5 ms·

honestly, because some of us aren't nearly as productive at home as we are in the office. I'm glad you are, and I'm glad you found a remote job, and I wish you

honestly, because some of us aren't nearly as productive at home as we are in the office. I'm glad you are, and I'm glad you found a remote job, and I wish you success in it. But I'd like to get back into the office where I don't hear my dogs bark at every bird that lands in the back yard, or constant interruption by my retired neighbors, UPS/FedEx/USPS, etc etc etc. I miss the delineation between work and home. I've lost it.

jedberg 5y ago
What if your employer agreed to rent you an office space? Or converted your office to more of a WeWork style space where you can reserve a desk? I'm thinking this is where companies will be headed. For employees who want to work remotely, let them. For everyone else, either rent them small offices or allow them to come to the office as they choose.
- dimitrios1 5y ago
  I'd rather be in a space with other coworkers at that point. Let's be honest, most of us didn't have a problem with the office, most of us had a problem with the open office and the commute, both of which are solvable. This remote work trend will peak (I don't know when, but it will), and we will come full circle back to offices again, and the ones that offer an office with a door will reap the rewards. Hopefully by then America has also figured out the infrastructure issue.
  - lizknope 5y ago
    I had an office with a door for 11 years at 2 different companies. It was great. Then I had to switch jobs where we had cubicles but we worked from home half the time. My current job is all cubicles even for managers. People are always talking on conference calls the entire day. I have been work from home since March 2020 and I get so much more done. We are planning to start 2 days in the office in September. I'm hoping it gets delayed. I would love to have an office with a door again but I'm just happy we don't have a giant table with an open floorplan like some of my friends.
  - leetcrew 5y ago
    > Let's be honest, most of us didn't have a problem with the office, most of us had a problem with the open office and the commute, both of which are solvable. I kinda agree with this. at least, I wouldn't mind going to the office if it was a pleasant ten minute walk from my home. but how is the commute a solvable problem? many offices are located in suburban office parks. no one wants to live there. and desirable neighborhoods within walking distance of good employers are, well, desirable. you can't pay everyone enough money to live in the same nice places where everyone else also wants to live.
    - dimitrios1 5y ago
      > but how is the commute a solvable problem? By holding politicians feet to the fire when they've acted like infrastructure is their number one priority for the past 30 years. We should have high speed rail connecting every major city at this point but for some godforsaken reason we don't. We should have light rails and cable cars, and other green forms of transportation lightening the car load, and down the road, heavier investment in driverless technology (as well as supporting infrastructure) can almost eliminate congestion. Sounds like a lot, but America has done more in less time. We just have allowed cynicism and paralysis to take over.
slg 5y ago
OP isn't demanding the company become all remote. They aren't dictating how you work. They want everyone to have an option to work in the manner that is best for them.
- babelfish 5y ago
  Yes, thank you for clarifying this. Let everyone work in the way that's best for them.
- notyourwork 5y ago
  And this creates a bad dichotomy. If half team is remote and other has is in office it creates a really unbalanced interaction pattern. I agree with both perspectives and not sure what I prefer but do think the team should be consistent (all remote or all in person). I don't want to have standup with 8 engineers in person and 1 engineer remote on VC.
  - macintux 5y ago
    Yes, working for a remote-only environment is vastly different from mixed. I don't know how companies are going to handle this without committing significant effort to making sure remote workers are kept in the loop.
  - tastyminerals2 5y ago
    Can you imagine a football team half remote / half on the field? It can be only one or the other (when they all play it coop via a game console). And yes, the specifics of our work is different (software development happens in the mind) but the underlying principles of human communication are the same. Fully remote communication works but worse than on-site unless you are outsourced or one of the 1k employees where they measure your productivity by the lines of committed code. Seriously, this road of thinking popularised by the latter type of employees because they are the majority I am afraid.
    - slg 5y ago
      >Can you imagine a football team half remote / half on the field? On gameday several members of the coaching staff for football teams are in skyboxes in the stadium removed from the players and coaches on the field. That is because they prefer to have an aerial view that allows them to see the game better. It works better for them and therefore it works better for the team. Your analogy doesn't provide the obvious answer you think it does.
MattGaiser 5y ago
I take it you do not work in an open office.
- djxfade 5y ago
  I'm not the person you replied to. But I do work in an open office for a small startup. My productive went straight down the drain when working from home. I much prefer working at the office. I guess people are just different.
cmclaughlin 5y ago
> I'd like to get back into the office where I don't hear my dogs bark at every bird that lands in the back yard I'm enjoying working from home along with the sights and sounds, except for leaf blowers. I can look out my window and watch squirrels play. Luckily I only have one neighbor with a dog and it doesn't bark much. But this comment makes me wonder why you bother having a dog if you don't even like the sounds they make.
- mindslight 5y ago
  Leaf blowers should be outright banned in cities as their main effect is to blow dirt onto everyone else. Maybe now that so many people are working from home, we'll get some pushback on such "affluenza" that otherwise went unnoticed by commuters.
pnutjam 5y ago
Improve your home, you can control that. You have almost zero control at the office.
deckard1 5y ago
it's great that you have a private office. But most of the tech world are in open office floorplans now where the distractions are vastly greater than any at home. And I'm not ready for spending 3 hours in a car everyday. That's a slow suicide
brsaunders 5y ago
Few people (some, but few) are asking for companies to eliminate the office for people who want to be there. From what I've read, there are even more people who prefer 2-3 days in the office to a fully remote lifestyle. The real sticking point seems to be attendance requirements. Having to go somewhere every day even if it takes 3 hours to get there and back, whether you're more productive there or not. Having to be there certain hours, even if a slight shift in hours would save you thousands of dollars a year in childcare expenses. Having to sit at the desk until 5 pm (or longer) for show, even if you're a salaried employee, are fried from numerous meetings or an intense thinking job, and spent other time -- not at the desk -- thinking about work problems. Having to work all of your 8-10 hours in a row, even if you would be more productive if you broke it up into 1-4 hour bursts spread throughout the day.

