I've just started a new job for an enterprise company. It is proving insanely hard getting in contact with folk. Myself having to introduce myself every-time. Trying to find someone to give me basic mentoring, even trying to understand the hierarchy.
Not only does communications break down over email, messenger, people get the wrong intention of the email, if I wish to add input I have to encounter where it doesn't feel like I'm the bulldozer. Many skills are lost WFH.
Code reviews suck over webcam, sharing knowledge is insanely hard and I'm not lucky to have a house with a spare room where I can dedicate to work. My own personal space is not an office nor I do I want it to be.
The trip to and from work allows me to break work mode and have my own freedom without having a work laptop stashed underneath the desk. It may cost me £ to get in the office each day but heck do I prefer it. I'm 33. WFH is not for me, I find it hell.
Sure, I'll just let my dog sit for 10 hours straight on those other days. It might be a better alternative for YOU, but I doubt it's true for most peole who want fully remote work.
> It is proving insanely hard getting in contact with folk. (...) Trying to find someone to give me basic mentoring, even trying to understand the hierarchy.
Sounds like a company issue, not a problem with WFH in particular. I work remotely while my whole team is hybrid in another country, we're doing perfectly fine, hell they even praise me for actually getting in touch all the time. You need a certain type of personality to be able to thrive in remote work. You need to be able to get people to talk and point you in the right direction, get the information you need yourself. Most people are not like that, most people need someone standing over their head to show them the way.
> Not only does communications break down over email, messenger, people get the wrong intention of the email, if I wish to add input I have to encounter where it doesn't feel like I'm the bulldozer. Many skills are lost WFH.
Sounds like a YOU issue. Emails are meant to be purely async. Messaging like Teams/Slack are meant to be more of an actual conversation. If people get wrong intentions from your emails or messages then you should work on your writing, not sure what does this have to do with WFH. They'll have the same bad impression from your emails even if you write them while sitting at the office.
> Code reviews suck over webcam
Who on earth does code review while calling with webcams? The whole idea of code review is for it to be asynchronous so you don't bother other people with context switching. If you meant pair coding, then yes, it's a bit more of a hassle. Still never an issue for me, we either whip out vscode/Rider, or simply share screen. Worked ok so far, but sure, sitting next to each other is always going to be better.
> sharing knowledge is insanely hard
Again, organizational issue, remote work encourages actually documenting stuff, not just saying openly in a meeting room "I will X because of Y" and proceeding to write meaningless code because "well... everyone noded in the room". I almost forced people at my new company to write comments both in code and Jira tasks, describe what was talked through during meetings or one on one calls. Everyone loves it after a while, refining tasks is much easier, finding a reason for why certain decisions were made is also suddenly much easier.
> The trip to and from work allows me to break work mode and have my own freedom without having a work laptop stashed underneath the desk.
Great for you, but I don't have to stash anything. If you work fully remotely you learn to divide business and pleasure. I do work and play from the same desk, my work laptop is gone after the day. Organizing your workplace is another issue that is more of a 'you' rather than WFH-bad.
Again, remote work is not suited for everyone, but your arguments don't really explain why WFH would be bad. They just explain why you or your org is not suited for remote work. I started full remote fairly recently, I get paid much more because I can pick from many more offers(central EU), I have much more time for myself, my SO and my dog, I do many more things during the day that I otherwise wouldn't. It's amazing and at this point I will rather switch careers than go back to the office, especially since at current rate I will be mortgage free by the time I'm 35.
As from what I see the culture here, the prosperity that they give has been one of the I best fitted environments I've worked in. Very surprised especially for the industry. So no its not companies issue, its not a "ME" problem. Its a person issue, professional behaviour slips, people get sloppy.
I don't want to divide work with pleasure. Why should I, so you can stay home with your dog? I want to come home and know for certain there is no essence of work present. Sometimes I need that complete downtime just to recover. Let my guard down without having to create some divide.
At this point its moot. You have your view and I have mine. You won't consider from my perspective and I understand yours and the WFH perspective.
Its always "WFH is amazing" when no one takes in to account that it doesn't work for others. Its a change that needs to happen, it does give benefits and it sounds like it does for you. Good.
But my benefits are working in the office. Why is that hard to comprehend. I'm a SysAdmin and like being on premises of the hardware then a software developer like yourself (according to your profile).
I'm actually 29 but sure.
> Your joking right in thinking that no communication is loss via email?
I would argue that more details are actually _preserved_ when communicating via email rather than face to face. If you cannot properly communicate via written text then yeah, of course any kind of written channel will be worse. I actually like to have everything written down, I can refer to it at any point in the future and if I need someone's immediate attention I simply call. Also f*k emails, that needs to die. There's a reason we have multitudes of different kinds of software for project management, using email to discuss important details is counter productive and obscures information from people who aren't invloved at the time.
> Team, zoom meetings take away facial expressions and as someone with social blindness it makes my job harder to engage. Why so hostile?
But that is again, a YOU issue. I might come off as hostile because stating something that is true to you as a universal truth - that hybrid work environment is better, annoys me a lot and I'm arguing that it's not. It might be better for YOU, but not for everyone, especially not for people who actually want to be full remote.
> I want to come home and know for certain there is no essence of work present.
I work from my bedroom and my work does not interweave with my personal life whatsoever. Your point of view reeks of opinions of someone who needs the office to be productive and was forced to work from home and can't handle it. It's perfectly fine, I know people like that too, but stating that wfh bad, we need the office is... really one sided.
> Its always "WFH is amazing" when no one takes in to account that it doesn't work for others.
But everyone does take it into account. I don't think I've seen a single comment here that said 'everyone should work from home just because I say so'. Let people be fully remote, let people go to the office if they want to. I can guarantee you that majority of people won't though.
> I'm a SysAdmin and like being on premises of the hardware
Again, that's great, go to the office then? Did I ever write anywhere that you shouldn't be able to? I work with people who meet regularly in the office 8 hour drive away from me and yet I don't feel excluded at all.
Can you call them on the phone?
Sure. one could argue that this would happen in the office too but at least you can grab their attention easier.
It's interesting. I started a new job in a cube farm a few years ago after a decade of WFH and that describes my exact experience with that transition. I suspect it's all about corporate and workplace culture, not physical working arrangements.
