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I hope so. Because I'm never going back for a full-time or even a hyrid office setup. I love working from home.

• rubicon33 4y ago
  Let’s see if you still feel that way in 5+ years.
  • true_religion 4y ago
    What’s going to change for the worse in 5 years? If anything people will realize they can work for everywhere and congregate to live next to people they like thereby forming tight knit communities.
    • davoneus 4y ago
      What will change, as all similar swings in workplace attitude have shown, is that the are unforeseen costs. Additionaly, study after study has shown that non-verbal communication between people is an enormous part of effective communication. Argue all you want, too many studies, turn all over the weekend she the same thing. And the I've thing that video conferencing does is cripple that comm channel. I love my partial remote work schedule, and love that it exists. But I'll never assume it's the "best" way, it that it doesn't have unforseen costs to me and my coworkers
      • paulryanrogers 4y ago
        > Additionaly, study after study has shown that non-verbal communication between people is an enormous part of effective communication. Argue all you want, too many studies, turn all over the weekend she the same thing. And the I've thing that video conferencing does is cripple that comm channel. Citations please?
        • davoneus 4y ago
          A few come to mind: Mehrabian (1981), Fromkin and Rodman (1983), Barnum and Wolniansky (1989), Pease and Pease (2004). In regards to the face specifically take a look at Atkinson (2002), Garau, Slater and Bee (2001). The impact of Hand and Arm movement in regards to communication were studied by Mulken, Andre and Muller in 1998, and in 2002 by Craig, Gholson and Driscoll. Of course the study with the most impact is Mehrabian's 7-38-55 'rule' (which it isn't!). It's wildly misunderstood, but his study found in any communication scenario 7% of information received is through the words spoken, 38% is through the tone of voice, and 55% is though bodily movements. Regardless of the numbers, it just points out that just because someone 'says' something, people don't believe them unless their body language agrees. If their tone, posture, eye-contact, etc.. are saying something else, people invariably believe the non-verbal regardless of the words said. It's been a while, but IIRC, the other studies never find that low of an impact with spoken word, yet it never exceeds 50% either. Lastly, the definition of nonverbal communications can vary widely, but I like Henley's (77) (as a starting point) which lists a few areas "... body postures and movements, facial expressions, gestures, touching, eye contact, use of space, and so on". Hope you find some of that useful.
          • alaricus 4y ago
      • true_religion 4y ago
        Even if remote work has efficiency costs, who cares about that outside of the employers themselves? And are these costs so great that employers in tight markets will be able to resist workers requesting the “perk” of remote work?
      • alaricus 4y ago
  • finnh 4y ago
    I've been WFH since 2002, with one 10-month exception after selling a company. It's good! Not for everyone, I suppose, and you need to have dedicated space for it.
  • Imnimo 4y ago
    We've already been at it for 3. How many more do you expect before people change their minds?
  • chaostheory 4y ago
    I've been doing it on and off continuously for over 5 years just fine. I feel that working remotely tends to not work for people who don't have a separate social life from their job.
    • Spivak 4y ago
      Holy shit this makes so much sense. You exactly described the people at my work who are strongly pushing for more in-office.
  • nubb 4y ago
    lmao this guy! been full time remote here for almost 10y (well before covid) and i will never step foot in an office again.
    • jxkddkkdk 4y ago
      I'd have a similar attitude but there is something to be said for being able to go to an office when a pipe bursts in your house and it'll be unlivable for repairs for several months
      • gaganyaan 4y ago
        You can just go to the library or a cafe, though?
        • MathCodeLove 4y ago
          Not really comparable. In my current office I have my own desk, multiple monitors, comfortable chair, a fridge, microwave, coffee machine, bathrooms that are rarely occupied, I can step away from my computer without fearing it'll get stolen, etc. I enjoy working from libraries and cafes on occasion, but it's definitely a worse UX than working from an office.
