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Comment by jcroll | Hacker News Reader

I don't really see why people keep trying to "defend" remote working looking for optimizations in a practice which is fundamentally broken. At what point in our evolutionary history do you think the human animal, which evolved as a pack hunter in a highly socialized environment, was designed to work from home 40 hrs a week? We should be focusing on creating more flexible office environments for our workers where they can come in and work with their coworkers regularly

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We should also accept that people are very different. I know people who prefer to go to the office whereas people like myself prefer working from home. My ideal situation would probably be a small office close to my home where I can work with a few people. Large offices are definitely not for me. I find them very stressful. But other people find them energizing. So we should accept that people are different and see how to accommodate all working styles.

We weren't "designed" to work in offices either. Or use computers. Yet we do it, because while these may bring troubles for going against our "design", they also come with advantages.

Our modern lifestyle is extremely different from the lifestyles that shaped our evolution over millennia. You can't just pick and choose to what aspects you apply the naturalistic argument.

> was designed to work from home 40 hrs a week?

At all time in history before the industrial revolution? You worked at home, which was right next to your field, or in front of /under your home. Commuting to work wasn't even an option ; usually only merchants traveled.

The weird situation is when you have to move away from your family in unfamiliar cramped apartments just so you can work in a factory nearby and perhaps send them back money. It's not "normal", it's rather abnormal but cities have adapted to this abnormal situation. The trend to economies becoming 100% services is helping to bring people back to ancient normality.

> We should be focusing on creating more flexible office environments

No we should be working to make residential areas more social and turn them to mixed residential/commercial, just how it used to be (and still is in most of europe). Offices are a relic.

This is actually going to happen spontaneously as soon as everyone has 4-5 neighbors who also work from home. It's a matter of time

I think you are right, that it's going to take many years before we realize that remote work is on the same level as the open office: sounds great in theory but actually counterproductive when it comes down to the practicalities.

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