Work from home or Work from office?

Shalin Doshi
165 replies
Someone told me a line, which I thought would be good for a discussion to have: Accept it - "If you can't trust your team to work from home; you don't trust them at all." Ps: I like to work from the office Please share your comments and views on the same.

Replies

Noah Hofmann
Always find it a very interesting discussion as there is of course an extensive list of pro's and con's. I for myself, think that remote work and culture can be as daunting as building culture in the office. We do see a trend that big companies like Microsoft and Google return workers back to the office, however, I do not see this as a permanent development (https://www.protocol.com/bulleti...). I think progressive organisations should actually support remote/hybrid working positions to save costs and improve employee satisfaction. However, given a development towards remote working, I do see two types of workforces developing within the same organisation. I believe the actual struggle we should be addressing is how do you keep both workforces well connected to maintain a strong company culture!
Shalin Doshi
@noah_hofmann I always had a question in my mind, huge companies spend money on assets/offices and etc, wfh culture existed before pre-covid, so why didn’t the companies adopt to it? I’m sure they had great leaders during that time as well, that’s why they are where they are today. What do you suggest, how to keep companies employees engaged? As it’s difficult to keep the same culture up.
Noah Hofmann
@shalin_doshi That's a good point, I do think leadership, especially in times of crisis is important to direct and transform company culture. To answer your question, I do believe it is about reinventing your company culture and finding new ways to connect people and keep them engaged. Specifically, I find company offsite's, weekly checking, and bi-weekly/monthly social events an effective approach to keep employees engaged. Hope that helps!
Shalin Doshi
@noah_hofmann agreed, but still why is there such a heavy investment in office spaces? Things could be done from Home as well, this is what I daily to understand. Plus by giving a seat we work has turned into a unicorn just imagine. To change a culture, the company needs to spend sometime in the business to get to know how the company is adopting to situations, post which they can take a call to change the culture. Some yesterday told me Apple, fb, Google and etc are a cult. What’s your take?
Shalin Doshi
@kmelaika What’s your take on Apple, fb, Google and etc are a cult. What’s your take?
Shalin Doshi
@kmelaika What I mean’t was do you think this cult which all these major companies have created, will any company be able to surpass them?
Luka Vasic
Currently, work from home and I'm enjoying it, as it's very flexible, but I think hybrid is the best form of work.
Shalin Doshi
@luka_vasic what’s your take on the line above? "If you can't trust your team to work from home; you don't trust them at all."
Luka Vasic
@shalin_doshi I agree with it mostly, a real team should have mutual trust. That includes trusting them that they will work even from home because they know the whole team counts on every person. But there are exceptions of people who just can't be productive while working at home and I understand that it is hard for them when they are forced to work from home, so that's a grey area.
Craig Morgan
I agree with the statement. And if the managers can't trust their employees then create deadlines and if those deadlines are getting met, then trust your employees. Remote working is of high value for the employer and employee, but does need discipline.
Shalin Doshi
@morg7801 True, but many a times people take remote working for granted and when countered they always have a reason backed to it. But I personally feel, 1v1 physical interaction is a must. It really helps to gain the best out of you rather than virtual meetings. There are few things which virtually can't be achieved
Craig Morgan
@shalin_doshi That's where the discipline comes in from the employer and employee. You both agree to realistic deadlines and if those deadlines are not met, then after the third time, the employee should be fired or rather not have the option to work remotely. I agree, 1v1 physical interaction is important, not important for work, more for relationships, camaraderie. I say not for work, because most in-person meetings are unproductive. What should take 3 minutes, ends up taking 30 minutes.
Shalin Doshi
@morg7801 isn’t networking related to work? I guess that’s how you grow! You won’t be able to network from Home as much as you would be able to when you’re in office or at work. Employee growth is more when they are around people I assume
Craig Morgan
@shalin_doshi It's depends on your job position. In most cases in order to be successful at your position it's not necessary to network. In some position it's very important. Collaborating is important (being around people), but it doesn't always create growth, in fact it can stunt growth. You are only as skilled as your superiors allow you to be. And it comes full circle... trust.
