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I have ADHD and am autistic so loud open floor plan offices are a challenge. I'm in the category of people most likely to benefit from remote. Honestly it's bee

I have ADHD and am autistic so loud open floor plan offices are a challenge. I'm in the category of people most likely to benefit from remote. Honestly it's been a much bigger challenge trying to collaborate and connect with coworkers in the new world than trying to cope with an office. People often don't perceive you as an actual human if you've only ever been a video square to them. And quick collaboration just doesn't happen anymore, or happens in a much slower and more frustrating way on Slack. Juniors especially struggle and I watch them take many times longer to ramp up than pre-pandemic. I honestly desperately wish my team worked in a room together 2-3 days a week.

NegativeLatency 3y ago
I do miss the old "whiteboard brainstorming session" sometimes
- from-nibly 3y ago
  Lets figure out how to make that work from home.
  - namibj 3y ago
    Large screen plus Wacom.
teaearlgraycold 3y ago
We do 3 days in person, 2 days from home. Seems like a good split.
- kyleyeats 3y ago
  The ideal I think is 2 days in person, 2 days from home.
lolinder 3y ago
I hate to be the guy who says "you're holding it wrong", but complaints like this usually indicate that a company is trying to manage their remote work the same way they did in the office, with no adjustments. Some specifics: > People often don't perceive you as an actual human if you've only ever been a video square to them. My remote company does regular on-sites and off-sites, which for me strikes a perfect balance between not having to deal with the headaches of an office (mostly commute and open floor plan) while still having time to meet my coworkers face-to-face. > quick collaboration just doesn't happen anymore, or happens in a much slower and more frustrating way on Slack Slack's huddle feature is great for the times where you need to quickly drop into collaboration mode with someone. Doing that occasionally and then structuring your work to be more parallel works very well in my experience. > Juniors especially struggle and I watch them take many times longer to ramp up than pre-pandemic. This is one that I actually have seen, even in my current org. I think the root of it is that going remote revealed just how much time senior engineers spend mentoring juniors by requiring that that time be scheduled. The most successful junior onboarding I've seen is when people make a conscious effort to schedule in lots of time for mentoring and training and to ensure that there's a space where juniors can get feedback quickly on Slack. It's not that you need more time than you'd otherwise need, it's that you have to be intentional about creating the learning spaces, which doesn't come naturally to many organizations.
- starky 3y ago
  >I think the root of it is that going remote revealed just how much time senior engineers spend mentoring juniors by requiring that that time be scheduled. This is the big thing I've noticed in general with WFH, I miss those interactions where the junior members of the team ask me a quick question because I happen to be in their area. Those questions never get asked now beacuse they have to make the effort to send a message over chat and there is an extra mental barrier about asking something potentially stupid over text. So many people are more comfortable interrupting me when sitting on a call than they are sending the chat message. I've also seen it with a new team that the company recently spun up that does work related to my team. The manager wanted to leave the new hires to somewhat figure it out on their own and just be available to provide guidance if they ask for it. Their onboarding and getting up to speed has been super slow because of it.
BobaFloutist 3y ago
There's a compelling argument that new hires should be work from office for their first couple of weeks, and that their team should probably spend more time in the office during the new hire's first few weeks too. That's no reason to throw out hybrid work wholesale, though, and if that's the only thing keeping a workplace from going full remote the full costs and benefits need to be weighed appropriately.
- parpfish 3y ago
  I love WFH, but I admit that it would’ve been really tough as a junior employee learning the ropes. It’s easy to lean over and ask someone a quick question in person and/or learn passively by just seeing how they work. No equivalent that I can see wfh.
- alsetmusic 3y ago
  This is the most balanced take I’ve seen so far. Great and obvious call.
- benatkin 3y ago
  > their team should probably spend more time in the office during the new hire's first few weeks too Would this be mandatory? If so, a team member might be inclined to sabotage a new hire.
  - BobaFloutist 3y ago
    If someone's intentionally keeping their own team understaffed just to avoid a couple of weeks of coming into the office 3 days a week instead of 2 days a week, I think you have bigger problems than the specific situation.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
g051051 3y ago
> People often don't perceive you as an actual human if you've only ever been a video square to them. I don't have a camera, so I'm just a picture of Uncle Fester. No one I work with (across 3 jobs) has seen me in nearly 5 years.
- thfuran 3y ago
  And?

