4 ms·

This changes things a bit as it seems like the issue is not remote workers and their skills. When i was a hiring manager i specifically asked new hires to get t

This changes things a bit as it seems like the issue is not remote workers and their skills. When i was a hiring manager i specifically asked new hires to get things up and running on their own, as a means to review our documentation. If they couldnt then we needed to improve. If you needed to “network” to get things done then that was a sign of bureaucracy. I kept teams small so that they could self service. Code was also split so it was manageable from a cognitive perspective not just technical. But there is nuance to everything and varying levels of complexity, however people maintain kernels such as linux or operating systems such as freebsd or other massively complex and successful open or commercial products without ever meeting face to face. Many years ago when i heard people talking about remote i simply couldnt get my head around it. I wanted buts in the seats and people in front of whiteboards. I just couldnt comprehend how entire companies operate without even having an office and they weren’t mom and pop size. Until it clicked. If a company can have offices spread across continents, let alone remote customers, then it surely can hire remote employees. I would take everything you listed above as signs that things need to improve. Remote is not the issue here. Also if you dump me in a room with 20 people just to get your code up an running i might think i am at a highschool not a proper workplace. Similarly if i need to jump through hoops to get things done then thats not a desirable place to work at regardless of pay or remote work.

s1artibartfast 4y ago
I didnt mean to imply that the remote workers themselves are any inferior than local. I think you are right that it comes down to complexity and the degree to which projects and tasks can be compartmentalized. I work in biotech and of my projects has probably 200 engineers and scientists working on interdependent tasks, and 10 years of accumulated knowledge. Requirement and knowledge management can only go so far, so networking becomes critical to find subject matter experts, or someone can point you to one when you need answers. I think there is some threshold of work scale or interdependence where remote work breaks down. That is to say, any productivity benefits from remote work scale linearly and communication challenges scale exponentially. This of course assumes that there is some communication friction for remote relative to in person.
- yrgulation 4y ago
  I see your point. Cross domain setups may struggle with remote work, as indeed devs needs to sometimes sit next to domain experts to better understand what they are aiming to achieve. Wondering if some of that can be mitigated by better story writing and specing or hybrid work, but either way i dont have a solution that makes sense as i have never been in your position. You did however show me a new perspective, as i assumed a tech company or the crud types that dont need that level of interdisciplinary communication, and i thank you for that.
  - s1artibartfast 4y ago
    Happy to provide my perspective. Of course I acknowledge that you are certainly right that some types of work can be fully remote or even benefit from it. After all, there's always been types of work with clear requirements that can be shopped out or contracted. Anyone who claims that everything can be work from home or everything must be in office is missing the big picture.

s1artibartfast 4y ago

I didnt mean to imply that the remote workers themselves are any inferior than local. I think you are right that it comes down to complexity and the degree to which projects and tasks can be compartmentalized. I work in biotech and of my projects has probably 200 engineers and scientists working on interdependent tasks, and 10 years of accumulated knowledge. Requirement and knowledge management can only go so far, so networking becomes critical to find subject matter experts, or someone can point you to one when you need answers. I think there is some threshold of work scale or interdependence where remote work breaks down. That is to say, any productivity benefits from remote work scale linearly and communication challenges scale exponentially. This of course assumes that there is some communication friction for remote relative to in person.

yrgulation 4y ago
I see your point. Cross domain setups may struggle with remote work, as indeed devs needs to sometimes sit next to domain experts to better understand what they are aiming to achieve. Wondering if some of that can be mitigated by better story writing and specing or hybrid work, but either way i dont have a solution that makes sense as i have never been in your position. You did however show me a new perspective, as i assumed a tech company or the crud types that dont need that level of interdisciplinary communication, and i thank you for that.
- s1artibartfast 4y ago
  Happy to provide my perspective. Of course I acknowledge that you are certainly right that some types of work can be fully remote or even benefit from it. After all, there's always been types of work with clear requirements that can be shopped out or contracted. Anyone who claims that everything can be work from home or everything must be in office is missing the big picture.