7 ms·

Depends on the environment. If your team is open to casual conversations and comfortable going off topics, then this likely isn't an issue. But, if your team

Depends on the environment. If your team is open to casual conversations and comfortable going off topics, then this likely isn't an issue. But, if your team is very metrics focused, you may not see levels of casual conversation that build rapport and build on ideas that come up on conversation. Sometimes a casual conversation is all it needs to hook a random thought into successful action. I like having casual talks about nothing in particular without having to worry about meeting budgets or taking away from "limited time" of others. Such time is important for growth in many aspects.

garciasn 4y ago
I’m a Sr. Director. There is nothing but non sense in any claims that say random shout outs as people are breezing between one unnecessary meeting and another are useful. It just doesn’t happen. The only useful conversations are thoughtful, planned, and collaborative. Almost never what happens in a hallway nor in most meetings, frankly. Let’s dispel with any of this outdated thinking. Remote work is here to say and it should be embraced. Any company that can do it should be and any that isn’t should go the way of the dodo.
- sseagull 4y ago
  Where are you a senior director? I just want to know where to never apply for a job. That kind of belief about communication is horrifying to me, and I am about as introverted as you can possibly be. And to maybe analyze this more, my guess is the spontaneous interactions that solve problems/grease wheels might be invisible to you. And they are probably invisible to you because you don’t take the time to get to build a relationship with your fellow workers.
- capableweb 4y ago
  Probably depends on what kind of problems you're working on. If your problem to solve is "Raise this KPI X percent until Y", then probably yeah, wouldn't matter too much. But if you're doing fundamental research or trying to find grander ideas, then I believe it has some merit. One example is Bell Labs, which architectured their offices in order to facilitate random meetings between people: > However, almost as many fruitful interactions described in the book can be traced to architectural features. Long, wide hallways that had to be traversed to navigate the building were included intentionally, so that chance encounters with colleagues and acquaintances were virtually unavoidable. As Gertner himself put it in a 2012 opinion piece for The New York Times, “a physicist on his way to lunch in the cafeteria was like a magnet rolling past iron filings.” Seems other companies successfully copied this as well: > In 2012, Norwegian telecoms company Telenor decided to investigate the effects of inter-office communication. They convinced their employees to where sociometric badges for the duration of the experiment and identified three metrics: exploration, or interaction with people in other work groups; engagement, or interaction within a workgroup; and energy, the number of interactions overall. They found that a 10 percent increase in exploration by salespeople led to a 10 percent increase in sales. This led to a restructuring of the office coffee stations and cafeteria that increased sales by about $200 million. I don't think it is as "outdated" as you think it is. At least consider that there is no "right" or "wrong" way, companies definitely should play around and see what works for them, rather than following something dogmatic.
  - rakejake 4y ago
    If I was working in Bell Labs, I promise I'll be in office before the janitor. Thing is most us don't work in Bell Labs. Ultimately, only the social aspect (building relationships, small talk with coworkers) remains. This should not be completely discounted, but everyone should do an analysis of what they are willing to go through to be in office. A 20-30 minute commute or a slightly longer public transit ride where you are assured of a seat? Sure, office will be worth it. 1+ hour each way in bumper-to-bumper traffic? Might as well WFH.
- koliber 4y ago
  Remote work is here to stay. I don’t agree that there is nothing that comes out of casual interactions at a physical workspace. This is where relationship building happens. I firmly believe that it is possible to build strong relationships in a remote or hybrid workplace. It just needs to be done intentionally. And naturally, it takes a different form than casual hallways conversation.
  - slifin 4y ago
    Yeah this can be done remotely Engineer only stand ups are a good one
- ilyt 4y ago
  I feel like most of the problems are tooling and culture-induced. Company have to change to work remotely, else it will be inefficient to do so
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- joxel 4y ago
  You are completely detached from reality. Almost all of my conversations happen by running into someone in the hallway, or seeing them in their office with their door open and asking if they have a couple minutes. I’m honestly curious about where you work that that doesn’t happen.
- SpeedilyDamage 4y ago
  Sorry but what??? “The only useful conversations are thoughtful, planned, and collaborative”??? That’s so wildly untrue and obviously so, I’m blown away that you could declare something so obviously false so confidently. Where do you work? I’d love to short that company’s stock.
  - MrScruff 4y ago
    I feel like with a lot of the hardcore anti return to the office people the arguments are disingenuous. People have built their lives (and in some cases moved entirely) based on being able to work remotely 99% of the time, and they refuse to accept there are any disadvantages. I saw Sam Altman say the other day that he didn’t think any of the important companies in the next period of time will be fully remote, and I would agree.
    - SpeedilyDamage 4y ago
      I’ve found that folks who are attached to parts of the business that are focused on growing the business want to be in person more than parts of the business that “punch in/punch out” and don’t take full ownership of their role in the bigger picture. I’m betting you can imagine who is helpful and who is less so, and further I bet it’s pretty obvious in most cases, which makes the folks who are on the bad end of it defensive.
downrightmike 4y ago
You need to get a life and actual friends. Coworkers are NOT friends.
- alluro2 4y ago
  I spend 8-10 hours with them every work day. More than with anyone else - my partner, kids or "actual friends". I've known them for years - I know how their kids are doing, how they feel on a wide variety of topics, we joke, discuss, brainstorm, even fight. We've solved so many challenges together, I've helped them move, and they helped me fix my garage. We have breakfast and lunch together. We go to each other's birthday parties. We've celebrated childbirths and consoled after deaths of loved ones. Our goals in work, and often in life, are shared. Why on Earth would I not want any of that, and spend all that time out of my life with people who are not also my friends? What a sad way to look at life.
- missedthecue 4y ago
  I see this all the time on HN. Why not? I like my coworker friends.

