6 ms·

I had read a comment(that I completely agree with) from someone here on HN (sorry I forgot the username), that the current WFH is working because EVERYONE is wo

by rofws 6y ago

I had read a comment(that I completely agree with) from someone here on HN (sorry I forgot the username), that the current WFH is working because EVERYONE is working from home. The moment half of the work force starts working from the office again, the dynamics are going to change. Those offtopic, face to face chitchats you have with your colleagues or boss hugely help your career growth. The WFH people are going to miss out on that. One positive that this crisis has created though, is all businesses and institutions will take remote work seriously, and take the steps required to make it possible, especially as another wave of COVID19 is expected.

nottorp 6y ago
Yep. As someone who has worked from home for most of the past 20 years (pandemic? what pandemic, i'm still available)... if the company isn't 100% remote you'll be left behind. So apply to Twitter now :)
- mikekchar 6y ago
  Got to agree here. It only takes one manager in your upstream that doesn't like remote to cut you out of the loop. It's not certain that it will happen, but over a long career it approaches certainty. It's not necessarily the end of the world, but advancement is companies is very tricky when you are a minority remote worker. BTW, slightly off topic, but that picture of working on the beach? Too bright. Can't work. One day I hope I will finally be able to get an e-ink based laptop. I live within walking distance of the beach ;-) Perhaps sacrificing upward mobility isn't so bad...
ornornor 6y ago
> Those offtopic, face to face chitchats you have with your colleagues or boss hugely help your career growth. The WFH people are going to miss out on that. I suspect there is a non-trivial amount of people who don't care about that. I've been writing software for a while now. I don't want to become team lead or manager. I don't care for the drama. I just want to do my job, get paid, and go home. In that case, WFH is perfect.
- oblio 6y ago
  Yeah, but you'll be lower on the social ladder. If your boss needs to fire 1 person in your team, you will be the first to go. (I find it amusing that this was downvoted when it's basically an axiom :-) )
  - mpweiher 6y ago
    First sentence of post you're replying to: >I suspect there is a non-trivial amount of people who don't care about that
    - oblio 6y ago
      And the third sentences says: > I just want to do my job, get paid, and go home. Hard to get paid if you get fired...
      - ornornor 6y ago
        Right. Luckily you can find work elsewhere after being laid off.
        oblio 6y ago
        Have you been checking the unemployment rates recently?
        rorykoehler 6y ago
        Developers are in the 1%. A good dev is always going to find work, at least for the foreseeable future. There is a huge scramble to snap up newly redundant talent now. I had a dev who lost their job reject a job offer today because another company got there first. I know what job he took but he doesn't know I know so it's not like he said it to soften the rejection.
        subhobroto 6y ago
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
commandlinefan 6y ago
> Those offtopic, face to face chitchats you have with your colleagues or boss Those have been gone for a long time, though - I've spent the majority of the past 20 years commuting to an office only to report to and work with people who commuted to an office in a different city.
- sitkack 6y ago
  I have better convos with folks, now I can ping them, we can chat and both find a time to steal 10 minutes and jump on video chat. I can prime the conversation over chat, so when we meet we both have enough context.
ashtonkem 6y ago
The permanence of cultural changes will depend on how long the lock down lasts for remote friendly work. It’s entirely possible that some states will continue to recommend offices work remotely if possible to reduce risk for a long time, far longer than restaurants and gyms remain closed. In that scenario many of the cultural changes may be permanent.
zumachase 6y ago
Shameless plug: we've just beta launched a tool to replicate this always-on intra-office chat remotely. Squawk is an intercom that provides effortless voice chat between remote teams and workers. Take a peek at https://squawk.to https://squawk.to

by rofws 6y ago

nottorp 6y ago

Yep. As someone who has worked from home for most of the past 20 years (pandemic? what pandemic, i'm still available)... if the company isn't 100% remote you'll be left behind. So apply to Twitter now :)

mikekchar 6y ago
Got to agree here. It only takes one manager in your upstream that doesn't like remote to cut you out of the loop. It's not certain that it will happen, but over a long career it approaches certainty. It's not necessarily the end of the world, but advancement is companies is very tricky when you are a minority remote worker. BTW, slightly off topic, but that picture of working on the beach? Too bright. Can't work. One day I hope I will finally be able to get an e-ink based laptop. I live within walking distance of the beach ;-) Perhaps sacrificing upward mobility isn't so bad...

ornornor 6y ago

> Those offtopic, face to face chitchats you have with your colleagues or boss hugely help your career growth. The WFH people are going to miss out on that. I suspect there is a non-trivial amount of people who don't care about that. I've been writing software for a while now. I don't want to become team lead or manager. I don't care for the drama. I just want to do my job, get paid, and go home. In that case, WFH is perfect.

oblio 6y ago
Yeah, but you'll be lower on the social ladder. If your boss needs to fire 1 person in your team, you will be the first to go. (I find it amusing that this was downvoted when it's basically an axiom :-) )
- mpweiher 6y ago
  First sentence of post you're replying to: >I suspect there is a non-trivial amount of people who don't care about that
  - oblio 6y ago
    And the third sentences says: > I just want to do my job, get paid, and go home. Hard to get paid if you get fired...
    - ornornor 6y ago
      Right. Luckily you can find work elsewhere after being laid off.
      - oblio 6y ago
        Have you been checking the unemployment rates recently?
        rorykoehler 6y ago
        Developers are in the 1%. A good dev is always going to find work, at least for the foreseeable future. There is a huge scramble to snap up newly redundant talent now. I had a dev who lost their job reject a job offer today because another company got there first. I know what job he took but he doesn't know I know so it's not like he said it to soften the rejection.
        subhobroto 6y ago

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

commandlinefan 6y ago

> Those offtopic, face to face chitchats you have with your colleagues or boss Those have been gone for a long time, though - I've spent the majority of the past 20 years commuting to an office only to report to and work with people who commuted to an office in a different city.

sitkack 6y ago
I have better convos with folks, now I can ping them, we can chat and both find a time to steal 10 minutes and jump on video chat. I can prime the conversation over chat, so when we meet we both have enough context.

ashtonkem 6y ago

The permanence of cultural changes will depend on how long the lock down lasts for remote friendly work. It’s entirely possible that some states will continue to recommend offices work remotely if possible to reduce risk for a long time, far longer than restaurants and gyms remain closed. In that scenario many of the cultural changes may be permanent.

zumachase 6y ago

Shameless plug: we've just beta launched a tool to replicate this always-on intra-office chat remotely. Squawk is an intercom that provides effortless voice chat between remote teams and workers. Take a peek at https://squawk.to https://squawk.to