Ask HN: For a job in tech, are you only interested in remote only jobs?
84 comments
I've been doing remote VR development since before the pandemic. Remote to me doesn't mean exactly "could be done with an internet connection and a laptop". I'm not interested in a digital nomad lifestyle but in working from home.
One of the benefits of working from home is control over my work environment. For me that means a private office with a big standing desk, multiple monitors, room to move around behind the desk with a VR headset on, a Kinesis Advantage 2 ergonomic keyboard, good quality webcam, microphone and lighting for video calls, etc.
None of that was easily obtainable in most non-remote jobs I've worked at. There are other advantages to remote obviously like no commute and living where I like rather than close to my employer's office, eating my own choice of food, etc.
I think in tech circles remote is often conflated with the digital nomad lifestyle which wouldn't suit me at all and as a result many of the aspects that make remote work appealing to me are under emphasized. I would hate having to work on a laptop from a coffee shop on a regular basis and that is not why I would prefer to only work remote jobs. I would hate hot desking in an open office with a laptop just as much.
One of the benefits of working from home is control over my work environment. For me that means a private office with a big standing desk, multiple monitors, room to move around behind the desk with a VR headset on, a Kinesis Advantage 2 ergonomic keyboard, good quality webcam, microphone and lighting for video calls, etc.
None of that was easily obtainable in most non-remote jobs I've worked at. There are other advantages to remote obviously like no commute and living where I like rather than close to my employer's office, eating my own choice of food, etc.
I think in tech circles remote is often conflated with the digital nomad lifestyle which wouldn't suit me at all and as a result many of the aspects that make remote work appealing to me are under emphasized. I would hate having to work on a laptop from a coffee shop on a regular basis and that is not why I would prefer to only work remote jobs. I would hate hot desking in an open office with a laptop just as much.
I too prefer my home office, high performance, high capacity mini-tower, three LCDs, mechanical keyboard, two desks, one with the computer another for reading, designing, etc. The best part is the relative quiet environment. Having worked mostly in open offices, the never ending noise and interruptions kept me less productive than in my home office.
I dislike working on a laptop for extended periods of time, the screen is too close and the keyboards no match for my preferred mechanical keyboard. If you attach a screen and keyboard, then what's the point? You might as well have a system you can upgrade and fix and typically costs no more.
I dislike working on a laptop for extended periods of time, the screen is too close and the keyboards no match for my preferred mechanical keyboard. If you attach a screen and keyboard, then what's the point? You might as well have a system you can upgrade and fix and typically costs no more.
I've been doing it for 15+ and love it for all the same reasons but being able to make proper, fresh meals is one of the huge ones for me.
I love high quality, home made food and it was always a struggle to eat out at the office or bring something to reheat, never loved either to much and it can get unhealthy quick.
Also being older now, having the option for a quick 15 min nap at home is much easier to execute on than in an office.
I love high quality, home made food and it was always a struggle to eat out at the office or bring something to reheat, never loved either to much and it can get unhealthy quick.
Also being older now, having the option for a quick 15 min nap at home is much easier to execute on than in an office.
I have a home office. Laptop & internet, sure, but also my quite decent home lab. Logic analyzer. Spectrum analyzer. Oscilloscope. Multimeters. Soldering station (including hot air rework). Power supplies (some are actually my employer's). DC Load. Multiple monitors, mechanical keyboard, decent mouse. All laid out the way I want them, in a way that it's easy for me to use them all. And it's in a quiet (when my birds aren't shouting) dedicated space, so I don't have to wear noise-cancelling headphones all day.
Also I have birds. It's a lot easier to interact with them as much as they need when working from home than it is when working from an office.
Also I have birds. It's a lot easier to interact with them as much as they need when working from home than it is when working from an office.
I cannot imagine any sum of money could sway me to ever work full time in an office again.
I do miss the socialization though, but having work be our main source of IRL human interaction is toxic and a lock-in factor.
My solution is going to be starting a hackerspace by me I can pop into whenever.
