4 ms·

God forbid you let people work from home.

by dyoder 12y ago

thoughtsimple 12y ago
Can't do that, we looked at the VPN logs and no one ever logged in.
- odonnellryan 12y ago
  That doesn't mean no one would ever log in.
- joesmo 12y ago
  Then you hired the wrong people.
nilkn 12y ago
It's really a huge bummer how many companies won't invest the effort in supporting distributed teams. I think it's holding back the industry as a whole. First, I won't work for a company whose office isn't up to my standards. And I don't have high standards, but an open office bullpen is a flat-out no from me. I'd only ever work in those conditions if it was the only way for me to get an income and I really needed it. I'm sure there are lots of other programmers like me, which means these companies are just losing out on talent. I won't even apply to Facebook because of their floorplans. Second, if your office is up to snuff but you're on the other side of the country, now I've got to leave my girlfriend behind to go work for you. We'll either have to do a long-distance relationship or she'll have to move with me. Well, if I don't really want to work for you, I'm just going to say no yet again. I really don't think I'm the only programmer who's not single. I've heard that some even have "kids" and a "family" of their own, which makes moving cross-country an even bigger deal. Third, if you're located in a hyper-expensive urban area and my cost of living is going to double, you're going to have to double my salary before I accept. I'm not going to cut my modest lifestyle in half just to work for you, on top of the above issues. The end result is that I'm extremely picky about where I work. If more companies just allowed remote developers, all those hurdles are resolved immediately.
- npsimons 12y ago
  You're not the only one. Just about everything you said applies for me, and I'm willing to bet there is a silent majority in the same situation. I would put in my two weeks notice in a heartbeat if a company that let me work from home made an offer, but so far I have to keep telling the Google recruiters that no, I'm still not interested in relocating. Hint to recruiters: first thing to do if you have a talent "shortage" - consider that maybe you aren't doing enough to attract talent, and communicate it up the chain to let management know why your recruitment and retention rates suck.
cylinder 12y ago
My friend's employer, a large corporation in Dallas, where it is snowing/sleeting today (this is unusual and this city is not prepared so they prefer people stay in): "You must come into the office today. If you wish to work from home you must use a vacation day." We've got a long way to go.
- driverdan 12y ago
  What company? They need to be called out.

God forbid you let people work from home.

by dyoder 12y ago

God forbid you let people work from home.

thoughtsimple 12y ago

Can't do that, we looked at the VPN logs and no one ever logged in.

odonnellryan 12y ago
That doesn't mean no one would ever log in.
joesmo 12y ago
Then you hired the wrong people.

nilkn 12y ago

It's really a huge bummer how many companies won't invest the effort in supporting distributed teams. I think it's holding back the industry as a whole. First, I won't work for a company whose office isn't up to my standards. And I don't have high standards, but an open office bullpen is a flat-out no from me. I'd only ever work in those conditions if it was the only way for me to get an income and I really needed it. I'm sure there are lots of other programmers like me, which means these companies are just losing out on talent. I won't even apply to Facebook because of their floorplans. Second, if your office is up to snuff but you're on the other side of the country, now I've got to leave my girlfriend behind to go work for you. We'll either have to do a long-distance relationship or she'll have to move with me. Well, if I don't really want to work for you, I'm just going to say no yet again. I really don't think I'm the only programmer who's not single. I've heard that some even have "kids" and a "family" of their own, which makes moving cross-country an even bigger deal. Third, if you're located in a hyper-expensive urban area and my cost of living is going to double, you're going to have to double my salary before I accept. I'm not going to cut my modest lifestyle in half just to work for you, on top of the above issues. The end result is that I'm extremely picky about where I work. If more companies just allowed remote developers, all those hurdles are resolved immediately.

npsimons 12y ago
You're not the only one. Just about everything you said applies for me, and I'm willing to bet there is a silent majority in the same situation. I would put in my two weeks notice in a heartbeat if a company that let me work from home made an offer, but so far I have to keep telling the Google recruiters that no, I'm still not interested in relocating. Hint to recruiters: first thing to do if you have a talent "shortage" - consider that maybe you aren't doing enough to attract talent, and communicate it up the chain to let management know why your recruitment and retention rates suck.

cylinder 12y ago

My friend's employer, a large corporation in Dallas, where it is snowing/sleeting today (this is unusual and this city is not prepared so they prefer people stay in): "You must come into the office today. If you wish to work from home you must use a vacation day." We've got a long way to go.

driverdan 12y ago
What company? They need to be called out.