NegativeLatency 3y ago

I do miss the old "whiteboard brainstorming session" sometimes

from-nibly 3y ago
Lets figure out how to make that work from home.
- namibj 3y ago
  Large screen plus Wacom.

teaearlgraycold 3y ago

We do 3 days in person, 2 days from home. Seems like a good split.

kyleyeats 3y ago
The ideal I think is 2 days in person, 2 days from home.

lolinder 3y ago

I hate to be the guy who says "you're holding it wrong", but complaints like this usually indicate that a company is trying to manage their remote work the same way they did in the office, with no adjustments. Some specifics: > People often don't perceive you as an actual human if you've only ever been a video square to them. My remote company does regular on-sites and off-sites, which for me strikes a perfect balance between not having to deal with the headaches of an office (mostly commute and open floor plan) while still having time to meet my coworkers face-to-face. > quick collaboration just doesn't happen anymore, or happens in a much slower and more frustrating way on Slack Slack's huddle feature is great for the times where you need to quickly drop into collaboration mode with someone. Doing that occasionally and then structuring your work to be more parallel works very well in my experience. > Juniors especially struggle and I watch them take many times longer to ramp up than pre-pandemic. This is one that I actually have seen, even in my current org. I think the root of it is that going remote revealed just how much time senior engineers spend mentoring juniors by requiring that that time be scheduled. The most successful junior onboarding I've seen is when people make a conscious effort to schedule in lots of time for mentoring and training and to ensure that there's a space where juniors can get feedback quickly on Slack. It's not that you need more time than you'd otherwise need, it's that you have to be intentional about creating the learning spaces, which doesn't come naturally to many organizations.

starky 3y ago
>I think the root of it is that going remote revealed just how much time senior engineers spend mentoring juniors by requiring that that time be scheduled. This is the big thing I've noticed in general with WFH, I miss those interactions where the junior members of the team ask me a quick question because I happen to be in their area. Those questions never get asked now beacuse they have to make the effort to send a message over chat and there is an extra mental barrier about asking something potentially stupid over text. So many people are more comfortable interrupting me when sitting on a call than they are sending the chat message. I've also seen it with a new team that the company recently spun up that does work related to my team. The manager wanted to leave the new hires to somewhat figure it out on their own and just be available to provide guidance if they ask for it. Their onboarding and getting up to speed has been super slow because of it.

BobaFloutist 3y ago

There's a compelling argument that new hires should be work from office for their first couple of weeks, and that their team should probably spend more time in the office during the new hire's first few weeks too. That's no reason to throw out hybrid work wholesale, though, and if that's the only thing keeping a workplace from going full remote the full costs and benefits need to be weighed appropriately.

parpfish 3y ago
I love WFH, but I admit that it would’ve been really tough as a junior employee learning the ropes. It’s easy to lean over and ask someone a quick question in person and/or learn passively by just seeing how they work. No equivalent that I can see wfh.
alsetmusic 3y ago
This is the most balanced take I’ve seen so far. Great and obvious call.
benatkin 3y ago
> their team should probably spend more time in the office during the new hire's first few weeks too Would this be mandatory? If so, a team member might be inclined to sabotage a new hire.
- BobaFloutist 3y ago
  If someone's intentionally keeping their own team understaffed just to avoid a couple of weeks of coming into the office 3 days a week instead of 2 days a week, I think you have bigger problems than the specific situation.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]

g051051 3y ago

> People often don't perceive you as an actual human if you've only ever been a video square to them. I don't have a camera, so I'm just a picture of Uncle Fester. No one I work with (across 3 jobs) has seen me in nearly 5 years.

thfuran 3y ago
And?