I do miss the socialization though, but having work be our main source of IRL human interaction is toxic and a lock-in factor.
My solution is going to be starting a hackerspace by me I can pop into whenever.
A hackerspace to socialize with workers of other companies is actually a fun idea. Socializing with "non-colleagues": no work-related talks, no office gossip, talk about anything without any fear of judgement (by your peers), ... Reminds me of college.
What would the downsides be?
What would the downsides be?
When it rains (like today), i'm not motivated to bike there and still pay for my place.
The showers aren't as nice as mine, and i sometime want to cook myself and don't want to bike twenty minutes.
The showers aren't as nice as mine, and i sometime want to cook myself and don't want to bike twenty minutes.
> talk about anything without any fear of judgement
I have a name for this forthcoming hackerspace: The Echo Chamber.
I have a name for this forthcoming hackerspace: The Echo Chamber.
I cannot imagine neither, there is not money that could buy out this freedom out of me!
I’m not 100% against office work, but I’m 100% against commuting. I’m also no longer interested in living in most of the areas that would minimize my commute (due to poor schools, less child friendly, etc). If the right company came and set up shop in my current city so that I could commute in 10 minutes or less, or could ride my bike there, I’d absolutely come back. That’s highly unlikely, so I will likely be remote from here in out. I simply am uninterested in giving up the time I’ve gained in my life by eliminating my commute, and the freedom I’ve gained to live with my young family where we feel is best for us.
I'm also only interested in remote jobs. I live in the middle of nowhere because that's where my extended family is from. If given the choice, I'd prefer to be able to watch my kids play with my sister's kids, for my kids to know and spend time with their grandparents and great grandparents, etc.
Offices are absolutely the worst places to get any work done. Open plan, lousy kit, noisy, managers who love meetings. Add to that expensive to get to (time & money), expensive to eat nearby, terrible coffee, having to wear pants. I could go on.
I have family, kids, who I need to take to and from school, and prepare meals for. I have real friends, not office friends (although I have made lasting friends through office-based work).
Remote only for me. I'm starting my fifth remote contract next week and it's far more interesting work than anything I could get locally.
For context, I've 25yrs as a software developer, 20 of which doing contract work, and since 2020 fully remote. I'd guess I've worked in about three dozen different offices.
I have family, kids, who I need to take to and from school, and prepare meals for. I have real friends, not office friends (although I have made lasting friends through office-based work).
Remote only for me. I'm starting my fifth remote contract next week and it's far more interesting work than anything I could get locally.
For context, I've 25yrs as a software developer, 20 of which doing contract work, and since 2020 fully remote. I'd guess I've worked in about three dozen different offices.
> But so many folks declining non remote jobs was a bit surprising.
What's surprising about it? I decline non 100% remote jobs because I live in a small city that has zero or a couple of tech companies and I don't want to move (because I may have already a house in this small city, because my partner may have a good job here, because of... there are so many reasons to not wanting to move). Now, if you tell me that Microsoft is opening an office 10 minutes away (on foot) from my home, then yeah, I can accept an hybrid model. But that's not the case, so 100% remote or "Thanks, but no thanks"
What's surprising about it? I decline non 100% remote jobs because I live in a small city that has zero or a couple of tech companies and I don't want to move (because I may have already a house in this small city, because my partner may have a good job here, because of... there are so many reasons to not wanting to move). Now, if you tell me that Microsoft is opening an office 10 minutes away (on foot) from my home, then yeah, I can accept an hybrid model. But that's not the case, so 100% remote or "Thanks, but no thanks"
I am with you, I am big fan of remote, I been WFH since 2009 and wouldn't trade for anything but it was a surprise that so many people wouldn't accept a non-remote work.
During mid last year my employer decided that everyone should get back in the office at least 3 days a week. I have resigned (many others too) and took a remote job for a -20% paycut. I do not even care for the paycut as I’m so much more happier with WFH: no commute, no noisy open space, no aweful coffee machine, etc.
