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> I have a hard time wrapping my head around why companies are mandating 100% return to office Informal communication, informal collaboration, a culture of app

• splatcollision 6y ago
  > Informal communication, informal collaboration, a culture of apprenticeship You're right of course, those qualities don't naturally occur remotely. However, and I know I'm slightly taking your use of "culture" out of context, but "Culture" is often code for any number of implicit biases in a workplace. Known or unknown. If you don't fit in, for whatever reason, can you still not be a productive asset in the corporation?
  • ChrisMarshallNY 6y ago
    > but "Culture" is often code for any number of implicit biases in a workplace I'm old. Tell me about it. I am not a "cultural fit" in companies, these days. So I am doing my own thing. I'm extremely fortunate, in being able to do this. I'm also never going into an office, or relocating, again.
  • sokoloff 6y ago
    “A culture of apprenticeship” shares the word “culture” but isn’t at all the thing that you’re concerned about.
  • hallarempt 6y ago
    "You're right of course, those qualities don't naturally occur remotely." In my experience, they do... It's how a project like Krita has grown naturally for over twenty years, bringing in new people, teaching them, having them become productive. Of course, meeting in person, once or twice a year is important. But there's no need for offices for us.
• onion2k 6y ago
  Informal communication, informal collaboration, a culture of apprenticeship. To the extent that the organization values these they are all served much better in person than remote. This raises two obvious questions; - Were those things definitely happening in a way that actually benefits the company, or were people simply assuming they're happening? - Why can't those things continue to happen in an environment where people work remotely? Without satisfactory answers to those questions it's impossible to assert comms and collaboration are actually reasons to return to the office. For example, my experience of remote working (many years before lockdown, and during lockdown) has taught me that informal comms actually causes more ambiguity and moving to remote often means people are prone to "over communication" where they leave very little out. That has led to pain for some because there's a lot more email and messaging to deal with, but it also means everyone has a greater understanding of the project. Overall I'd argue that the 'formalization' of comms on a project that comes from everyone being remote and asynchronous is more of a benefit than a cost.
  • veilrap 6y ago
    Ad hoc, accidental communication simply doesn't happen in remote work environments. Coffee breaks are a shockingly productive element that simply work better in person, at least in my experience (and this seems to be a common sentiment at my software company). In-person conversations don't have technical difficulties, there's much better engagement which allows people to better read the audience and adapt presentations/design conversations appropriately. Surveys among colleagues seem to agree -- hybrid seems good, remote only simply is not as productive nor enjoyable.
• irrational 6y ago
  > Informal communication, informal collaboration This has been happening with greater regularity when we have been working from home. All the time we will have informal communication on slack or jump on an informal unscheduled zoom call to mob on an issue. I worked on campus for 18 years prior to starting to work from home last March. I cannot remember a single time informal communication or informal collaboration happened. For some reason people are much more open to it over slack and zoom than they ever were in person.
  • JackFr 6y ago
    No one has ever overheard someone else’s Zoom conversation. Now that does happen in open slack channels but it seems to me far less frequently.
    • irrational 6y ago
      I don’t think informal means overhearing. I think it means unscheduled.