37signals Works Remotely [video]

We're 100% remote, and work hard to keep things fun. I'd encourage you to apply.

Let me explain how I personally got out of this situation: I became a software consultant. For sure, it's not something you can become overnight, because you need clients, but it's a good way to get out quickly versus the ivory tower of starting your own profitable product offering. Heck, 37 signals and Fog Creek started out as consulting firms.

A caveat is that you'll almost certainly be working with Java rather than iOS, but not necessarily. Just get your name out there and talk to a few places.

I know this approach works because it's what I did. I don't even live in the US (western Canada) and it's worked out fine. I have to fly down and hang with the client once a quarter and that's about it.

Let me know if you would like to know more I saw you were in Atlanta (we are not downtown).

We make it work through solid communication, and I'm sure like us there are many opportunities for you to get a great remote position. Would the HN admin team consider adding a 3rd Who's Hiring entry, dedicated to remote positions?

When it comes to looking for work, telecommute is a non-negotiable item for me. I am happy to visit the office, which to me means "go onsite for one week every quarter" (as in-person time _does_ matter, just not on a day to day basis). But if someone says they require me to work onsite, it's a reason to walk away, in the same way that a lot of other people say, "No way would I relocate."

Plus, I see a refusal to permit telecommuting (for appropriate work, especially creative/innovation) as a sign of the company culture... and not in a good way. Do you really trust your employees so little that you have to have them under your watchful eye?

You may have heard of a few of our products: WordPress.com, Akismet, Gravatar, and likely the most relevant to you, the WordPress iOS app.

But it made a vast difference to my life - I went from a miserable commute eating three or four hours a day in a car, doing "management" work at a large company that did not get it to working in my own office twenty minutes walk from home hacking in open source code for Rice University in Texas.

It's not some over night, all is perfect now story, I have not treated myself as a proper business, I have not done the right things - but the big stuff, that's in place and I hope to stay the right side of the tax collector and produce not awful code for paying clients - it's a good road I am on. Join me. seriously, just start putting the word out and be prepared for some pain to start with.

jump :-)

I do remember feeling a little squeamish about the idea of hosting our code on github when we made the decision a few years ago, but now that seems silly. The benefits have definitely outweighed the drawbacks by a very large margin.

The employee trust question is interesting. If anything, I think I could argue that my access to resources is more easily controlled and audited when I'm remote.. Everything requires a secure authenticated connection, as opposed to some of the office environments I've worked in where I suppose lots of assets could have walked off relatively easily.

We all work remotely. Every developer and QA tester has his own laptop, they have set up a VM to run the application locally, with a fake database.

No one ever goes into prod for anything.

Companies have to trust their employees - else they wouldn't hire any. You can't really blindfold a developer from the code he's creating, can you?

Rather work on making your employees loyal to the company by being loyal to them. A happy and well paid employee is not going to steal your data, ever. An unhappy and smart employee will steal your data regardless of any silly obstacles you try to put up.

Interestingly enough, my company's wifi in their office is just a normal public internet connection (does not go onto the corporate network), so if you are on Wifi, you still have to VPN in. Its their way of allowing visitors to get proper wifi access anywhere in the building (plus they trust VPN encryption more than Wifi security).

As far as leaking data: anyone with a laptop can leak data. You should have good IT practices to prevent this type of thing. All laptops should have their harddisks encrypted and password protected. Now if the employee is being malicious, a local employee could steal data just as easily (see NSA and Snowden).

Good IT practices when you have a lot of computers on your network: (1) don't trust any device on your network, so you should have an IDS/IPS for tracking activity. (2) for VPN people, you want all traffic going through your network, so you can monitor the users network traffic with your IDS/IPS. (3) try to log as much activity as you can in-case you need to do post-mortem analysis once you've been hacked. (there is a lot more, but that's what you hire a good IT person/team for).

If you are working for a startup of < 50 people, you probably won't be the target of hackers. But if you are a large company or have sensitive data, you are a target. Having sound IT practices are important for your company's data.

