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by kh_hk 2325 days ago
To be honest, investing in a whole studio setup for remote work seems to go against one of the biggest perks of remote work itself: freedom.

Stock is usually good enough. That money is better invested on a pair of comfortable headphones, and also some good on-the-go light headphones with micro to hold remote calls outside of a quiet environment.
3 comments
Proziam 2325 days ago
Freedom to arrange my workspace in whatever form makes me the most effective, productive, and comfortable sounds like freedom to me.

But most importantly, I'm 100% sure my expensive ($1500-ish?) audio setup has been a competitive advantage for me. I've had numerous people comment that they are relieved when they find out they can comfortably converse with me, and how outside the norm that is. From my own experience, I can attest that most people are oblivious to the discomfort they can cause by not putting reasonable effort into the quality of their team or client's experience.

Two things annoy me greatly enough to want to avoid having to work with someone.

1. Being late / unprepared / distracted in meetings

2. Having to tolerate a literal headache due to background noise, awful sound quality, or constant technical issues during a call.

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ericbarnes 2325 days ago
It seems like you are forgetting freedom means different things to different people. Look at the world outside your lens.

For me, freedom is not driving in rush hour and being home when my kids get home from school. Having a dedicated setup makes complete sense.

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ghaff 2325 days ago
It mostly seems unnecessary even if I'm doing calls from my office, as opposed to when I'm traveling or otherwise not at home. I have a dedicated office with decent lighting (and not backlit) and a good Logitech webcam. That's more than a lot of people I work with have. Anything more would really be overkill and probably not even noticeable on a typical video call.
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pc86 2325 days ago
Hell, I've been trying to get coworkers to just get webcams and it is an uphill battle. There is so much non-verbal communication that you lose working remote, it's harder still when you can't even see the person.
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ghaff 2325 days ago
A number of teams I work with have fairly strict "Cameras on unless there's some reason you can't (e.g. you're driving)" rules. In general, I think it's a good idea. I know not everyone likes video but it's one of those things you should really do IMO if everyone isn't co-located.
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