 6y ago

My friend works as an assembler for a company that does small scale electronic devices and anyone who wanted was given by the company all equipment necessary to complete assemblies at home. He had to sacrifice a part of his living room, but he has all the tools at home soldering stations, microscope, oven etc. company send him parts weekly and collect finished products weekly as well. He seem happy with that, but of course his wife doesn't like that they no longer have a living room, but on the other hand they have more time for themselves.