Shalin Doshi
@morg7801 I strongly believe networking at any position is important, which can in future lead to collaborations. Being around people has its pro and cons, surround yourself with positive people who actually help you grow in your life, because it's easy to find negativity rather than positivity. Hence, I believe someone or the other will surely see your skills in an organisation when working from office and give you the benefit of it.
Rachel Cossar
I am building a fully remote company currently and it's imperative to build in practices to foster trust with your employees. We had performance issues with one employee early on and it was hard to know exactly what this person was up to all day when those deadlines weren't met. However, we also romanticize the 'in office = trust' framework. If someone doesn't want to work, they will find creative ways to skirt responsibility whether they are at home or at the office. Finally, in-person meetings can happen with a remote first work culture, just like virtual meetings will continue at an in-office first work culture. As a leader, it's important to have systems in place to check in regularly, to have clear deadlines and to build up team members so they feel empowered and that they can have an impact. This isn't a factor of remote or in-person in my opinion.
Shalin Doshi
@rachelonpointe I always had a question in my mind, huge companies spend money on assets/offices and etc, wfh culture existed before pre-covid, so why didn’t the companies adopt to it? I’m sure they had great leaders during that time as well, that’s why they are where they are today.
Shalin Doshi
@rachelonpointe Hey Rachel, working from home comes with challenges and we have tried to solve one of the issue of networking with people by launching our product DashLynk https://www.producthunt.com/post..., so check it out and give us your feedback if possible.
Rachel Cossar
@shalin_doshi Oh nice! Thanks for sharing, I will take a look. I am also building a solution to help make video meetings feel more human and impactful with Virtual Sapiens (www.virtualsapiens.co) We have a convenient free trial if you want to give it a whirl!
Shalin Doshi
@rachelonpointe I’ll Check it out and give you a feedback on it, so is this your own company ?
Rachel Cossar
@shalin_doshi Awesome:) Yes, my company:) What is your website? For some reason I am having a hard time finding it
Graham Beck
Honestly think this is a gray area. Not everyone has a great at-home environment and some people don't want to commute. This article covers a ton of pros, cons, etc: https://drop-desk.com/hybrid-work
Graham Beck
@shalin_doshi My take is that it should be down to the individual to choose whether to work from home, the office or a local space. As long as productivity does not suffer, why wouldn't companies want employees to have a better quality of life?
Shalin Doshi
@grahambeck if I may ask, you want a better quality for employees or better output?
Shalin Doshi
@grahambeck working from home comes with challenges and we have tried to solve one of the issue of networking with people by launching our product DashLynk https://www.producthunt.com/post..., so check it out and give us your feedback if possible.
Shreya R Nambiar
As a working parent, I really appreciate the flexibility of remote work. I used to think it would be distracting and hard to manage, but I prefer working from home over going into the office. But I think it would be nice to have to sit down with my team occasionally and have face-to-face conversations.
Shalin Doshi
@shreya_r_nambiar For working parents 100% I agree, since you want to definitely give the time to your child, more over see them grow as those things can never be replaced. But I'm a strong believer of working from office, A. you can network better and grow B. Physical interaction over virtual is always better C. The entire culture of office gives you a sense of motivation to work as things are always handy.
Shreya R Nambiar
@shalin_doshi I think it depends on the company. My company follows hybrid mode and we try to meet in person, whenever possible. It works great for us since there is no geographical barrier when it comes to hiring.
Shalin Doshi
@shreya_r_nambiar Fair enough, but I have seen the hiring cycle is quit frequent in that case, because employee start with being pumped over the months their interest levels go down, because it's only them and the screen then
Shalin Doshi
@shreya_r_nambiar Hey Shreya, working from home comes with challenges and we have tried to solve one of the issue of networking with people by launching our product DashLynk https://www.producthunt.com/post..., so check it out and give us your feedback if possible.