I wouldn’t mind going to the office once / week for workshops or team building, if the commute would be like 10-15 minutes. But this is almost impossible to have.
IMO - work that can be done from home should be done from home, while workshops (or the like) are better in person.
I wouldn’t mind going to the office once / week for workshops or team building, if the commute would be like 10-15 minutes. But this is almost impossible to have.
IMO - work that can be done from home should be done from home, while workshops (or the like) are better in person.
It would be very hard (probably impossible) to tempt me to take a non-remote job.
The two main arguments I've heard for forcing tech roles into offices: 1) Offices are better for collaboration 2) WFH is lonely and anti-social.
All of the best collaborative experiences in my career have been with people who have not even been in the same country as me, so #1 is anecdotally 100% false in my case.
As for the social aspect, I do not need an office to socialize and I am not interested in being forced into an office so other people would have somebody to socialize with.
The two main arguments I've heard for forcing tech roles into offices: 1) Offices are better for collaboration 2) WFH is lonely and anti-social.
All of the best collaborative experiences in my career have been with people who have not even been in the same country as me, so #1 is anecdotally 100% false in my case.
As for the social aspect, I do not need an office to socialize and I am not interested in being forced into an office so other people would have somebody to socialize with.
So, what you are saying is that those "best collaborative experiences" where the best because they were remote? Or do you think they could have been even better if they were on site?
I don't think they were the best because they were remote, they were actually amazing because they were with really amazing people, and it's very hard to find a lot of amazing people that also work well together in a single geographic location. That's why I'm also a huge proponent of geographically distributed teams - the likelihood of finding the best candidate for a team becomes much larger if you don't require the candidate to be in the same city as the rest of the team.
As for whether those experiences would have been even better on-site: I don't think so at all.
In general I think remote collaboration requires a set of skills. Those skills are becoming more and more prevalent as a result of many factors (the recent pandemic, younger employees having grown up with social tools like Ventrilo/TeamSpeak/Discord, etc). If you're working with somebody that sucks at remote collaboration, then sure, it will probably be much better to meet them in person. But if you're working with somebody who is skilled at remote collaboration, then I have not found any downside to working with them over the internet.
You can deal with people who are bad at remote collaboration in many ways. Forcing everybody into offices is certainly an option, but I think it's quite a terrible one. Training people on how to be effective remotely would be a much more preferable option for myself.
As for whether those experiences would have been even better on-site: I don't think so at all.
In general I think remote collaboration requires a set of skills. Those skills are becoming more and more prevalent as a result of many factors (the recent pandemic, younger employees having grown up with social tools like Ventrilo/TeamSpeak/Discord, etc). If you're working with somebody that sucks at remote collaboration, then sure, it will probably be much better to meet them in person. But if you're working with somebody who is skilled at remote collaboration, then I have not found any downside to working with them over the internet.
You can deal with people who are bad at remote collaboration in many ways. Forcing everybody into offices is certainly an option, but I think it's quite a terrible one. Training people on how to be effective remotely would be a much more preferable option for myself.
I am with you in all of your reply, I can relate so much!
Started working remotely during the pandemic and enjoy it so much that I don't want to go back. Bought a house in a more remote place due to remote work and opportunities to be closer to family. This puts a natural limit on non-remote jobs (there's barely anything interesting in the area where I live, all interesting stuff is hours away).
Never say never, there might be stuff that's interesting enough to get me to the office occasionally, but if it's up to me, I'll never be in an office five days a week again.
Never say never, there might be stuff that's interesting enough to get me to the office occasionally, but if it's up to me, I'll never be in an office five days a week again.
It's kind of obvious, I don't know why you find it surprising. For jobs that require constant human interaction, remote might be suboptimal, but for for jobs requiring concentration sitting in a modern typically open-plan office is just depressing. It's just as if you were struggling to get things done.
