Comments on: A Year of Working Remotely

By: Ovi Demetrian Jr

Ovi Demetrian Jr — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 06:36:16 +0000

The same team behind Shape Up did write a book on remote work (though technically different authors). It’s called Remote: Office Not Required.

By: Ben

Ben — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 06:14:05 +0000

Working on small teams alleviates a lot of the disadvantages of remote work. For example, a team that owns a feature or product and only has one project manager, one or two developers, a designer, and a manager. Easier to carve off large chunks of work, staying in sync, and remembering discussions, action items and decisions, requires less overhead overall.

By: Tejas Nair

Tejas Nair — Mon, 09 Sep 2019 07:45:51 +0000

This is a solid take on remote work. Probably the best and wisest line on here is this: “The uptake of remote work over the next decade will depend most on the minimization of those disadvantages rather than the maximization of the benefits.”

People keep comparing remote work with in-office work and they tend to be hostile about it, but that’s not the case. Remote work exists as a way to minimize the disadvantages and that is exactly why we need more companies adopting it.

By: Jenny Goodman Abrami

Jenny Goodman Abrami — Fri, 30 Aug 2019 01:25:48 +0000

I completely agree that the lack of a work commute is a big win. My “commute” is walking with my kids to school in the morning and i love having that time with them. I also really enjoy, and benefit from the ability to power nap. I don’t love slack for one on one conversations and still end up picking up the phone a fews time a day to speak to my closest coworkers.

By: Garry Aylott

Garry Aylott — Thu, 22 Aug 2019 11:26:17 +0000

Great article Mike, I think a lot of remote workers will agree with most of your points here. One thing that’s crucial, in my opinion after being remote for a few years now, is making sure that the company you work for/plan to work for actually “gets” remote work. The whole point (outside of being contactable) is being able to structure your day for when you’re most productive. Some companies assume that even though you’re remote, you still sit at your desk 9-5 when in reality, that’s not how you get the best out of people. Will share this article, good stuff

By: Simon Stiefel

Simon Stiefel — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 03:17:49 +0000

What a great article, I really enjoyed reading it! I kept nodding on most of the points you made. I’ve been working remote myself for almost three years. However, our team is mostly on-site and there there are only two of us remote (out of 14). There are definitely disadvantages to this hybrid-model like awkward video conferencing sessions and “We discussed this over lunch” moments.

By: Jillian Wishart

Jillian Wishart — Tue, 13 Aug 2019 18:09:36 +0000

As someone who has worked remote for 3+ years, this post deeply resonated with me and will be something I share with others when they want to know more about the experience. It also inspired me to check out the job openings at InVision and I’m excited to have applied for one! Here’s the hoping we can be remote colleagues in the near future!

By: Laurie swanson

Laurie swanson — Fri, 09 Aug 2019 16:47:05 +0000

Great article. As a recruiter, clients ask me often how other companies handjecremore workers especially around productivity and employee engagement. I plan to share your article. Thanks Mike.

P.S. Love the name-Mike Industries

By: Cidnee Walker

Cidnee Walker — Thu, 08 Aug 2019 23:31:38 +0000

Loved your article. I actually find that I’m MASSIVELY more productive when I work remotely than when I’m in an office. I agree the remote work isn’t for everyone. However, I’m a year and half in, and even I was close to my company’s headquarters, I wouldn’t want to go in more than 2-3 days a week. Ideally, I’d like to stay remote long term and only go into the office for key meetings/events.

Some commenters voiced concerns about having just one person working remotely. That’s my situation with my team. All of them (6) are in the same office and I’m remote. Much of my department is actually in the same office. I do have to be more mindful about making sure I’m looped in, and I do visit the office from time to time to reconnect, but I’m this isn’t a major issue. Quality work is still 100% doable. It’s more a matter of how it gets done. If someone is a fantastic employee in the office, it’s very likely that they’ll continue to be fantastic when they transition to being remote, and if you don’t allow that transition, you may lose them all together.

It will certainly be interesting to see how this develops over the next several years.

By: Jason Beaird

Jason Beaird — Thu, 08 Aug 2019 20:00:35 +0000

Thank you for taking the time to share your insights and experience, Mike. I’ve been working from home in Orlando, FL for a little over a year now myself. I don’t know about you, but I’ve found that when talking to other people in my field, the conversation often turns to remote work. I spend a lot of time trying to articulate the same pros and cons that you’ve outlined here, so I’m glad to have a fresh resource to point people to. A few months ago, I hosted a meetup discussion about UX in Remote-First Organizations, which of course, was conducted remotely on Zoom.
https://youtu.be/PISWSCWI5Dw
It’s always interesting to hear what remote life is like for other people. While I agree that being full-time remote is neither the greatest nor the worst thing in the world, I won’t be going back to working in an office any time soon.

By: Judith Sol-Dyess

Judith Sol-Dyess — Thu, 08 Aug 2019 19:36:44 +0000

Mike, thanks for sharing this thoughtful – and very timely for me – post. I have experienced much of the same pros/cons you mention, although not for as long as you have. However, it seems like InVision is a considerate employer. I’ll be reaching out to them as I make my move from Chicago to Barcelona in the next couple of months.

Thanks again!

By: Emiley

Emiley — Thu, 08 Aug 2019 18:37:09 +0000

I’d love to hear what you think about where 100% remote workers should reside. Personally, the idea that I can live anywhere in the world causes me internal terror, but yet it has unlimited potential! How can I even possibly begin to decide where to live before I’ve traveled? But how can I stay in one place when I can go anywhere? This is my predicament. So here I sit, stuck in tax-free Florida and crippled by my own indecision. I need one of those “Where should you live?” quizzes. Help!

By: Niklas B

Niklas B — Tue, 06 Aug 2019 19:22:20 +0000

Great article. As a company leader (small company) my biggest fear is having 1 person remote and 10 not remote and what that will do to that 1 remote person. This makes it feel just like a “all or nothing” approach where the majority needs to be remote, or almost no one. I’m quite intrigued by your idea of having specific days off-site as a way to get both.

I try to balance it at least somewhat by letting the employees be very flexible as to make their lives easier. Waiting for a plumber? Work from home? Needing to help grandma a day, do it.

Great article. I’ve been intrigued by the idea of remote myself, but I fear I need the day to day interaction. It also keeps me connected to the city I’m working in (which I don’t currently live it – high speed train commute).

By: Paul Hanaoka

Paul Hanaoka — Tue, 06 Aug 2019 16:17:29 +0000

Thanks for sharing Mike! Really liked your approach, very down-to-earth.

By: Daniel Holmes

Daniel Holmes — Tue, 06 Aug 2019 02:52:28 +0000

Great write up. Thanks! I think another pitfall of remote work, is the company you work for. If a company doesn’t understand that we’re human, sometimes we need to stare into space, sometimes we need to take a break then you’ve been given a best-before date and at some point you’re not going to be able to take it anymore.

Hours aren’t always the best measure of work done. I know people that can do a weeks worth of my work in just two days and others that I can do a weeks worth of their work in 2 days of mine. So finding a company that is outcomes focused rather than hours focused and who has a healthy focus on employee mental health is a combination for a really great remote work experience.