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As Fog Creek's first full time remote employee[0], I fully disagree with your assumption. Coming from Fog Creek, that statement has no weasel words in it, it's
by tghw 13y ago
As Fog Creek's first full time remote employee[0], I fully disagree with your assumption. Coming from Fog Creek, that statement has no weasel words in it, it's a genuine sentiment.
Back when I was working for the company on site, my father had his leg broken by an out of control snow boarder right before Thanksgiving. When I was home for the holiday, I realized he needed help around the house, so I asked to work remotely for a week to help him out. Joel and Michael gave me the time and told me to do whatever work I could, but not to worry if it was less than usual. I fully expected to sacrifice a vacation day or two, but they made it clear that wasn't necessary, even though I spent half of my time helping my father.
And what did I do while I was working? I wrote longer commit messages, checked in on chat, and updated my Fog Bugz cases because I didn't want to feel like I was taking advantage of my company's generosity.
It's also important to remember, in most industries, trust like this is totally unheard of. We are very fortunate to work in an industry where it is a more common practice.
[0] I left the company about 18 months ago to pursue my own startup.
- mistermann 13y agoStockholm Syndrome obviously, right guys?
- tghw 13y agoClearly. That's the only explanation for a happy employee with such terrible rules.
- cs02rm0 13y agoI think the concern though is that the policy doesn't tie with the attitude you have experience of. The company I work with wouldn't have a problem with me going somewhere and finding video didn't work, so stepping down to audio, then IM. And if that wasn't sufficient, then not booking the hours. Having to Google Hangout with some random where you've booked a room is virtually saying don't bother asking to work remotely. I'd rather pursue my own startup than have to do Google Hangout checks everywhere!
- tghw 13y agoThis is clearly targeted at more permanent remote work. Shorter stints are much easier to work around.
- vacri 13y agoIt's also important to remember, in most industries, trust like this is totally unheard of. We are very fortunate to work in an industry where it is a more common practice. You should probably work in more industries. There are plenty of industries where workers have to roam (like high end sales or service) and have to be able to manage their own time effectively.
- rmc 13y agoAnd there are pleanty of industries where you have to clock in at the start of the day so they can record exactly when you start working.
- nilkn 13y agoRoaming, if I understand what you mean by that correctly, is not necessarily the same as working from home. My dad works in sales and travels a lot. He's got to get from point A to point B, and they might be separated by over a hundred miles. And he might have to do that a few times a day and definitely a few times a week. So his time management, although technically under his authority, is really dictated almost completely by where he has to be.
- tghw 13y agoBoth sales and service completely lack the trust I'm talking about. There's even more oversight and micromanagement. Are you making your numbers? Are you doing the required number of cold calls per day? Do we need to take away some of your territory?
- parennoob 13y agoThanks for a better perspective on the situation. Your case does sound like a fairly decent work-at-home case, which would have turned out around the same at the place I work. And you working half as often, but a lot harder also tallies with the things I said. I guess the only things I had a problem with from my original comment are: a) Putting it into policy that workers have such-and-such a setup. People who work in this industry tend to resent rules and replace them with common sense. I mean, sure, if a person is not getting a good connection or a decent headset, talk to them. Don't make it into a bloody policy document that is fodder for HR. b) It should be an implicit gesture of faith on your part and trust on theirs that you worked harder for the short time you were working remotely. Having it spelled out in policy like that somehow makes it feel rotten.
- tghw 13y agoa) Fog Creek doesn't have an HR department. At most, it's been the two office managers dealing with incoming resumes, booking travel for candidates, and scheduling interviews. b) If you step back and imagine taking a non-cynical view of this, it really is just a simple suggestion. "We've found everyone's happier if you try to do this." Add to that the fact that it is under the huge header that begins with "Suggestions..." and you might actually believe it is a suggestion, not a policy.