We have a policy that unless you declare you're "out of the office" (i.e., vacation), you should be generally available between the hours of 9-to-5, should someone need to contact you. In practice, though, to avoid being disturbed like that, we've found that we've all become excellent communicators and will set expectations appropriately for our co-workers. To date, not one of my co-workers has called me if I've been out during 9-to-5 because they needed me.

Of course. The problem is that many (most?) companies will not even consider the possibility that remote work would be suitable for their employees because they have a fundamental lack of trust for those employees. Furthermore, they are managed by baby boomers who still believe in outdated mantras like "show up early and leave late to show your dedication."

I'd say that 20 years from now remote work will have become the norm, at least in software.

Great that you're trying out Sqwiggle. I'm actually one of the co-founders so please let me know if there's anything we can do to improve your experience. Also any feedback you have is super helpful!

And her action then kicked off many others to read way too much into it, usually to springboard off for their own interests. Mediocre managers who have no clue what their charges are doing, and can only manage suffering, for instance, all cheered and forwarded and linked.

I really, really wish I could do this. I feel like there needs to be some sort of guild structure for programming that would enable this.

For shops that allow/ or just work asynchronously, other arrangements need to be made to allow that. Usually more and more stuff is written and stored, so everyone can join and leave any moment.

There is a similar book being worked on by other ruby-remote working company: Arkency, http://blog.arkency.com/2013/09/arkency-survival-guide-to-ef...

start/stop: if you find time a useful way to plan things, just set yourself a "work time" and stick to it. it might require a bit of self-discipline that office work doesn't, but after a while you'll get used to thinking of that block of time as work. the nice bit is that it can be, e.g. 7-12, siesta, 3-5 if you prefer that to a straight 9-5.

schedule: you can still plan things out in man-days. people are responsible for arranging their time so that they put in that much work; it just doesn't need to be 9-5 every day.

supporting equipment: there are companies that will let you expense some of your equipment and internet bills; others see providing your own equipment as a tradeoff for not having to come in to the office.

* The expectation is to be available during business hours for the local time zone, unless something very weird is going on. However, I will generally block a couple hours in the afternoon so I can go work out or help my daughter with her math homework (whatever hours I take off are made up at some point later that evening or later that week)

* Project scheduling doesn't change. The expectation is still to work about 8 hours a day, unless there is vacation is in the mix, but that's no different than people who work in an office.

* My employer provides all the electronics (computer, LCD, etc). It is also company policy to pick up the cost of an IP phone and high-speed internet (50MB/s down/15MB/s up where I'm at). When I was negotiating my salary for the position I took into consideration that I would be paying for my own "perks" (coffee, etc). I have friends who work at companies like Palantir that are paid a stipend for "forward-deployed" engineers that covers the perks that other employees receive in the office (catered lunch, coffee, etc).

> How about same-time communication? E.g. I need to discuss things with my designer, oh wait, he's gardening at the moment, or he works at night.

On the whole you avoid it. So much of what people think needs an immediate response really doesn't, and can be dealt with much more effectively with a well written email. If you really do need to speak to someone real time then you schedule a time which is convenient, rather than disrupting the other party by dropping by their desk.

> How do you know when to start/stop your day? E.g. In "normal" office, it's usually 9 to 5.

This was the hardest thing for me when I stopped working in an office, but eventually you get into a rhythm, much as you would in a "normal" job. Sometimes it might vary a bit, but in the end we're creatures of habit.

> How do you schedule projects? Fixed time simplifies scheduling ("This project is 5 man-days").

You still have an idea of how many productive hours you'll get in a typical day, you're just working in a different place. Knowing how much you actually work is a big win for estimation, since you're not playing the game of pretending everyone gets 8 hours a day every day.

> Who pays for supporting equipments (desk, LCD, internet, nice coffee) if I work from home?

In my case, I had it all set up from when I was contracting anyway, so the kit is mine, but it depends on the company. Any company worth their salt would pick up the tab for equipment you need for your job (although you may have to pay for your own coffee).

2. We do 9-6, 1hr lunch sometime between 11:30 and 1:30, releases after 6, which isn't too bad you're already home when it's done.

3. No different than regular, work breakdown structure, 6hrs/man of actual work in day (email, skype, etc. doesn't count)

4. I use my home computer, this way I don't have to set up two envs, but software is reimbursed, they would buy computer if I asked though.