Kiefer Kazimir
Neither? I don't like working at home, because I need a separate space to feel productive. But I also think the benefits of remote work are amazing and far outweigh in-person offices. My solution: rent a small private office about 5-10 minutes from where I live. It allows me to get out of the house and have a separate work space while still eliminating the negatives of the office.
Shalin Doshi
@exemplar That's true, office space surely increase productivity and gives you a change, sitting at home would surely become boring after a point of time.
Shalin Doshi
@exemplar Hey Kiefer, working from home comes with challenges and we have tried to solve one of the issue of networking with people by launching our product DashLynk https://www.producthunt.com/post..., so check it out and give us your feedback if possible.
Kim Lawson
Both have their value, but the default location has to be home. It's good to do fairly regular F2F with workmates though. We're social animals and that reinforces bonds like nothing else.
Shalin Doshi
@kim_lawson There is nothing has to be, if that was the case apple or google wouldn't have spend billions of dollars to create an office space, having great leaders they could have implement WFH easily, but I'm sure there would be some benefits as to why they spend so heavily in creating a good office space. Also We work become a billion dollar company by providing a seat in a building, that same seat and table was there in someones house, yet they opted for we work.
Shalin Doshi
@kim_lawson Hey Kim, working from home comes with challenges and we have tried to solve one of the issue of networking with people by launching our product DashLynk https://www.producthunt.com/post..., so check it out and give us your feedback if possible.
Jareer Samad
For all the benefits that WFH gives, I guess its important for people (especially early in career) to come to office occasionally. Creative collaboration, serendipitous conversations and feeling of trust are something that I don't think can replicated easily in WFH
Luka Vasic
@shalin_doshi I agree with @jareer_samad , hybrid work is the best. I currently work in a fully remote position and I do feel like working from office one or two days a week would be great. It breaks monotony and can give you a burst of motivation to see others work around you. I cherish every day I can spend with my colleagues outside of virtual meetings. We are social creatures and need real contact with people to be sane.
Shalin Doshi
@jareer_samad @luka_vasic that’s what the work Culture brings a change. I believe 4 days should be work from office and 1 day work from home. Because WFH time files sitting in front of the desk
Craig Morgan
@shalin_doshi I agree with Jareer, for those early in their career or those who are eager to climb the ladder, important to get the face time. But I don't agree with Jareer abbreviating work from home :) And to Luka's point, we are social creatures, so it's important you cater to those needs. For those who don't have the hybrid option, you can met those needs by going to a co-working environment, meet a friend for lunch, make a portion of your video meetings personal (talking about happy stuff).
Shalin Doshi
@jareer_samad are you just starting out? Or already in the business?
Kim Lawson
If you think the major issue is trust (which I personally don't think it is), it all comes down to people in the end. Good managers will be comfortable with WFH and bad won't. Good employees will work productively and less committed won't. My observation on that is that people who aren't productive at home, probably aren't productive in the office. So, net gain either way.
Shalin Doshi
@kim_lawson Hence we don't recruit them, but I believe the conversation here was which one is better for you WFH or WFO? Which one do you prefer? Also trust is important at all cost, you need to trust your team to take at-least small decisions, if you don't trust them the company would always remain a start-up and never become an organisation. Because it's practically not possible you to reach at all places.
Kim Lawson
@shalin_doshi Yes, which I answered as WFH mostly, but you countered that with the trust aspect. I still say that that is not the issue. But I do hear what you say. I did quite a bit of WFH (in an engineering situation, so pretty unusual) prior to COVID. I've experienced the good and bad from a personal perspective. I agree with all who bring up the collaborative aspect. For me, that's the main reason for going to the office. However, I suspect that as technology becomes more clever we will be able to approximate the sort of F2F creativity that we need. I was not a fan of working from home initially and that has definitely changed (mainly due to technology advances). Also, from a sustainability viewpoint it's a no-brainier to stick to office work as the rule. But I think we kinda agree at heart.
