Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by cj 979 days ago
(Devil's advocate) if someone is in a physical office, you know there's at least a possibility that they're working. If someone is fully remote, they can do chores around the house, watch TV, run errands, work 3 jobs - you can even schedule "focus time" on the calendar to guarantee you look productive.

Faking productivity is a lot easier when remote.

Yes, you can also fake being productive in an office, but in an office not being productive usually means reading HN, or whatever. When remote, it means you're probably not even at a computer.

Having managers enforce the rule encourages the transition to appear as though it's a org-wide culture shift rather than a blanket executive decree.

FWIW I run a 100% remote 20 person team (remote before covid)... personally I believe in remote work. At the same time, I can easily see why companies would want employees to go back.

3 comments

I maintain that I’m equally productive at home as I was in the office. The only difference is the amount of time I spend _pretending_ to to be productive.
Why would I employ someone who makes me worry about whether they're "actually productive" or just doing housework? If their productivity seems up-to-scratch, and they're working less hours, than my other employees, I don't care.

If I'm so worried about employees sneaking hours off work, I probably need to either hire better or stop worrying about the wrong things.

> at least a possibility

Absolutely no possibility that work is being done by remote employees?