#010 Orlando thinks: Radical advertisement for remote work is wrong
Hello everyone, it’s me, Orlando. I’m an Apple fanboy and software engineer at arconsis. From time to time, I publish an article from the series “Orlando thinks” in which I highlight a specific topic that I see as important or exciting. Sometimes it might be just certain aspects of everyday life, but sometimes it might be tips, hints, thoughts, or appeals — but nonsense is not excluded either.
Long before the Corona pandemic, there were discussions about remote work in various job industries. In IT, in particular, the talks have been going on for many years. That’s good because many employers still have old ideas about working and are incredibly inflexible on the subject.
I recently stumbled across a post on LinkedIn that I think is very counterproductive when convincing employers that remote work is great.
Since I don’t want to pillory the author, I’m just quoting without any linking.
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“I don’t want your free company breakfast.
I want to enjoy breakfast with my partner instead.
I don’t want you to support my bus ticket to commute to the office.
I want to travel and work where I work the best.
I don’t want your modern offices.
I am able to create my environment myself.
#remotework for life.“
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I understand every single point that is made here. Looking at it as a personal opinion, I am convinced that it matches the life plan of the author. There is nothing wrong with preferring breakfast with your partner instead of attending the company breakfast. Or to prefer other places of work than the companies office. Not wanting modern offices, mobility support, or company breakfasts is also ok.
However, this kind of activism builds up an “us against them” image, which can be rather detrimental, especially in a debate with employers who have not yet opened up to remote work.
In my opinion, what is not taken into account in such striking statements is that there are people to whom this does not apply.
What is the experience?
You have to accept that people have different needs for a working environment. That sounds trivial initially, but only when you experience it you really see what it means. We at arconsis have also been there.
When the pandemic forced us to forgo any presence in the office, we could observe: While many colleagues felt very comfortable at home and for whom it made no difference, others suffered noticeably. The reasons varied: they missed personal contact with colleagues, felt isolated, or did not have an appropriate working environment at home.
Also, the project setup is essential. Some projects are great for remote work, others not. You can make some adjustments yourself, but some depend on external factors, such as the customer. The phase in which a project is in can also be decisive for the success of remote work. Especially at the beginning, when there is still a lot of brainstorming and you are still finding your way as a team, working remotely can make things more difficult. Some things can be improved through learning and experience, but others don’t.
In the end, it’s always down to the type of person, how well it works or not. And since teams have different personality types, you always have to look at the overall setup.
Corona is an exceptional situation
Some people are now thinking, “Wait a minute, Corona isn’t a good example!”. Yes, that’s true — you always have to consider that working from home at times of lockdown is not comparable to remote work as you think of it. Why? Well, at that time, personal contacts were not possible, compensation could not be created, and overall remote work was also limited to “work from home”. Before work and after work, you couldn’t get out of the house and meet friends at a restaurant. In addition, you sat together as a family day in and day out — this inevitably led to various conflict situations.
Therefore, it is perhaps better to look at what we observed when we were able to enable work in the office again.
Relief!
The vaccinations took hold, the infection figures calmed down a little, and we were able to allow limited work in our offices. Some colleagues were happy to be able to come back finally. They simply missed it. In the beginning, this could be interpreted as an “escape reflex” — “Finally out of your own four walls again”. But our communication was very clear: You may come back, and we are happy to welcome you to the office. But we still recommend limiting contacts and using remote work when possible.”
Most did. But just not all. Some want a dedicated place to meet colleagues. They want to take advantage of the chat at the coffee machine and join others in the cafeteria at lunch. They want to talk face-to-face with people about work (even if you have to wear a mask for that). And of course — also some projects did profit from that.
But that doesn’t mean those are enemies of remote work. On the contrary — of course, they want to be able to work at home. Or somewhere other than the office. Most meetings still take place remotely via video calls — admittedly, that’s usually much more efficient that way. And yet — I’m sure they appreciate our brand new and very modern equipment in the office. They are very happy when someone brings cake to the office again. And I’m sure they’d also appreciate it if we offered an enhanced mobility concept to support trips to the office more. (Spoiler: is in the works and coming soon ;) )
Radical activism as the last option
I understand how “radical” statements like in the LinkedIn post can come. Perhaps the author has experienced only incomprehension and rejection in the past. Over time this becomes frustrating, and you may reach the point where you feel like only extreme positions can change something. In this case, I know how to classify the post. Nevertheless, the image that is then created is unfavorable. Mainly because I believe that we are by no means in a helpless situation: Remote work has received an incredible boost, and we are currently experiencing a vast transformation of work models.
Creating offerings for all
Nevertheless, it remains essential that the needs of one are not necessarily those of the other. And project setups also vary. We need models where we encourage remote work and equally celebrate working on-site. It may be that the desire to work in an office still stems from the fact that we are used to it from “before”. But we can’t remove this feeling right away — it needs a transformation period. It is quite possible that in the future we will only work remotely in IT. But even then, there needs to be a way to get there. So what we are experiencing now is that the transformation got an incredible boost — and that’s great.
Therefore: People in a company must have a good working environment, and we should try to fulfill these individual needs. That can be remote. But it can also be in the office. It’s not an “us versus them.” We need to bring mutual understanding — and that’s when companies are more likely to see the need to introduce remote work. I think we’ll get there faster that way.
Cheers
Orlando
Disclaimer: In some places in my article, it may sound as if the pandemic is “over.” It isn’t. Please continue to take care of yourself and your fellow human beings. This thing is not over yet.
And I know: Success for Remote work has so many different aspects — so please forgive me when I left out many points here. But I am happy to get feedback and get into discussions!