OTOH, when I WFH, I can work in really comfortable conditions with nobody disturbing me, and I make break when I want and need, not when some random guy approaches me and breaks my flow, sitting on an old chair etc. It simply doesn't make sense. I don't believe we will ever go back to the old ways.
If you want to be competitive these days, you have two things to offer: a good salary and full remote (for those who wont it). If you don't offer the latter, your competitiveness falls dramatically and you will never get a lot of valuable talent.
OTOH, when I WFH, I can work in really comfortable conditions with nobody disturbing me, and I make break when I want and need, not when some random guy approaches me and breaks my flow, sitting on an old chair etc. It simply doesn't make sense. I don't believe we will ever go back to the old ways.
If you want to be competitive these days, you have two things to offer: a good salary and full remote (for those who wont it). If you don't offer the latter, your competitiveness falls dramatically and you will never get a lot of valuable talent.
I've been WFH since 2009 and wouldn't trade it for anything but surprised me, I didn't expect so many people turning down non remote jobs.
I agree, companies that don't adapt will be loosing talents.
I agree, companies that don't adapt will be loosing talents.
Yes - but not because I want to be a digital nomad or something.
I'm from Brazil and want to take advantage of the 5:1 currency exchange to the USD...
My favorite physical spot would be a "coworking space in walking distance". A few colleagues would be better than alone. (I have a toddler how did you guess?!)
My favorite physical spot would be a "coworking space in walking distance". A few colleagues would be better than alone. (I have a toddler how did you guess?!)
Sure, any dev from LAMAT are wanting abroad roles. The Argentinian peso is 300:1 , the ones that can't speak english are are making $350 month localy.
I’m only interested in remote work. I can’t imagine myself ever being motivated to go back to an office setting. It would require an extraordinary amount of leverage to get me to leave my home each day.
On-site you can only consider jobs in your city, or with reasonable commutes, or where you would be willing to relocate to.
Remote, you don't have that restriction.
Remote, you don't have that restriction.
> Remote, you don't have that restriction.
Problem is, so does everyone else. So you would have much more competition.
Problem is, so does everyone else. So you would have much more competition.
Competition increases, but pool of job offers does as well. So, it's all fine.
You would have to triple or quadruple my base compensation to get me back in the office.
Full remote only (with option to go to the office sporadically)
If I commute for 1 hour a day (being optimistic), that's (22*10) almost 10 full days wasted per year.
Time is my most valuable asset, and I'd rather waste it doing things I like
If I commute for 1 hour a day (being optimistic), that's (22*10) almost 10 full days wasted per year.
Time is my most valuable asset, and I'd rather waste it doing things I like
I'm primarily interested in remote only jobs. Happy to visit an office every 2 weeks without complaint. Weekly's tolerable but I'd pick almost any other remote job over it. More than once a week in office feels silly, just say you don't offer remote working. Company's gonna have to chip in if they want me to move house.
I am open to do full time in-office, would prefer not though because frequent commuting kinda gives me the waking up dread after a bit. Tends to be less productive for both me and the company.
I am open to do full time in-office, would prefer not though because frequent commuting kinda gives me the waking up dread after a bit. Tends to be less productive for both me and the company.
Currently working 99+% remote. In a next job, I'd like to have the flexibility to work from home whenever I want to but also have the option to meet colleagues IRL when we feel we need to, which should not be too often.
I'd also be fine with eg. 2-3 days in office, 2 WFH. But only as long as the commute isn't too long, like 30-45 minutes max.
If I have to be part of a traffic jam each day, no thnx. I'll start later and/or leave earlier or something.
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I would like an option to select only jobs that require less than 1 hour total per day on Zoom call(s). What's the point of remote when you sit for hours and hours of Zoom (etc) calls and meetings?
I can be really productive but only if uninterrupted and left to do actual work.
I can be really productive but only if uninterrupted and left to do actual work.
Or even, no Zoom calls at all.
I worked remotely for 10 years, we never had any Zoom calls or phone calls. Only contact was via email, and all the work was done 100% asynchronously.
