Hacker News Reader

Comment by toomuchtodo | Hacker News Reader

I've worked for a fully remote startup, and you've nailed all the points. Remote can't replace local community (being a digital nomad sucks once the novelty has worn off, and is impossible to do with a family unless you own your own business) and in-person interactions at work (coffee and lunch with coworkers). I prefer to be at a job that had an office, but still allows me to work remote most of the month. I don't anticipate going back to a full remote org unless it was just myself doing consulting (because fully remote does not always equal schedule flexibility).

View on HN

I've been remote for almost 8 years now. I love it and dread ever having to go back into an office. Faking productivity for show when the workload is low was the worst feeling, as if I was wasting my time and life. Plus I have social anxiety and the pressure to 'fit in' was overwhelming.

Now I work from home where my wife and toddler are. Being home to educate her is worth more than just about anything. I don't have to drive 2 hours every day just to be an ass in a seat. Two hours where all I do is sit in a car and wish to be home.

My productivity has remained high. I take on additional duties happily. I can chat with friends online if lonely. For me there are no cons to working remote. If I did go into an office I would be the only person from my division there, my next closest team mate is a state away, which would make socializing even more awkward for me.

My goal is to never have to go into an office ever again.

To each their own. I found that working remotely pigeonholes you into your role; its much harder to network in a remote org, to find other opportunities within the org when you're ready to explore a new role. My current org has offices around the world; I can work from any of them, or from home. I can apply for other internal roles, and keep my benefits and salary while changing up the work I'm working on.

Working from home exclusively does not appeal to me. I also don't want to have superficial conversations with coworkers in other parts of the world on a video chat client; that has no value for anyone. I would love to grab a pint with you though and chat about who you are as a person outside of work. Otherwise, you're just a resource I need to interact with to get my job done.

Luckily, the job market is large enough that everyone can have the sort of job they desire (fully remote, mostly remote, full time in office).

I agree with vinbreau. I've been 100% remote for about 10 years now and echo his comments.

> I also don't want to have superficial conversations with coworkers

I would argue this is a problem with the relationship between you and your coworkers and/or the size of your company and nothing to do with the means by which you communicate. Some of these people also may just not be your "kind" of person you like.

In addition to my remote work mates I have also found remote gaming buddies. Both workers and gamers alike I have found deep relationships with. I know all about their kids, pets, activities, deaths, illnesses, etc. Comparing these faceless friends to friends I regularly see in my area are the same. In some cases the faceless people are deeper because you can chat whenever. IRL friends you have to deal with families and work schedules and a month may go by before we can meetup to grab a drink or movie together, especially when they start having kids.

I would bet if you can't find much to talk about remotely you wouldn't find anything more to talk about in person besides the weather and how the coffee tastes today. Just because a person is next to me doesn't mean I like him or will have a deep relationship with him/her. I've sat in an office before, 5 years with a team. Some people just aren't compatible. When I left, I no longer communicated with them, the ones I did develop a relationship with I still talk to to this day.

> Just because a person is next to me doesn't mean I like him or will have a deep relationship with him/her.

This is absolutely true, of course.

What I would like to point out is that interaction in the physical space is higher resolution than what you tend to get in virtual environments. In my experience, when you make a remote friend, you have even better interactions when you're together physically.

It's sort of like sports - you may like watching a certain sport or you may not like it. But, regardless of how much you like it, you'll like it more if you're actually at the game. There's just something about being there in person that makes it more fun.

I get the idea you're trying to convey but for me personally it's the opposite. I don't care for sports, but I dislike bring at any game in person even more because the cult-like feeling of the audience is deeply terrifying to me. It's a fear of what this many people could do en masse if unhappy.

I don't find the last part to be true. When I worked fully remote, we would meet up a couple of times a year and go for dinner and beers and lunch together and had a blast. Video calls were mostly all-business though since it's just not a pleasant experience.

I agree, if you are working in a company that is not 100% remote and then remote seems to be more like "flex time."

I've risen from an L1 help desk support member to running the entire support team and reporting to the CEO, all remotely.

I've been remote for almost 8 years now. I love it and dread ever having to go back into an office.

I did it for ten years, and then returned to the office. It's a difficult transition. It took almost a year to really get back into the routine.

But the routine was actually better for me. Though I hate commuting, having a regular sleep/work schedule, responsibilities, and stability seems to have made me a better human being. My health has improved markedly, and even though my cow-orkers can be annoying, getting out of my bubble each day exposes me to new things.

YMMV.

> But the routine was actually better for me. Though I hate commuting, having a regular sleep/work schedule, responsibilities, and stability seems to have made me a better human being.

I work remotely and have a regular sleep/work schedule and regular work responsibilities. If your prioritize these things, and choose the company you work with carefully, you can have a work/life balance while working from home.

Balance is the key. I worked in the office, then at home, back to the office and now I'm 100% from home. The first time I worked at home I worked WAY too much. Going back to the office was so nice. I hated the commute, but I loved leaving work at work. After going back and forth, this 2nd round of working from home is great. No commute and I rarely get sucked back into working hours that I normally wouldn't. It takes some discipline to keep a balance.

I work remote and have a set schedule every day, always have. I work Monday through Friday, 8am-4pm.

I do agree with separating spaces. I used to live in a studio and that was a bad idea. Now I have a second bedroom as an office and when I'm done, the door is closed.

To be fair, an hour by car each way is on the long side of a commute, at least compared to the US average. (For some cities, it's probably pretty good.)

It takes me an hour to get to work and an hour and half back. But, I live in California and only 11 miles from work. Moving out here from the southern US was mind-boggling when it came to the traffic.

I live in a damn nightmare now and am looking forward to the day I move out of this state in less than a year.

As someone who also recently moved to the Bay Area from the south, I actually feel like Atlanta traffic is much worse. Granted, maybe I'm not seeing the worst of the Bay Area since my commute is just along one section of 101, but going from Atlanta suburbs to downtown (or back) was an utter nightmare, even on the weekends.

It's possible to cycle 11 miles in about 35 minutes. Make the most of the good weather. You will be fitter, healthier, less stressed, less polluting, and after the initial outlay for a new bike and all the gear, save money on vehicle, insurance, and fuel.

Likely the only connection to work is on the side of a 10-lane highway though. Not exactly a pleasant bike ride.

I'm 5 days late, but thanks for the recommendation. While where I work is a really bike friendly area, where I live is not and there's only three viable routes, two of which are freeways while the third is a non-bike friendly expressway.

Any other route would add a ton of time. I don't plan on working (or living) there much longer though, so it's only a temporary annoyance.

An hour each way isn't on the long side anymore, especially in and around Bay Area/SF unless you pay the price for it in higher rent/mortgage.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com