7 ms·

I have a strong dislike for remote work and will only work at companies with offices where people are expected to go to the vast majority of days. I absolutely

I have a strong dislike for remote work and will only work at companies with offices where people are expected to go to the vast majority of days. I absolutely understand that it's the opposite for some people.

zmgsabst 4y ago
I feel the same. I like working from an office and I like informal interactions with colleagues — from chatting over coffee to peeking around and seeing who is free to whiteboard a problem.
- ytdytvhxgydvhh 4y ago
  Same here. Except I also hate wasting time on commuting, not having the flexibility to take care of a home-related task in the middle of the day, etc. So the experiment to find a balance has begun…
  - Mezzie 4y ago
    Living within walking distance allows it but it's hard to swing.
holografix 4y ago
Same here. I currently work at a very prestigious tech company and I’m surprised by how boring it actually is. There’s hardly anyone around in the office and frankly I couldn’t care less about the free stuff. They pay me enough that I can go out and buy my own snacks. What I want is a team to learn from and grow. Not some teachers pets that sit behind zoom calls making sure they know exactly what’s “on the test” so they make themselves look better. I’ll never work somewhere 100% remote or where employees don’t have an expectation of at least 3 days in the office. Mind you, being able to spend a day a week at home vs full week in the office is quite nice.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- ricardobeat 4y ago
  Is being in the same physical place the requisite for being 'a team'? Open-source work traditionally has been distributed, and I bet it often results in teams that are closer than the ones from work.
  - holografix 4y ago
    Is a comfortable car with plenty of fuel a requisite for a long road trip? No, you can go by foot, horse, etc. it sure does help though. Open source work is a infinitesimally small proportion of *work*. No I don’t think it results in teams that are closer at all, I think (and can present no data either) that it’s just as likely to result in bickering and infighting. Guido leaving Python might be a good example.
    - hiptobecubic 4y ago
      People quit their in-office jobs all the time too.
- sitkack 4y ago
  > currently work at a very prestigious tech company So do, and I have also worked for scrappy 100% remote startups. The 100% remote startup had better team cohesion and better knowledge transfer with more opportunities to learn. You might get those things in the office, but pre-pandemic, at least my office environment provided none of those things. Don't conflate a good team dynamic with an office environment. I used to pair program with a guy for four hours a day and I never met him until we both left the company.
- almost_usual 4y ago
  > What I want is a team to learn from and grow. Not some teachers pets that sit behind zoom calls making sure they know exactly what’s “on the test” so they make themselves look better. I’m not sure what your role is but zoom calls really don’t mean anything as an IC. Not unless you’re responding to or handling an outage and debugging on the fly. What you produce and how well it works is how you’re measured. Documentation and written communication is equally as important.
praxulus 4y ago
Some people prefer remote teams, some people prefer in-person teams. I don't know anyone who likes hybrid teams though. Eventually I suspect we'll end up with a mix of remote and in-person employers, and workers who have a strong preference one way or another will just have to filter potential employers accordingly. There might be a way for larger businesses to have certain teams work remotely while others go into the office, but I suspect it would be difficult to manage.
- worik 4y ago
  I know some one who does hybrid. A university law lecturer. Has to show up for some meetings, some lectures (some still remote). When at all possible, they work from home. It is funny who we know. Not at all a representative sample.
mbrodersen 4y ago
Yep I fell the complete opposite. I suspect that long term people who prefer in-office will gravitate towards companies that are in-office and the opposite will be true for people who prefer WFH. I personally will never ever work for a company that isn’t WFH flexible.

zmgsabst 4y ago

I feel the same. I like working from an office and I like informal interactions with colleagues — from chatting over coffee to peeking around and seeing who is free to whiteboard a problem.

ytdytvhxgydvhh 4y ago
Same here. Except I also hate wasting time on commuting, not having the flexibility to take care of a home-related task in the middle of the day, etc. So the experiment to find a balance has begun…
- Mezzie 4y ago
  Living within walking distance allows it but it's hard to swing.

holografix 4y ago

Same here. I currently work at a very prestigious tech company and I’m surprised by how boring it actually is. There’s hardly anyone around in the office and frankly I couldn’t care less about the free stuff. They pay me enough that I can go out and buy my own snacks. What I want is a team to learn from and grow. Not some teachers pets that sit behind zoom calls making sure they know exactly what’s “on the test” so they make themselves look better. I’ll never work somewhere 100% remote or where employees don’t have an expectation of at least 3 days in the office. Mind you, being able to spend a day a week at home vs full week in the office is quite nice.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
ricardobeat 4y ago
Is being in the same physical place the requisite for being 'a team'? Open-source work traditionally has been distributed, and I bet it often results in teams that are closer than the ones from work.
- holografix 4y ago
  Is a comfortable car with plenty of fuel a requisite for a long road trip? No, you can go by foot, horse, etc. it sure does help though. Open source work is a infinitesimally small proportion of *work*. No I don’t think it results in teams that are closer at all, I think (and can present no data either) that it’s just as likely to result in bickering and infighting. Guido leaving Python might be a good example.
  - hiptobecubic 4y ago
    People quit their in-office jobs all the time too.
sitkack 4y ago
> currently work at a very prestigious tech company So do, and I have also worked for scrappy 100% remote startups. The 100% remote startup had better team cohesion and better knowledge transfer with more opportunities to learn. You might get those things in the office, but pre-pandemic, at least my office environment provided none of those things. Don't conflate a good team dynamic with an office environment. I used to pair program with a guy for four hours a day and I never met him until we both left the company.
almost_usual 4y ago
> What I want is a team to learn from and grow. Not some teachers pets that sit behind zoom calls making sure they know exactly what’s “on the test” so they make themselves look better. I’m not sure what your role is but zoom calls really don’t mean anything as an IC. Not unless you’re responding to or handling an outage and debugging on the fly. What you produce and how well it works is how you’re measured. Documentation and written communication is equally as important.

praxulus 4y ago

Some people prefer remote teams, some people prefer in-person teams. I don't know anyone who likes hybrid teams though. Eventually I suspect we'll end up with a mix of remote and in-person employers, and workers who have a strong preference one way or another will just have to filter potential employers accordingly. There might be a way for larger businesses to have certain teams work remotely while others go into the office, but I suspect it would be difficult to manage.

worik 4y ago
I know some one who does hybrid. A university law lecturer. Has to show up for some meetings, some lectures (some still remote). When at all possible, they work from home. It is funny who we know. Not at all a representative sample.

mbrodersen 4y ago

Yep I fell the complete opposite. I suspect that long term people who prefer in-office will gravitate towards companies that are in-office and the opposite will be true for people who prefer WFH. I personally will never ever work for a company that isn’t WFH flexible.