jedberg 5y ago

What if your employer agreed to rent you an office space? Or converted your office to more of a WeWork style space where you can reserve a desk? I'm thinking this is where companies will be headed. For employees who want to work remotely, let them. For everyone else, either rent them small offices or allow them to come to the office as they choose.

dimitrios1 5y ago
I'd rather be in a space with other coworkers at that point. Let's be honest, most of us didn't have a problem with the office, most of us had a problem with the open office and the commute, both of which are solvable. This remote work trend will peak (I don't know when, but it will), and we will come full circle back to offices again, and the ones that offer an office with a door will reap the rewards. Hopefully by then America has also figured out the infrastructure issue.
- lizknope 5y ago
  I had an office with a door for 11 years at 2 different companies. It was great. Then I had to switch jobs where we had cubicles but we worked from home half the time. My current job is all cubicles even for managers. People are always talking on conference calls the entire day. I have been work from home since March 2020 and I get so much more done. We are planning to start 2 days in the office in September. I'm hoping it gets delayed. I would love to have an office with a door again but I'm just happy we don't have a giant table with an open floorplan like some of my friends.
- leetcrew 5y ago
  > Let's be honest, most of us didn't have a problem with the office, most of us had a problem with the open office and the commute, both of which are solvable. I kinda agree with this. at least, I wouldn't mind going to the office if it was a pleasant ten minute walk from my home. but how is the commute a solvable problem? many offices are located in suburban office parks. no one wants to live there. and desirable neighborhoods within walking distance of good employers are, well, desirable. you can't pay everyone enough money to live in the same nice places where everyone else also wants to live.
  - dimitrios1 5y ago
    > but how is the commute a solvable problem? By holding politicians feet to the fire when they've acted like infrastructure is their number one priority for the past 30 years. We should have high speed rail connecting every major city at this point but for some godforsaken reason we don't. We should have light rails and cable cars, and other green forms of transportation lightening the car load, and down the road, heavier investment in driverless technology (as well as supporting infrastructure) can almost eliminate congestion. Sounds like a lot, but America has done more in less time. We just have allowed cynicism and paralysis to take over.

slg 5y ago

OP isn't demanding the company become all remote. They aren't dictating how you work. They want everyone to have an option to work in the manner that is best for them.

babelfish 5y ago
Yes, thank you for clarifying this. Let everyone work in the way that's best for them.
notyourwork 5y ago
And this creates a bad dichotomy. If half team is remote and other has is in office it creates a really unbalanced interaction pattern. I agree with both perspectives and not sure what I prefer but do think the team should be consistent (all remote or all in person). I don't want to have standup with 8 engineers in person and 1 engineer remote on VC.
- macintux 5y ago
  Yes, working for a remote-only environment is vastly different from mixed. I don't know how companies are going to handle this without committing significant effort to making sure remote workers are kept in the loop.
- tastyminerals2 5y ago
  Can you imagine a football team half remote / half on the field? It can be only one or the other (when they all play it coop via a game console). And yes, the specifics of our work is different (software development happens in the mind) but the underlying principles of human communication are the same. Fully remote communication works but worse than on-site unless you are outsourced or one of the 1k employees where they measure your productivity by the lines of committed code. Seriously, this road of thinking popularised by the latter type of employees because they are the majority I am afraid.
  - slg 5y ago
    >Can you imagine a football team half remote / half on the field? On gameday several members of the coaching staff for football teams are in skyboxes in the stadium removed from the players and coaches on the field. That is because they prefer to have an aerial view that allows them to see the game better. It works better for them and therefore it works better for the team. Your analogy doesn't provide the obvious answer you think it does.

MattGaiser 5y ago

I take it you do not work in an open office.

djxfade 5y ago
I'm not the person you replied to. But I do work in an open office for a small startup. My productive went straight down the drain when working from home. I much prefer working at the office. I guess people are just different.

cmclaughlin 5y ago

> I'd like to get back into the office where I don't hear my dogs bark at every bird that lands in the back yard I'm enjoying working from home along with the sights and sounds, except for leaf blowers. I can look out my window and watch squirrels play. Luckily I only have one neighbor with a dog and it doesn't bark much. But this comment makes me wonder why you bother having a dog if you don't even like the sounds they make.

mindslight 5y ago
Leaf blowers should be outright banned in cities as their main effect is to blow dirt onto everyone else. Maybe now that so many people are working from home, we'll get some pushback on such "affluenza" that otherwise went unnoticed by commuters.

pnutjam 5y ago

Improve your home, you can control that. You have almost zero control at the office.

deckard1 5y ago

it's great that you have a private office. But most of the tech world are in open office floorplans now where the distractions are vastly greater than any at home. And I'm not ready for spending 3 hours in a car everyday. That's a slow suicide

brsaunders 5y ago

Few people (some, but few) are asking for companies to eliminate the office for people who want to be there. From what I've read, there are even more people who prefer 2-3 days in the office to a fully remote lifestyle. The real sticking point seems to be attendance requirements. Having to go somewhere every day even if it takes 3 hours to get there and back, whether you're more productive there or not. Having to be there certain hours, even if a slight shift in hours would save you thousands of dollars a year in childcare expenses. Having to sit at the desk until 5 pm (or longer) for show, even if you're a salaried employee, are fried from numerous meetings or an intense thinking job, and spent other time -- not at the desk -- thinking about work problems. Having to work all of your 8-10 hours in a row, even if you would be more productive if you broke it up into 1-4 hour bursts spread throughout the day.