I'm interested in working remotely, but only if the company is working asynchronously, letting workers choose their own hours, etc. Not if they regard remote work as a way to save on rent & office equipment while keeping the same synchronous micromanaging behaviors.
I worked remotely for 10 years, we never had any Zoom calls or phone calls. Only contact was via email, and all the work was done 100% asynchronously.
I'm interested in working remotely, but only if the company is working asynchronously, letting workers choose their own hours, etc. Not if they regard remote work as a way to save on rent & office equipment while keeping the same synchronous micromanaging behaviors.
You know what's worse than zoom calls while working remotely? Zoom calls at the office.
Exactly. The poor souls required to telework with 2-3 days in office that are in different branches than me but under the same division basically just go into the office to jump on the same Teams meetings that we're on at home.
A couple of jobs back, years before the pandemic, the company got acqui-hired by a big WITCH. I went from full-time WFH to commuting an hour each way, two hours for a single journey if the traffic was bad. I'd arrive at my desk, and... log in to a computer located 2,000+ miles away from me in a secure data center, and work on some secure software. During the day I'd have meetings, all remote, where I'd have to hunt for an empty conference room, because you cannot have a remote meeting at your desk and disturb all the colleagues around you.
All scheduled meetings were required to be remote, even if the other people you were meeting with were in the same building, because we didn't want to discriminate against those meeting participants that were on the other side of the country or the world. People would horse-trade meetings, as in, "who else is on this meeting? Just the two of us? I'll cancel my meeting due to a conflict or personal errand, you want to go grab coffee and just casually chat about work?"
And then at the end of my work day, I'd hang around until the wee hours of the morning at my office desk, so I could have a remote meeting with the team in Taiwan because corporate required that all meetings are required to go through their network infrastructure for security.
There were other reasons I quit, but I was so demotivated by this corporate stupidity. I lasted a grand total of 90 calendar days. I still to this day do not know if I was being screwed with, but everyone I spoke with said "yep, that's how we do things around here, and nobody can get it changed even though we've tried."
All scheduled meetings were required to be remote, even if the other people you were meeting with were in the same building, because we didn't want to discriminate against those meeting participants that were on the other side of the country or the world. People would horse-trade meetings, as in, "who else is on this meeting? Just the two of us? I'll cancel my meeting due to a conflict or personal errand, you want to go grab coffee and just casually chat about work?"
And then at the end of my work day, I'd hang around until the wee hours of the morning at my office desk, so I could have a remote meeting with the team in Taiwan because corporate required that all meetings are required to go through their network infrastructure for security.
There were other reasons I quit, but I was so demotivated by this corporate stupidity. I lasted a grand total of 90 calendar days. I still to this day do not know if I was being screwed with, but everyone I spoke with said "yep, that's how we do things around here, and nobody can get it changed even though we've tried."
The opposite; I wouldn't be interested in any role where I don't have at least the option of working in an office. Almost two years of mandatory WFH was enough for me for life, I think.
I'm glad to see this opinion, I completely agree. People here seem to hate their commute but if you can just bike or take the metro to work it's much nicer to have a bunch of people around to hang out with!
I only looking for a remote job or contract.
I live in 2 places, have no driver's license. Remote is the only option.
I don't want to waste 2-4 hours a day just traveling with public transportation then spend 8-10 at work to come home with no time left for my life.
Remote only option also gives me ro opportunity to work for non-local companies.
For me it's 100% remote or nothing.
I live in 2 places, have no driver's license. Remote is the only option.
I don't want to waste 2-4 hours a day just traveling with public transportation then spend 8-10 at work to come home with no time left for my life.
Remote only option also gives me ro opportunity to work for non-local companies.
For me it's 100% remote or nothing.
I did not consider any non-remote jobs during my search this summer.
I don't mind working in an office - it can be nice to have a clear separation between work time and personal time - but I do mind commuting, unless I can walk. (Motorcycling is OK too, but if I have to drive a car or ride in a bus to get to work, I'm not going to be happy about it.)