I've just started working remotely at a new company. I asked my previous employer if I could, and they said no, which is why I am no longer with them. I think this was one of their biggest concerns to having a team working remotely - if you need to discuss something you can't just grab everyone in the team for half an hour to discuss it.

Personally this was one of my biggest gripes of working in an office, if someone wants to discuss something, instead of arranging it, they just disturb everyone else whenever it is convenient for them. Developers always talk about being in the zone, but when it comes to respecting others we don't seem bothered about it.

So in regards to your issue, I don't see it as a problem. If I really need to talk to someone I can pick up the phone and call them, but if it isn't urgent I just send them an IM or email and wait for them to get back to me.

He did! It was kind of cool to spend a day with a coworker in my town.

Start-stop: Whenever you feel like it. I start around 10, work until 4 or so, and usually run a couple hours later in the day (11-2 at night often)

Schedule projects: Stop thinking about hours on the clock, start thinking about iterations on a calendar. Look at past work, consider the difficulty, extrapolate to the future with a hedge factor.

Supporting equipment: I do, it's a tax writeoff and I get to pick what I want. I've worked at companies that paid for everything - that's fine too.

In the second case, those people were very often left out of the most communication that was happening in the office, and for them it must have been not very good situation to be in. There was no general plan for handling this situation and trying to include them in meetings and decision making process.

But when whole company is working remotely, the situation is completely different, everyone is at the same level, and you really can make it work.

I'm usually an advocate for this kind of approach, but in my experience they are leaving out the part when you really need to get stuff done and work together, which can be really rough.

At the end when the one guy says "If you have the right tools, the right trust, and the right team, you can work wherever you want..." Those are huge caveats, and 37signals is secure and stable enough to have those in excess, which isn't the case with most businesses.

I'd love to know what pain-points you found.

I.e. not being able to move because of family doesn't necessarily equate to wanting to spend more time than normal with the family.

There is a huge market of highly talented people that are unwilling to move into the country (or part of the country) where you choose to set up your business. Remote working has it's costs, but it can be offset by a larger pool of experienced and enthusiast candidates.

On the other hand, zero face time is problematic in other ways. Even 37signals has an all-employee get-together a couple of times a year (read back through svn, they describe this).

BTW, if anoyone is looking for remote iOS/RoR developer drop me a line ;)

* They miss the casual social interaction

* If, like us you're in an environment where some people home work but most don't you can find some ways of working can disadvantage home workers - standups are a good example - for remote workers to really be part of it you need the board to either be visible by camera (or virtualised) and you need good audio so they can hear and be heard

On the last point: home working requires the company to invest money and time in working out how to get the best from the home workers. Be wary about anyone who allows it having not done this.

- Give yourself a dedicated space (very preferably behind a door that closes if you don't live alone)

- Give it a few weeks. It takes getting used to, so avoid entertaining "This just isn't working out" feelings for a while. Took me a bit to get used to the quiet for one thing!

- Be social! Visit the office when you can, don't be afraid to talk about not-work in chat rooms, etc. Office chit-chat and lunches together have value, they enrich your relationship with colleagues and keep humanity levels high in work debates. I find I can find myself with shorter patience if I haven't been "hanging out" with coworkers for a while.

- Work for a remote team. Being the one-remote-guy on a team is a challenge. Remote working works best when the team is committed to working asynchronously, when the chat-room is the office, etc.

The last bit is key. Most of the stories I've heard about it not working out had a lot more to do with the team not actually being committed to remote working than some fundamental flaw in remoteness.

Also, while this may be a somewhat touchy subject, I can work when there is actually work to be done, and do something else when there isn't. I think that's the best part. There is actually incentive to get things done as quickly and efficiently as possible. I know when I get done what I need to I can stop for the day, but if I was in a typical office, I would need to be there all day regardless of how much work needed to be done that day.

I've been working remotely again for the past 3 years, with good success. It's been a boon to me since I've had to move twice, but was able to keep the same job.

I love working remotely for all the reasons 37signals hit on the their video, but there are some downsides:

1. loneliness - This may still be preferable to some office situations, but it can wear on you. Web chat, coffee shops, and coworking spaces combat this, but still.

