As a disabled woman I need fully remote work. The longer I’ve worked in tech the more I’ve seen that an office really isn’t needed. If you like being in an office and the company wants to provide one then that’s great but there is no reason to require it.
Depends on the tasks at hand, I think.
Just writing code or discussing things in meetings feels much better remote. IMO things like mentoring juniors or on-boarding new colleagues is pretty hard when you’re not sitting next to each other.
And that’s why I love my company’s policy. Basically, we have two days “mandatory” at office (i.e. you’re expected to be in, unless you have obligations), and our VP has committed to three days minimum remote and stuck by that. And we’re totally cool with people doing full remote for a month or whatever if they are doing an extended trip or have some other reason why coming into the office is impractical.
So all of the mentoring and whatnot happens on those two days. It works quite well because the barrier to collaboration is lower those two days, and people still have the majority of their work remote for better focus and comfort.
We’re not a tech company, but I do have a tech job, so I’m very happily surprised that my org is so sensible.
I see a lot of debate as to whether working in the office or working from home is better for xyz situations. I think it’s important to recognise that we are all individuals, and we will all find different ways of working more beneficial for ourselves.
I am neurodivergent and find working in an office to be extremely overwhelming and distracting. I prefer to be in my own home where I am comfortable and can control my surroundings precisely (light, temperature, background noise, etc). I have always been able to meet my work deadlines and have only been praised for my work and have also got pay raises for my performance whilst working from home.
My company was never planning on making people return to the office. However, my company got bought out by another company and we are now forced to come into the office at minimum three days a week.
My new company claims to want to “remove barriers for neurodiverse people working at the company” but is also saying “we all work better in the office”. These two statements contradict each other as being forced to come into the office is certainly a barrier to many neurodiverse people including myself. I’m sure for a great many people returning to the office is beneficial but nobody can claim that this is better for absolutely everyone.
In my case I contacted an employment lawyer and they told me I may potentially have a case for being discriminated against for my disability. I was encouraged to formally submit a motion to change my contract to a permanent remote working one which, if this is rejected, I may be able to follow up with taking my company to court. My doctor, my company’s doctor, and my company’s lawyers currently all agree that this motion should be approved but I am still waiting on the final decision…
It’s super interesting to see this develop. I was working in a super fancy office before the pandemic and I do have to say I miss the serendipitous interactions and the ease of making connections.
I never bought into the “remote is universally better” message some of the tech CEOs touted in 2020. It’s all trade offs. I do think in-person by default, with flexibility to work from home 1-2 days a week, plus some teams being 100% remote is probably a good sweet spot. But I love all the experimentation going on right now.
I agree with this whole heartedly. I think the issue, remote or at work, comes down to the fact that it isn’t the workers making the choice, but their boss. For me, I don’t do tech work, so I have to go into work because I’m legitimately doing work with my hands. And I like it that way. I know that if I had to work from home, I would become miserable QUICK. That’s just my personality.
But the choice is made from up high, from people who don’t give two shits about the workers. As with all things.
Workers have power though… although I guess mostly though if you’re either in tech or in a union. Or both.