garciasn 4y ago

I’m a Sr. Director. There is nothing but non sense in any claims that say random shout outs as people are breezing between one unnecessary meeting and another are useful. It just doesn’t happen. The only useful conversations are thoughtful, planned, and collaborative. Almost never what happens in a hallway nor in most meetings, frankly. Let’s dispel with any of this outdated thinking. Remote work is here to say and it should be embraced. Any company that can do it should be and any that isn’t should go the way of the dodo.

sseagull 4y ago
Where are you a senior director? I just want to know where to never apply for a job. That kind of belief about communication is horrifying to me, and I am about as introverted as you can possibly be. And to maybe analyze this more, my guess is the spontaneous interactions that solve problems/grease wheels might be invisible to you. And they are probably invisible to you because you don’t take the time to get to build a relationship with your fellow workers.
capableweb 4y ago
Probably depends on what kind of problems you're working on. If your problem to solve is "Raise this KPI X percent until Y", then probably yeah, wouldn't matter too much. But if you're doing fundamental research or trying to find grander ideas, then I believe it has some merit. One example is Bell Labs, which architectured their offices in order to facilitate random meetings between people: > However, almost as many fruitful interactions described in the book can be traced to architectural features. Long, wide hallways that had to be traversed to navigate the building were included intentionally, so that chance encounters with colleagues and acquaintances were virtually unavoidable. As Gertner himself put it in a 2012 opinion piece for The New York Times, “a physicist on his way to lunch in the cafeteria was like a magnet rolling past iron filings.” Seems other companies successfully copied this as well: > In 2012, Norwegian telecoms company Telenor decided to investigate the effects of inter-office communication. They convinced their employees to where sociometric badges for the duration of the experiment and identified three metrics: exploration, or interaction with people in other work groups; engagement, or interaction within a workgroup; and energy, the number of interactions overall. They found that a 10 percent increase in exploration by salespeople led to a 10 percent increase in sales. This led to a restructuring of the office coffee stations and cafeteria that increased sales by about $200 million. I don't think it is as "outdated" as you think it is. At least consider that there is no "right" or "wrong" way, companies definitely should play around and see what works for them, rather than following something dogmatic.
- rakejake 4y ago
  If I was working in Bell Labs, I promise I'll be in office before the janitor. Thing is most us don't work in Bell Labs. Ultimately, only the social aspect (building relationships, small talk with coworkers) remains. This should not be completely discounted, but everyone should do an analysis of what they are willing to go through to be in office. A 20-30 minute commute or a slightly longer public transit ride where you are assured of a seat? Sure, office will be worth it. 1+ hour each way in bumper-to-bumper traffic? Might as well WFH.
koliber 4y ago
Remote work is here to stay. I don’t agree that there is nothing that comes out of casual interactions at a physical workspace. This is where relationship building happens. I firmly believe that it is possible to build strong relationships in a remote or hybrid workplace. It just needs to be done intentionally. And naturally, it takes a different form than casual hallways conversation.
- slifin 4y ago
  Yeah this can be done remotely Engineer only stand ups are a good one
ilyt 4y ago
I feel like most of the problems are tooling and culture-induced. Company have to change to work remotely, else it will be inefficient to do so
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
joxel 4y ago
You are completely detached from reality. Almost all of my conversations happen by running into someone in the hallway, or seeing them in their office with their door open and asking if they have a couple minutes. I’m honestly curious about where you work that that doesn’t happen.
SpeedilyDamage 4y ago
Sorry but what??? “The only useful conversations are thoughtful, planned, and collaborative”??? That’s so wildly untrue and obviously so, I’m blown away that you could declare something so obviously false so confidently. Where do you work? I’d love to short that company’s stock.
- MrScruff 4y ago
  I feel like with a lot of the hardcore anti return to the office people the arguments are disingenuous. People have built their lives (and in some cases moved entirely) based on being able to work remotely 99% of the time, and they refuse to accept there are any disadvantages. I saw Sam Altman say the other day that he didn’t think any of the important companies in the next period of time will be fully remote, and I would agree.
  - SpeedilyDamage 4y ago
    I’ve found that folks who are attached to parts of the business that are focused on growing the business want to be in person more than parts of the business that “punch in/punch out” and don’t take full ownership of their role in the bigger picture. I’m betting you can imagine who is helpful and who is less so, and further I bet it’s pretty obvious in most cases, which makes the folks who are on the bad end of it defensive.

downrightmike 4y ago

You need to get a life and actual friends. Coworkers are NOT friends.

alluro2 4y ago
I spend 8-10 hours with them every work day. More than with anyone else - my partner, kids or "actual friends". I've known them for years - I know how their kids are doing, how they feel on a wide variety of topics, we joke, discuss, brainstorm, even fight. We've solved so many challenges together, I've helped them move, and they helped me fix my garage. We have breakfast and lunch together. We go to each other's birthday parties. We've celebrated childbirths and consoled after deaths of loved ones. Our goals in work, and often in life, are shared. Why on Earth would I not want any of that, and spend all that time out of my life with people who are not also my friends? What a sad way to look at life.
missedthecue 4y ago
I see this all the time on HN. Why not? I like my coworker friends.