Remote work

I've been working remote since 2011, and I have experience working with a variety of teams and in various capacities. It is from this experience that I know what works well. I also know what doesn't work so well.

I first started as a remote worker as a developer for Shutterstock. I was one of their first remote hires, and they assigned me to a team that could do the minimal amount of damage. I was initially hired to work on internal admin tools. Internal teams used these tools for image management and customer support. After about six months in this role, I moved into actual product development roles. In these later roles, Shutterstock would have me participate in standups and other routine meetings using FaceTime over iPad. Although at the time the tooling wasn't perfect, it was a great way to make someone feel like they were in an office. We would often leave the iPad on all day, and I would ask anyone on my team questions whenever I needed. Besides being remote, I felt like I was incorporated into the product team as those in the office. Shutterstock was willing to use the best tools it could at the time so that remote workers could be a part of the collective culture of the company.

I have also been on teams that really embraced the asynchronous aspect of remote work. Very brief communication and structure. Although this can be good for allowing for a tremendous amount of space development time, it has a number of flaws and can be challenging to develop a healthy sense of team cohesion. It can be difficult to communicate product needs through ticketing and over messaging systems such as Slack. It is through limited, not in real-time, communication that critical information can be lost. Although I might be in the minority holding this position, it can lead to more cycles and slower feedback loops. Pushing asynchronous work to the extreme, I believe, has harmed the effectiveness of remote work. It is this image that corporate leaders have seen. It is this style of remote work that terrifies corporate leadership. I'm sure some companies have successfully implemented this style, but I imagine they are the exception.

Return To Office

During covid, there was a surge of remote workers since many offices were shuttered as we waited out the pandemic. As we all know, many got a taste of what some of the perks of working from home were and were hopeful for this new arrangement to continue. However, as the covid restrictions were lifted and people began to reassemble, many companies pushed for a return to the office.

Why? I believe companies got a sour taste from some of the negative aspects of remote work. Companies experienced the various pitfalls of extreme asynchronous work. Through a misguided characterization and experience of remote work, companies resorted to a proven recipe: in-office work. Albeit this decision was at the expense of worker satisfaction, companies preferred workers to return because it worked well prior to the pandemic. From a company's perspective, a collective group of people who can quickly communicate and work together just works. It is far easier to have everyone come back to the office instead of trying to foster a similar culture with the limited tooling available.

Tools

What is missing is good tools that support team cohesion and office culture. We need tools that replicate an in-office environment without all of the typical downsides. I am still a proponent that remote work can compete and offer the best of all worlds if the right tooling is in place.

Zoom is still the the defacto meeting software, yet it hasn't changed its product interface in years. Microsoft Teams is moving a little closer to this by combining chat and incorporating remote meetings into its channel feature. However, we are capable of more. There are products out there, such as Gather, which make a virtual world akin to a '90s video game. Not to disparage Gather, I believe they're heading in the right direction, but making the office environment feel like a video game also feels unnatural.

Tooling that enables rapid communication and team cohesion, will temper the push for back to the office. If we want remote work to be taken seriously, we need tools that foster the culture and communication in parity with office work.