Shalin Doshi
@kim_lawson how much ever technology advances it’s never going to replace human interaction 1v1 so I believe that can’t be a reason to replace that interaction. If technology can resolve the creativity of collaborations I believe the airline industry is going to go for a toss. Also WFH is a costly affair especially in countries where unit rate of electricity i high.
Kim Lawson
@shalin_doshi I think you might have just hit on a real casualty of WFH. Airlines should be very worried. And transport services in general. But don't you think this is being driven by climate issues as much as anything else? Also, think of the premium businesses get charged for their custom. Rental values, telecoms charges etc. It has to be more efficient to cut office space. I would like to see a 4/1 ratio of people specifically going into the office one day a week for the F2F collaborations. Is that realistic? Viable commuter-wise? I think it could be made to work. Or would that indeed end up being a "jolly"? Interesting times huh?
Shalin Doshi
@kim_lawson no I meant people commuting to different counties for business and travel, if technology is going to replace human interaction why would anyone travel? 1. During WFH there is 90% of the times calls going on, half of which are irrelevant but people have to be a part of it. 2. How do you work when you have to sit on calls for hours? Working time increases tremendously 9-5 job becomes 9-9 job what’s the point? 3. How to track any employee log? 4. 4 days work can’t be discussed in 1 day plus when you meet you team after 4-5 days there a lot of catching up to do instead of work as well being practical. So it’s real difficult to focus right.
Inam from Outgrow
Wfh is something which we all started enjoying recently and it helps in balancing professional and personal life.
Shalin Doshi
@inam_from_outgrow for me WFH is only balancing personal life, with the number of distractions at home, it becomes hard to work. Plus you need a change after some time. It's like food can be cooked at home as well, why go to a restaurant? For change. Anyways what's your take on it?
Shalin Doshi
@inam_from_outgrow Hey Iman, working from home comes with challenges and we have tried to solve one of the issue of networking with people by launching our product DashLynk https://www.producthunt.com/post..., so check it out and give us your feedback if possible.
Srishty Chaudhary
I think there should be blend of both the modes of work. Since, we all have seen that WFH is workable so employees should be given privilege to do WFH and if possible then they can visit office once a week to interact with their co-workers because no matter how much they talk on zoom or google meet, meeting in person hits differently.
Shalin Doshi
@srishty_chaudhary Hey Srishty, working from home comes with challenges and we have tried to solve one of the issue of networking with people by launching our product DashLynk https://www.producthunt.com/post..., so check it out and give us your feedback if possible.
Dina Mostafa
I prefer working from office. Working from home makes me feel more lazy. I can't control when to wake up. and I feel like everything is mixed up, doing home stuff while doing my work tasks.
Shalin Doshi
@dina_mostafa working from home comes with challenges and we have tried to solve one of the issue of networking with people by launching our product DashLynk https://www.producthunt.com/post..., so check it out and give us your feedback if possible.
Evgeniy Yakubovskiy
Due to recent events, working from home has become more acceptable and common. The ability to travel to other locations without a break from work. Complete freedom of movement, you become location independent and can even live/travel with other remote professionals.
Shalin Doshi
@evgeniyyakubovckiy as mentioned by you in your comment, you can live/travel with other remote professionals, my take on that would be 1v1 interaction is important with anyone, that can never be replaced by virtual meetings. I hope we agree on that
Shalin Doshi
@evgeniyyakubovckiy working from home comes with challenges and we have tried to solve one of the issue of networking with people by launching our product DashLynk https://www.producthunt.com/post..., so check it out and give us your feedback if possible.
Enola VEDOVOTTO
Hybride, I go to the office for the big meeting that can take a lot of time. And for my personnal mission, remote work!