      • toomuchtodo 4y ago
        I pay for a coworking membership as a business expense to have a desk away from home or when on the road. Remote first orgs usually have a corporate account with WeWork, Regus, or both for their employees (or a coworking provider stipend). This is not an insurmountable challenge. (remote ~10 years)
  • andrei_says_ 4y ago
    Why not? I feel the same as the parent poster. No forced commute, no stress positions in crap office furniture and the resulting daily back pain, no forced cheap hardware, no forced interruptions and conversations I have to compensate with longer work hours, no forced socialization with people I’d never choose to socialize with, no crap $20 lunches paying for the insane rents of the food places instead for quality products. Please, do go back to the office yourself but don’t force others. Having 10+ hours of additional personal time per week, working on much better hardware while playing my favorite music, eating quality food I cook myself and using the extra time to socialize with people I choose is worth finding another job if needed. We just collectively proved the hypothesis that we don’t need to be in an office in order to be productive and that remote work is 20-30% more productive measuring the output of my department. We have known this for a long time but companies were in denial and pushing strawmen. But now we know. So, forcing a much more painful experience and lower quality of life despite it being less profitable is insulting and clearly not about for everyone’s well being.
    • novok 4y ago
      Yes yes, we get it, you don't like where you work or your coworkers. Maybe that is a signal in itself you should find a place where you do enjoy it? We spend so so so much of our time at work, we should strive to make it something we enjoy.
      • hibernator149 4y ago
        But the poster has found a place where they enjoy it. Why should they change that?
      • deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
      • andrei_says_ 4y ago
        I am the author of the parent comment. I do like where I work and I do like my coworkers - for remote work. Please do not twist my words to match your narrative.
    • 4y ago
  • Mountain_Skies 4y ago
    I've been working remote for almost six years now and still am willing to quit my job to preserve this ability. There are small things I miss about working in an office but they're outweighed by an order of magnitude by what I like about working remote (or don't like about working on site).
  • krallja 4y ago
    I’ve been working from home for 13 years, so, yes? It clearly works for a lot of people.
  • dougmwne 4y ago
    I'm on year 8. I'm a normal person and I like people. I liked the office. My last office had dogs and kegs. I have zero inclination to to back. I have it too good from home and living outside of major US cities has vastly improved my savings and quality of life. I would never assume to tell other people that they must enjoy WFH, but I certainly enjoy it and it would take a truly staggering bribe or threat to get me to go back.
    • jen20 4y ago
      > My last office had dogs and kegs. To be fair, if my office had this, I'd be a lot more inclined to go in every day.
      • JonathanMerklin 4y ago
        Devil's advocate: this would be a horrible office for a teetotaler with a pet allergy, an alcoholic who wants to quit (possibly - from a productivity standpoint - also one who doesn't), or someone with dog-related trauma. None of that describes me, but just saying. For me, frankly, that seems like a distracting work environment that values camaraderie more than productivity; there's nothing wrong with the former but it shouldn't come at expense of the latter (and the converse feels like a weaker assumption). Some people have a genuine preference for a brutalist cube farm and it's not because their aesthetics barometer is malfunctioning.
        • dougmwne 4y ago
          And that right there is the absolute glory of the home office. You can be in a brutalist white noise ADHD de-stimulation box and I can be in my bathrobe with fuzzy slippers, winter spice tea, groovy bass tunes and pup curled at my feet. Our worlds need not collide.
          • jen20 4y ago
            Indeed - lest my comment be taken as pro-office, it absolutely was not. Just that dogs and bar is what I would want if I were to leave my home office which has both.
  • hemreldop 4y ago
  • cheshire137 4y ago
    Six and a half years for me, still going strong.
  • db48x 4y ago
    I’ve worked from home for 23 years out of my 25 year career. I guess we’ll see if I change my mind at year 30 :) Any benefit you get from the office environment you can replicate on your own. I think that what people like the most about working from home is the absolute lack of commuting. I wouldn’t mind working in an office provided that office was no more than a mile away from my home, and I could comfortably walk there. But it’s really difficult to hire all your employees such that they live close to the same office. Conversely, the wider a net you can cast the more likely you are to find the employees that you need. I see people who like the social aspects of an office. You can get that by socializing with people in your neighborhood. Get together for lunch regularly and you’ll soon have good friends that you won’t lose as soon as you change jobs. I see that others like to be away from their families for a time, so that they can concentrate. Feel free to have an office space that isn’t directly connected to your home; just keep it in your neighborhood. Where I live there are dozens or hundreds of small offices in the commercial center that are rented out one room at a time. Usually they’re used by local lawyers and insurance agents and such, but there’s no reason you can’t rent one instead. Everyone should work out exactly what their commute costs them. You can save a lot of money, especially if you can get rid of a car. Are the benefits you’re getting really so unique and irreplaceable that the expense and wasted hours are worth it?
  • alaricus 4y ago
    More than 2 years in and feeling better than I've ever been.