It would be hard to give up the general life flexibility that has come with remote work. We can live anywhere, so long as there's a reasonable time overlap with the West Coast; my partner's career options do not have to be constrained by mine.
I don't mind working in an office - it can be nice to have a clear separation between work time and personal time - but I do mind commuting, unless I can walk. (Motorcycling is OK too, but if I have to drive a car or ride in a bus to get to work, I'm not going to be happy about it.)
It would be hard to give up the general life flexibility that has come with remote work. We can live anywhere, so long as there's a reasonable time overlap with the West Coast; my partner's career options do not have to be constrained by mine.
I just started working remotely in a semi-technical role. Caveats being that I can only login from my own home unless I gain prior approval. It works so well for my young family that my forward momentum has slowed to a crawl, as I don't want to take a role with the potential to re-introduce multiple office visits and travel for at least the next few years.
I am living somewhere I am not from and it is hard to meet new people at this age. For that I will eventually welcome a couple of days a week in office. For now, not a chance.
I am living somewhere I am not from and it is hard to meet new people at this age. For that I will eventually welcome a couple of days a week in office. For now, not a chance.
I switched from a remote job to an in person job as a machine learning engineer. I have a moderate preference for working in person with other people. I don't love having to commute, but at this point in my life it is worth the tradeoffs.
To me, the worst of all worlds is a job where I have to commute but less than half of my coworkers are work from the same office as me. At that point I have all the downsides of commuting, and very little of the upsides of getting to work in person with my teammates.
To me, the worst of all worlds is a job where I have to commute but less than half of my coworkers are work from the same office as me. At that point I have all the downsides of commuting, and very little of the upsides of getting to work in person with my teammates.
Yes i only want to work remote, commute kills me slowly.
Other way around. If I'm primarily working over Zoom, I find that depressing, like eating microwave meals rather than real food.
Convenient but long term unhealthy.
Convenient but long term unhealthy.
There is a big difference between "remote work" and "working over Zoom". The companies who just went home and then told everyone to get on a camera are not the ones who are succeeding.
But more importantly, you are correct - socialization is critical for some people. But that doesn't mean it has to come from your office. The people I know who need that interaction and do not get enough from family or housemates solve it by gathering in groups in their local town and putting together their own working space.
Personally, I find it odd if not downright disturbing that you equate going to an office with long-term health. Most of us find the opposite. We're all different people with different needs, of course, but you really might want to consider all possible options for getting your personal needs met.
But more importantly, you are correct - socialization is critical for some people. But that doesn't mean it has to come from your office. The people I know who need that interaction and do not get enough from family or housemates solve it by gathering in groups in their local town and putting together their own working space.
Personally, I find it odd if not downright disturbing that you equate going to an office with long-term health. Most of us find the opposite. We're all different people with different needs, of course, but you really might want to consider all possible options for getting your personal needs met.
> The people I know who need that interaction and do not get enough from family or housemates solve it by gathering in groups in their local town and putting together their own working space.
This argument is always made by people who like WFH. I don't want another hobby. I want to spend my time building cool shit with cool people. That's just a personal preference. I absolutely must spend a large portion of my day working. To me, it just makes sense to work somewhere that I can be friends with my co-workers. I don't really want to dedicate a lot of extra time to going out and finding friends. This is just a personal preference. There isn't a right answer. Stop trying to tell others how to live.
> Personally, I find it odd if not downright disturbing
Personally, I find it disturbing that you find the GP's very reasonable personal opinion disturbing.
This argument is always made by people who like WFH. I don't want another hobby. I want to spend my time building cool shit with cool people. That's just a personal preference. I absolutely must spend a large portion of my day working. To me, it just makes sense to work somewhere that I can be friends with my co-workers. I don't really want to dedicate a lot of extra time to going out and finding friends. This is just a personal preference. There isn't a right answer. Stop trying to tell others how to live.
> Personally, I find it odd if not downright disturbing
Personally, I find it disturbing that you find the GP's very reasonable personal opinion disturbing.
