Hacker News Reader

Comment by erdo | Hacker News Reader

Is it that people love remote working, or that they hate commuting?

I would prefer a 20 min commute on a clean train, to a nice office than remote working (and I did have that on an Amsterdam based contract).

But an hour plus drive to an industrial estate in the middle of nowhere - I'd maybe push for a remote option.

View on HN

I am a data scientist with little to nothing in common with my colleagues (particularly on the engineering side), outside of us working for the same company. I'd rather spend my time with my wife and kids, pursuing my hobbies, and generally being outdoors. Not having to commute or waste hours pretending to be interested in my colleague's lives outside of work is a huge benefit. Side conversations occurring at the office which are beneficial are a rare occurrence - put more specifically, I am willing to risk missing out on in office perks to benefit my own life. When I hit my financial number, I won't write code, conduct analysis or do anything near a computer screen again.

This made me chuckle, all power to you! How many of us would work in our current role if money were genuinely no object - in reality there are far more rewarding things to be doing with our limited time on this planet.

I thought our (you and me) mindset was normal, that if money weren't an issue no would work, but I have been mistaken many times. I am not sure if people don't have interests outside of their work, or their work is their interests but it seems many people would continue working if financially secure.

Introvert here. Just being around people is usually straining. I guess I also suffer some kind of social anxiety or whateverthehellitis. It's difficult to relax and focus with people around.

When I commuted, the commute was the best part of the day because I got to relax and sit alone in my car. Stepping out of the car at the company parking lot was always nauseating.

That said I'm still glad I needn't commute anymore. Life is short, I will die. I feel like I can do better with my life than spend it sitting in a car.

I see, I think there are quite a few developers who feel that way. It is crazy for a company not to accommodate that, if it truly wants to recruit from the best talent pool available

Reply on news.ycombinator.com