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While I don't love the idea of Airbnb-ing with coworkers as a required part of the job, I'm a little surprised at the hostility being expressed to the broader n
by chipotle_coyote 5y ago
While I don't love the idea of Airbnb-ing with coworkers as a required part of the job, I'm a little surprised at the hostility being expressed to the broader notion of "remote workers are expected to travel to meet with coworkers in person for a week a few times a year." I've been working in Silicon Valley for about two decades now, and literally every company that I've been at that offered what I'd call Truly Remote work -- e.g., it's not that the office is in San Jose and you're out in Tracy, but the office is in San Jose and you're in San Diego or Orlando or Boise -- had this as at least an implicit expectation. If Bob was usually working at his home hundreds of miles away, there would be a few times a year Bob would be in the office. The company would put Bob up at a nearby extended stay hotel, "Bob in Office" would be marked on the company calendar, etc.
So has this become a terrible horrible no-good dealbreaker in the last few years, and the place I'm currently at that still does this[1] is a weird, out-of-step mutant? I see all the "this can't be expected of people who have families, that's utter madness!" comments, and, I mean, these are basically business trips, aren't they? I can't imagine the idea of "business trip" is a dealbreaker, at least for most people.
I kind of wonder if what's causing the "hell, no" reaction isn't the "let's spend a week together every quarter" part, it's the "let's spend a week together at a vacation home as if we're all college buddies every quarter" part. Which, again, I get: as a relative introvert, that sounds dread-inducing in a way that the week in the extended stay hotel does not. But if the company has no physical office space and you do want to have in-person meetings occasionally, you're going to have to figure out something that involves actual sleeping arrangements and collaborative space.
[1] I'm not sure any of those remote workers are left at this point, but that's not related to their remote status, AFAIK.
- alistairSH 5y agoI think there's a couple of facets to this... - Some people don't want any business trips at all. Ever. - Some people are ok with a short trip 1x-2x/year. But the traditional business trip, you stay in your own hotel room and attend business events during something close to normal business hours. You can general dine on your own. - This Airbnb retreat is not a normal business trip. It's a shared house, shared dining area, and I only assume the expectation is long hours of collaboration and/or socialization.
- chipotle_coyote 5y ago> This Airbnb retreat is not a normal business trip. It's a shared house... Yeah, that's what I was trying to get at in my last paragraph -- it's the 24/7 nature that's the most off-putting. For a company that doesn't actually have a physical office, I'm not sure what the best solution here is, but it's possible "renting meeting space in a city we've all agreed on and giving everybody a hotel stipend" is a better approach. (Or if everyone's amenable and it's cheaper, rooms at the same hotel, but still, you know, separate rooms.) > Some people don't want any business trips at all. Ever. Well, that's probably something they're going to have to talk about during the interview process. I have been in many jobs where I haven't taken business trips, but I haven't been in any job where the idea of a business trip was completely off the table. I think in the case of "you're working remotely but you're expected to meet us all a few times a year for a week," that's something that should be made clear by the employer during the interview process. If it's a dealbreaker for the interviewee, so be it.
- jackson1442 5y agoYeah, I would say the best model here would be rooms at the same hotel (works out cheaper for the company and makes logistics significantly easier) and booking a WeWork office space for a week (do they do that?) or even just having everyone work out of an AirBnB during office hours a la HBO's Silicon Valley. I personally prefer the traditional hybrid- work 2-3 days/wk in office, remote the rest.
- alistairSH 5y agoWell, that's probably something they're going to have to talk about during the interview process. Agree completely. As I've progressed up the corporate ladder, my travel went from zero (as a plain-old developer) to 2-3x/year for 3-5 days per trip (as an architect and now SDM). It's been a mix of conferences as a vendor, conferences as a consumer, and client site visits. Refusing those would be a sure-fire way to never land an interesting project in the future.
- y-c-o-m-b 5y agoI have a counter anecdote to your anecdote in that only 1 out of the last 5 remote jobs I've held required travel and I was allowed to skip it for that one job. It really is chaotic for some workers with families to expect 5+ days being away from the home. From taking the kids to school to picking them up, getting groceries, managing after-school activities, helping with home-work, etc. and putting the pressure of 24/7 care on an already strained parent for an entire week is not always easy. Some parents also do coaching for the school sports teams. Ordinarily you're working 8 hours a day and available for the remainder of the day. On a "business trip" you're gone the full 24 hours; the impact becomes even more amplified with that.
- nevermindiguess 5y agoSince you have so many other priorities that come before your job perhaps you are not suitable for a job at all. At least not for one that requires something as simple as a business trip. McDonald’s does not require business trips for example. No way I would ever hire someone as entitled as you are. In fact, I already fired 2.
- y-c-o-m-b 5y ago1 year old account and you've contributed nothing of substance to this platform at all. Take your trolling back to reddit, it's not welcome here.