8 ms·

As a remote worker, it's delightful to see things move in this direction, as VPNs are a regular thorn in my side. Of course, there's a certain irony that Googl

by passive 11y ago

As a remote worker, it's delightful to see things move in this direction, as VPNs are a regular thorn in my side. Of course, there's a certain irony that Google isn't fond of remote workers. :)

munificent 11y ago
Google doesn't like workers who always work remotely, but periodically working from home (or the bus, or hotel, or coffeeshop, or the lobby at the auto mechanic, etc.) for a day is common for all employees.
- passive 11y ago
  Fair enough, but that still limits potential employees to a certain physical proximity to Google offices. While there are a number of those, and I aim to bring one here eventually, it is still a limitation.
  - Touche 11y ago
    But why would anyone not be willing to leave their family, friends, and life behind and move to one of the most expensive cities in the world in order to work at Google? Isn't work important to you?
    - magicalist 11y ago
      According to his github profile, munificent lives in Seattle, so...
- praneshp 11y ago
  That is the same policy that my $BIG_INTERNET_CORP_WITH_FEMALE_CEO copped a lot of flak for because of the news being mis-reported by the media.
stephengillie 11y ago
Few workplaces are fond of remote workers. The major reason a lot of people remain employed is so they have a purpose to wake up, leave their houses, and spend the day occupied by the relative comfort of an office building, surrounded by reasonably-intelligent coworkers, as a faux-family. And it's a slap in their face that you don't want to spend your time basking in their physical proximity.
- passive 11y ago
  I think you are mostly right here, sadly enough.
- wahsd 11y ago
  Interesting way of putting that perspective. I have been trying to put my finger on the whole remote working issue for a while. What you expressed is one aspect to the issue, but I also think that it is probably just an intermediary symptom, a phantom / false cause if you will. Personally I think we would see a lot more remote working and even a social revolution if at very least the incentives for physical office space were removed from tax and accounting policy. Remote working is really a difficult nut to crack that has a significant cleft between it's potential and present reality. I guarantee that the company that can scale up effective remote working that has severed the tether to co-located organizational structure will be wildly successful. Unfortunately, I think it will also have major social repercussions similar to the impact that autonomous transportation has the potential for causing.
  - jklein11 11y ago
    Could you explain what you mean about the incentives from tax and accounting policy? Are you saying that tax benefits for having office space are richer than the actual expense of renting that office space?
    - stephengillie 11y ago
      In the USA, you can deduct your business expenses (including building rental) from your profits for tax purposes. This creates a huge incentive to rent, as it's basically free - the company is basically paying part of their tax payment to their landlord.
dm2 11y ago
Why are VPNs a problem for you? It's hard to fully trust a person that is remote. Are they keeping your data safe? Another solution is the idea of Amazons virtual workspaces for remote workers, this allows the company to have more control over the computer that the employee is using.
- mahyarm 11y ago
  VPNs break down, are filtered out or throttled by ISPs, etc. The office internet is usually significantly more reliable.
- passive 11y ago
  My work has required daily VPN use over most of the past 7 years, and I have yet to find one that is reliable. I'm certain this has more to do with properly setting them up then an inherent flaw in the concept, but it still means when I can avoid them, I do.
zenbowman 11y ago
It isn't just corporations that are not fond of remote work. As a lay-employee, I am not fond of remote work either. I would much rather have all my teammates in the same room. Tribal? Yes, unapologetically so.
- douche 11y ago
  Why?
  - wiz21 11y ago
    Because : - lots of information is ambient at the team place - because not all people are that concentrated at home - because working alone is difficult sometimes (especially when you're under stress) - because you're harder to contact (yes, some people are afraid to call a colleague at home) - because people don't like to have 4 simultaneous chat sessions with colleagues So a day of remote work certainly help, but I'd venture to say that's a maximum for many. Of course there are people who a re remote 100% of the time, but not everybody can do that. You have to love your work for that, and many people don' t /love/ their work...

by passive 11y ago

As a remote worker, it's delightful to see things move in this direction, as VPNs are a regular thorn in my side. Of course, there's a certain irony that Google isn't fond of remote workers. :)

munificent 11y ago

Google doesn't like workers who always work remotely, but periodically working from home (or the bus, or hotel, or coffeeshop, or the lobby at the auto mechanic, etc.) for a day is common for all employees.

passive 11y ago
Fair enough, but that still limits potential employees to a certain physical proximity to Google offices. While there are a number of those, and I aim to bring one here eventually, it is still a limitation.
- Touche 11y ago
  But why would anyone not be willing to leave their family, friends, and life behind and move to one of the most expensive cities in the world in order to work at Google? Isn't work important to you?
  - magicalist 11y ago
    According to his github profile, munificent lives in Seattle, so...
praneshp 11y ago
That is the same policy that my $BIG_INTERNET_CORP_WITH_FEMALE_CEO copped a lot of flak for because of the news being mis-reported by the media.

stephengillie 11y ago

Few workplaces are fond of remote workers. The major reason a lot of people remain employed is so they have a purpose to wake up, leave their houses, and spend the day occupied by the relative comfort of an office building, surrounded by reasonably-intelligent coworkers, as a faux-family. And it's a slap in their face that you don't want to spend your time basking in their physical proximity.

passive 11y ago
I think you are mostly right here, sadly enough.
wahsd 11y ago
Interesting way of putting that perspective. I have been trying to put my finger on the whole remote working issue for a while. What you expressed is one aspect to the issue, but I also think that it is probably just an intermediary symptom, a phantom / false cause if you will. Personally I think we would see a lot more remote working and even a social revolution if at very least the incentives for physical office space were removed from tax and accounting policy. Remote working is really a difficult nut to crack that has a significant cleft between it's potential and present reality. I guarantee that the company that can scale up effective remote working that has severed the tether to co-located organizational structure will be wildly successful. Unfortunately, I think it will also have major social repercussions similar to the impact that autonomous transportation has the potential for causing.
- jklein11 11y ago
  Could you explain what you mean about the incentives from tax and accounting policy? Are you saying that tax benefits for having office space are richer than the actual expense of renting that office space?
  - stephengillie 11y ago
    In the USA, you can deduct your business expenses (including building rental) from your profits for tax purposes. This creates a huge incentive to rent, as it's basically free - the company is basically paying part of their tax payment to their landlord.

dm2 11y ago

Why are VPNs a problem for you? It's hard to fully trust a person that is remote. Are they keeping your data safe? Another solution is the idea of Amazons virtual workspaces for remote workers, this allows the company to have more control over the computer that the employee is using.

mahyarm 11y ago
VPNs break down, are filtered out or throttled by ISPs, etc. The office internet is usually significantly more reliable.
passive 11y ago
My work has required daily VPN use over most of the past 7 years, and I have yet to find one that is reliable. I'm certain this has more to do with properly setting them up then an inherent flaw in the concept, but it still means when I can avoid them, I do.

zenbowman 11y ago

It isn't just corporations that are not fond of remote work. As a lay-employee, I am not fond of remote work either. I would much rather have all my teammates in the same room. Tribal? Yes, unapologetically so.

douche 11y ago
Why?
- wiz21 11y ago
  Because : - lots of information is ambient at the team place - because not all people are that concentrated at home - because working alone is difficult sometimes (especially when you're under stress) - because you're harder to contact (yes, some people are afraid to call a colleague at home) - because people don't like to have 4 simultaneous chat sessions with colleagues So a day of remote work certainly help, but I'd venture to say that's a maximum for many. Of course there are people who a re remote 100% of the time, but not everybody can do that. You have to love your work for that, and many people don' t /love/ their work...