Remote work
Shushanik Shahbazyan
22 replies
What's the hardest part of working or learning remotely for you?
Replies
Sarah Jordi@sarahxjo
Angle Audio
I think the hardest part is if a company says they want remote work, but they don't adapt their infrastructure and processes to it. When they think you can keep everything as it was with everyone in the office and hold on to these patterns and processes. I feel like this is what's setting up people for failure and then companies say "remote work doesn't work".
Meaning, companies*have* to put effort into virtual team events (or physical meet ups every once in a while) and they have to find ways to help employees feel connected. That also includes a more concrete idea of how tools like Slack should be used (and not used)) What format should calls have? When are audio calls enough? When does video make sense? How do you manage informal short chats? There are many tools out there that help with that, but one has to make an effort to set a strategie on how to use them. ("We use Slack, so you can chat" is not enough).
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AccessOwl
What I usually miss are the non-work team interactions. It's much harder to have a great team spirit unless you actively foster that through remote-friendly team events.
I have the feeling that with a on-site team you can be a bit lazier and much of the team dynamics will form automatically.
@philip_lr but taking into consideration all these drawbacks do you prefer working remote or at the office?
AccessOwl
@shushanik_shahbazyan Absolutely. I don't see remote-work go away in the future. It's the biggest shift in how we work globally. It will enable formerly low income regions to prosper by freeing up talent to work for global market rates. This alone is for me reason enough to support and pursue remote-first as a concept.
Sure it does have downsides but I believe we need to stop trying to use our traditional "on-site" work processes and just copy them to remote-first companies. It needs new concepts that have remote-first in mind to create a great work environment.
@philip_lr Totally agree with you. There are much more opportunities in working remotely. Thanks for sharing your opinion.
@philip_lr @shushanik_shahbazyan I totally agree with you about missing that in-person interaction because it can really make the work day more light hearted and take your mind off of things for a bit.
I'm actually quite opposite in that I find myself getting distracted by anything that's not my laptop when I'm at home because I feel so comfortable and relaxed!
@philip_lr @shushanik_shahbazyan I've actually recently transitioned to a company where they're whole goal is to bring that "physical office" feel to remote workers by allowing users access to customizable virtual spaces (e.g., online office, study space, event, etc.) and interact with other users in real time!
You have the ability to chat through a mic, engage in video calls, embed online games to your space and play with each other, and a lot more.
If you're interested you can always check out our Tour Space and play around with it to see how we're trying to make Remote Work feel like you're back in the office!
tour-en.ovice.in
The lack of non-formal interaction - coffee chats, water cooler discussions, corridor conversations, parking lot interactions etc....
@maxwellcdavis it seems to be the main problem of all remote workers. ))
It is spread that the hardest problem is focusing on work during all workday. It is easy to solve this problem because it depends on the person. In my opinion, when you are working from home it is hard to communicate with your team members and completely be an integrated team.
@arm_aaup2 especially when you write by Slack or skype and nobody answers long time
Since working remotely, Social media has become my go-to place for me to interact with people. I really miss in-person meetings and chats at the cafeteria
@amarnath_nagula , yeah, agree-the same with me.
Giftpack AI
In the past, it was hard to catch up everything going on when I first joined my company, working remotely. I do feel this can be improved, but we have to reflect what drawbacks there are continuously to make remote working more convenient.
It's still a new kind of way to work compared to the traditional way, so there are still things unfamiliar, but that's what makes it interesting and challenging, I think :D
Giftpack AI
@shushanik_shahbazyan True. Happens even when I work in the office, but does seem to be more frequent when working remotely :D
@iris_park Yeah, sure.
For me the hardest part of working remotely is the communication with my colleagues. When you need a quick answer but they are out
@iris_park Yeah, sometimes it happents with me too))))
The lack of communication!