2. distractions - You can also waste a whole day at work if you are in an office (and offices have their own distractions), but I still think greater self discipline is needed to stay on task working from home.

3. poor work/life division - Contradicting #2, it can be hard to STOP working. I find myself working while I eat dinner, on weekends, and late in to the night.

4. "out of the loop" - Especially if the whole company isn't remote, you can quickly become "out of the loop". Even if the company makes a big effort to have frequent virtual meetings and CC you on discussions, you will miss out on random office discussions/overheard phone conversations/etc.

2. It's hard to feel like I have the true freedom of working from home due to people being in an office. It's a lot harder for them to see I'm away from the desk. This may have been exaggerated a bit by the fact remote workers were all EST while officer workers were PST. In this video it's clear everyone is all over so stricter hours are harder to enforce.

One is overwork, because you are remote it's easy to work more hours than necessary trying to fix a problem. To fix this set a convenient and flexible work schedule for yourself. Try to maintain those hours, so you know you are off work anytime after those hours. You can also mix it up, work long hours some days and less hours on other days.

Another downside is friends and family will think you have all the time in the world, even though they mean well, they will often try to fit some favor into your schedule, like pick up the niece, the friend from the airport, help me move etc. You need to know how much you can help your friends and still be productive.

If you need handholding, you're hiring and working with B-players. Not everyone is going to be able to hold its own initially, but after a few weeks on a team, you should be independent enough that people don't need to look over your shoulder.

I know we want every one of the 1000 employees to work 100% even when working remotely, but anecdotes don't necessarily translate into what actually works efficiently.

The point being, we are a successful startup that has made the lack of a central office a part of our culture. This is my first foray into a virtual company like this, and it's been eye-opening.

There are several efficiencies that come with remote work:

1. Our team members are thrilled. We have folks in basically every stage of their working lives. From fresh college graduates to parents of kids in college.. and everything in between. Everyone has expressed satisfaction with how our setup has given them the ability to easily balance their personal lives with work.

I know that for me, simply eliminating the commute I have an extra hour or two in my day to spend time with my family. That alone makes me intensely loyal to the company.

2. It's the best hiring hack ever. Did you know that there are insanely talented engineers living in Boise Idaho? Milwaukee? Conway Arkansas? It turns out that when you are allowed to cast a very wide hiring net, the level of talent available to you simply goes through the roof. Instead of sniping talent from local companies and participating in the hiring arms-race you're seeing in the valley and in other startup hubs, we get to hire amazing people that those companies simply never consider.

3. We save real money. Since we don't have an office, we save on one of the biggest expenses a company can have. We do pay for co-working spaces, but most of our employees choose to work at home. It leaves money in the budget for us to have amazing quarterly meet-ups. Every three months we get together and work on the company, but we get to have an amazing time while doing so.

4. Management efficiencies abound as well. You learn to really trust other people when you can't look over their shoulder all of the time. Which creates a brilliant culture of self-managing teams.

There are challenges. When do you have standup (DO you do standups)? How do you communicate? Thankfully tools like Google Hangouts, hipchat, and a variety of others help us cross that gap. I think the most surprising thing to me has been that our virtual company operates more like a traditional officed one than I would have thought. We still have meetings when necessary. We still collaborate. Hell we still whiteboard things out. Just the venue has changed and the manner in which we do things slightly altered.

tldr; It can most definitely work.

Many people in our company like the flexibility of choosing to work remotely or in the office. However, when we on-boarded a new hire recently, he struggled with this level of flexibility. He took advantage of it in unprofessional ways. When confronted, he indicated that he might do better if he was always working in the office with the rest of the team.

Management suddenly made it a requirement for everyone to come into the office. This had severe and immediate impacts on morale and on employees' focus on the mission.

Some people need to work in an office. Some people need to work remotely. Some people can be flexible. The reason it's so contentious is because it is hard to accommodate all 3 of those types. So far, the solution is to alienate at least 1 of those 3 types. Hopefully the contention will result in progress.

"Change is never easy. But we’re willing to do whatever it takes to be the most efficient company we can be. Now please excuse us, we’re off to get more productive. And secure. And dressed the same."