Remote work can be difficult on both sides when starting out - difficult for managers who are more used to face-to-face management, and difficult for devs too who have to develop good self-discipline in a relatively unstructured unsupervised environment. I think it's a matter of experimenting and practising (which unfortunately a typical small startup can't afford to do).
Comfortable environment for me is many things. It includes the physical things:
- a favorite working chair.
- a preferred working location - in my case, from home some days, and from a co-working space on others
- preferred food
- a preferred ambient lighting level
- a preferred AC level
In case you're puzzled about the last two: very bright cubicle lighting gave me eye fatigue in multiple workplaces, and very cold AC levels caused discomfort, probably due to dehydration. It reduced my productivity in those workplaces, and because the only relief was to come home and sleep, it caused me to not be able to enjoy my hobbies after work. That affected my motivation and sense of well-being.
Environment is also the computers and tools I prefer. I use multiple computers for my work, each of which has been setup for specific kind of work. In some companies, they provided company laptops, but sometimes they were underpowered, and other times I had to use a particular OS/editor/other tools. In one place, every little installation required permission and authentication by a system administrator.
These may look like minor things to employers, or may even look fussy, but they did affect my productivity and sense of well-being a lot.
From my point of view, all these were unnecessary problems and complications, and often lead to second and higher order problems. If those workplaces had provided a remote option, they wouldn't have these problems, I would have been more productive, and I might even have continued to work in those places.
When I was very inexperienced, I didn't mind these problems at all, didn't have the leverage or financial security to be able to negotiate or refuse them, and had even convinced myself that they're part of life.
But it need not be that way. Once I turned towards consulting and remote work with a backup plan for my financial security, I realized how much better life can be. Now, I can afford to be choosy about whom I work with and where I work.