It is great for socializing, taking a long time to get food and a drink, running into people randomly that you wouldn't talk to electronically to socialize more. Then you add in background conversations and constant distraction.
IMO you don't even have to bring in the cost of the office and it already doesn't make sense anymore.
Remote kinda sucks for junior people. They need mentoring, don't know who to ask for what, and likely have multiple roommates all stomping over one another.
I also continue to point out, not everybody is software only. Anyone who operates in the land of firmware finds that not having an office and a lab really stinks. Anybody who is a manager probably spends more time on webcam than they ever did in meetings.
And, let me argue further, if your job is software only and can be done completely remotely, you can probably be replaced with someone cheaper. Think very carefully about your actual talent level and value to your job.
Locally? Maybe if they live somewhere cheaper, but talent still requires competitive compensation, otherwise they have other choices, it goes both ways
And I guess semi-jokingly trashtalking other teams that caused outages and were ludicrously incompetent but kept protected by office politics.
Well... I can mute Zoom meetings, but I can't mute the colleagues I'm with in my shared office space. Also, while in a virtual room, people are more likely to just "change the room" to not distract you and others from their work, compared to being in the same office, where they would need to take everything with them.
> I prefer to get out of my house.
So do I - but not every day. When I need to "get things done", I prefer staying at home.
I keep all the distracting notices pretty much turned off and only allow it for a select few situations. Then I plan regular “communication breaks” where I check for new email, check for slack messages, etc. It helps tame the noise.
Me I feel like society is spending a lot of public and worker bee resources for the mere convenience of the boss class. With workers making 50-80 mile a day commutes on the public roads.
If you are doing something invented 30 years ago or longer, and implementing by rote, then that can be done distributed with no problem. Follow a standard waterfall-able process is easily done remotely as not.
they could still type to program, but the typing necessary to participate in a meeting was probably beyond them without physical therapy or serious exercise regimen or something.
i'd say they needed speech to text, but one of them probably couldn't have _read_ a text meeting fast enough to keep up, either. maybe if he was provided with a 40" monitor and kept it at 1080p?
i dunno man.