I find most managers to be extroverts. They obviously miss the people contact. On the other hand, developers tend toward introversion. For them less interruptions means greater productivity and less stress.
Sitting in front of a screen for 8 hours a day and looking at pictures of people is obviously unhealthy.
What happens outside of those hours is not relevant. You may as well smoke and pretend it's fine because you eat salad for lunch.
Everyone I know who's a Zoom lover is fairly obviously broken as a person, like all of the social media doomscrollers. They've replaced life with life simulator.
What happens outside of those hours is not relevant. You may as well smoke and pretend it's fine because you eat salad for lunch.
Everyone I know who's a Zoom lover is fairly obviously broken as a person, like all of the social media doomscrollers. They've replaced life with life simulator.
From here on out I will only be taking full remote jobs. For me the upsides far outweigh the downsides.
* Not having to commute is huge for me. I get so much more time back that way.
* Time flexibility is super important.
* Focus time is much more readily available in remote work.
* My socialization needs are met mostly in extra curricular activities so it's not really something I need my job to fulfill.
* Not having to commute is huge for me. I get so much more time back that way.
* Time flexibility is super important.
* Focus time is much more readily available in remote work.
* My socialization needs are met mostly in extra curricular activities so it's not really something I need my job to fulfill.
I've been pursuing entry-level software engineering roles, and I absolutely would like to work in an office in a hybrid setup with 2-3 days in the office. I feel I would be able to learn a lot more rather quickly and also build up camaraderie with my coworkers more easily. However, it's been really tough to find jobs offering that setup right now. It seems that most are primarily remote, which is also combined with most companies only wanting experienced seniors. It's really not an ideal environment to find entry-level work. Hopefully the right opportunity comes knocking, and I can find an environment that will help me advance rapidly. By the time I'm a senior, I'll probably have a greater desire for remote work, but I think it will be a slight hindrance initially.
I would turn down any job requiring me to go to the office more than 1-2 times a week.
I do enjoy going to the office for the social aspect but my brain is completely toast after such a day, so I need a day or two of recharging in my home office.
As someone else said - if I had my own office, it would probably not be as bad.
I do enjoy going to the office for the social aspect but my brain is completely toast after such a day, so I need a day or two of recharging in my home office.
As someone else said - if I had my own office, it would probably not be as bad.
I’ve been remote-only for a decade, and had atypical career moves before then. At this point I frequently forget non-remote work on tech is a thing people do. Perhaps I could be tempted for the right combination of people, ownership, and remuneration…but probably not.
Yes, for sure, I hope I NEVER have to work in another office again. It's the commute mostly.
Not at all. When looking for my current job, having some in-person time was one of my top criteria. I was initially trying to find something 100% on-site, but that proved pretty hard to find.
I'm currently doing in-office 2 days per week, which isn't great, but it's less draining than fully remote at least.
I'm hoping that over the next few years things will normalise into some companies being fully remote and some fully on-site, rather than everywhere being "hybrid" (ie. bad for everyone) now. If it stays as it is I can't see myself working in tech much longer.
As a side note, I've found many job boards that have a "remote" filter, but not many that allow you to filter for "no remote".
I'm currently doing in-office 2 days per week, which isn't great, but it's less draining than fully remote at least.
I'm hoping that over the next few years things will normalise into some companies being fully remote and some fully on-site, rather than everywhere being "hybrid" (ie. bad for everyone) now. If it stays as it is I can't see myself working in tech much longer.
As a side note, I've found many job boards that have a "remote" filter, but not many that allow you to filter for "no remote".
Is the issue that you want a job where everyone else is also required to be 100% on site? I'm assuming that most "2 day per week" companies would be ok with you coming in 4 or 5 days a week but because most of your coworkers would not choose to do that you would lose most of the benefits you get from a 100% on-site environment? Or are some companies now also imposing a maximum on the number of days you're allowed rather than required to come in?
Yeah, if my coworkers aren't in the office, then going to the office is just remote work with a commute.
Obviously forcing people that want to work remotely to come in isn't great either though. That's why I'm hoping that companies will choose one path or the other, and people can self-select into companies with their preferred working arrangement
Obviously forcing people that want to work remotely to come in isn't great either though. That's why I'm hoping that companies will choose one path or the other, and people can self-select into companies with their preferred working arrangement
It will be interesting to see how it plays out. It seems like most of the big tech companies are having a hard time putting the genie back in the bottle with remote work as enough of their employees seem to prefer it that they can't remove the option completely without risking losing a lot of their people.
For new or small companies there are definite advantages to being fully remote (no office expenses, bigger talent pool to draw from) or fully in person (able to get any benefits from everyone being on site and able to more easily hire from the pool of people who prefer 100% on site). If we start to see companies make a clear choice then long term we might see one or the other model win out if the benefits are big enough or maybe they can both coexist as the benefits are context dependent.
For new or small companies there are definite advantages to being fully remote (no office expenses, bigger talent pool to draw from) or fully in person (able to get any benefits from everyone being on site and able to more easily hire from the pool of people who prefer 100% on site). If we start to see companies make a clear choice then long term we might see one or the other model win out if the benefits are big enough or maybe they can both coexist as the benefits are context dependent.
You are right, there is no even one job board that I know with a "no remote" filter!
Thanks :)
Thanks :)
I probably won't work in an office ever again.
Absolutely remote only.
I have zero desire to go back to ab office.
I have zero desire to go back to ab office.
Yeah, basically remote only. The vast majority of jobs in my city would be a pain to commute for, maybe I would 2 days a week at most but the opportunity would have to be way better than what I could find remote.
I am happy going to office provided the commute is not too long.
However, I would be much happier with a lot more money without the hassle of moving across country or to a different country, which is only possible via remote
However, I would be much happier with a lot more money without the hassle of moving across country or to a different country, which is only possible via remote
I am only interested in 100% remote jobs. But while I'm happy at my current employer - I would jump to a 4DWW (Four Day Work Week) job happily. At the moment I wouldn't consider any offers that are not a 4DWW 100% remote job.
Absolutely. After 20 years of commuting 30-60 min each way there is zero chance (short of economic collapse) I will ever work full time in the office again.
My employer benefits as I am on a little earlier each morning than I would be if I had to drive in. I know my health and stress level are better and I have extra time with my family. It's a huge win win.
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For the right job, I’d be willing to go back in office, but money isn’t the thing that would motivate me (unless were talking about ridiculous higher FAANG/HFT tier money, but let’s be realistic)
The in office jobs I would consider would t consider me though, so I’m likely WFH until I go back to school.
The in office jobs I would consider would t consider me though, so I’m likely WFH until I go back to school.
Yeah unless you enjoy spending time with people physically to build something for your employer.... there's no point.
I'm fine with selling 8 hours a day to an abstract entity called BigCorp to create what they want. Working remote I'm still doing that and giving them value.
I'm fine with selling 8 hours a day to an abstract entity called BigCorp to create what they want. Working remote I'm still doing that and giving them value.
Ideally I would love having a local office for occasional in person meetings, social events, etc. In addition, I'd like to have se.coworkers in the same city as coworkers often become friends.
However, I absolutely want the freedom to work from home 99.9% of the time.
However, I absolutely want the freedom to work from home 99.9% of the time.
I’d be happy to work 1-2 days a week in an office I can reach within an hour. I’ve been fully remote since 2009.
Thanks to energy prices my brother is going back to being a sad salary man sitting in cubicle. Big corpo is warm.
Wishing him all the best. Cubicles are not for me!
Nope! 0% interest in my next job having a remote component of any kind.
I will go back when I can have an office with a door I can close.
I know there is a trend of remote work because I am building a job boards aggregator and by far the most selected filter is [Remote Jobs]
But so many folks declining non remote jobs was a bit surprising.
What do you think?