Shalin Doshi
@enola_vedovotto Hi, I wanted to understand from you when you are remote working, what is your duration on the calls/meetings and how much time is actually devoted to work apart from meetings? Also, what are the working hours, do you have to clock some hours and does it exceed the number of hours in most cases?
Shalin Doshi
@enola_vedovotto working from home comes with challenges and we have tried to solve one of the issue of networking with people by launching our product DashLynk https://www.producthunt.com/post..., so check it out and give us your feedback if possible.
Reece Jones
I think it's not necessarily the location itself. I'd imagine I'd have the same adverse reaction to "Work ONLY from this coffee shop" as I do to "Work from office." The flexibility is what I appreciate.
Shalin Doshi
@reecekjones flexibility in terms of location or does it even include timings?
Shalin Doshi
@reecekjones can you let us know what business are you into?
Reece Jones
@shalin_doshi I am a founder! Just launched my health education company. Actually you can check out our page here! https://www.producthunt.com/post...
Shalin Doshi
@reecekjones imagine if you were at a wework, how many people you could have reached? Potentially to try your product out
Reece Jones
@shalin_doshi That's a good point, I think having the option of WeWork would be awesome. But being forced into a 9-5 is not something I'd enjoy.
Sewell Stephens
I am not working on a team as I am a solo founder so I guess for me that would automatically be work from home. But, I'm not answering as it depends on whether or not its something I like doing.
Shalin Doshi
@sewell_stephens what’s the product you are working on?
Shalin Doshi
@sewell_stephens who is your target audience for the product?
Sewell Stephens
@shalin_doshi Business owners needing a form submission service for a static website. btw we also launched a form builder
Shalin Doshi
@sewell_stephens business owners right? Imagine if you are at a we work space working from there not home, how many people you could have Interacted with as business owners? Before even you launched your project you would have a set of customers ready, because you are already interacting with them and they know you. It’s all about hustling and working in an environment with people, homes give you leisure’s not networking which you need.
Shalin Doshi
@sewell_stephens working from home comes with challenges and we have tried to solve one of the issue of networking with people by launching our product DashLynk https://www.producthunt.com/post..., so check it out and give us your feedback if possible.
Armenui Eganyan
As a marketer, I need to connect with people, hear their ideas, brainstorm, and "talk-it-through". Couple of days working from home — okay, to focus and execute your plans, but no more.
Shalin Doshi
@armenuhi_yeganyan are you in the zone when WFH compared to office culture?
Shalin Doshi
@armenuhi_yeganyan working from home comes with challenges and we have tried to solve one of the issue of networking with people by launching our product DashLynk https://www.producthunt.com/post..., so check it out and give us your feedback if possible.
Konstantin
Definitely both together. I feel like either options solely by itself is too limiting.
Shalin Doshi
@konstantin_sharespace if you had to pick one? Which one Would it be? What’s your take on it
Konstantin
@shalin_doshi I would pick work from home, because then you got options where your workplace is, it does not necessarily have to be at home, it can be a coffee shop for example :)
Shalin Doshi
@konstantin_sharespace Since you are a co-founder, what’s your target audience? And I assume you are currently not having an office space, since your are starting out? Correct me if I’m wrong
Konstantin
@shalin_doshi Our target audience includes English-speaking countries and young adults 18-30 who are interested in Mental Health and self improvement.
Shalin Doshi
@konstantin_sharespace Nice, for this kind of audience if you were in a we-work kind of an environment at minimal cost, Imagine how many people you should have made your app reached to. Just a thought I’m sharing. Working from office is not only about work, its about networking and improving your marketing skills as well.
Adventurous-Green420
work from home definitely. I know that it doesn't help much with the economy but the time I saved going back and forth to the office is extremely precious. Each time I got back from work when I was still working at the office I'm completely exhausted to do anything other than just eat, browse social media, and sleep. Now I can even squeeze some time cooking, baking, and even doing groceries by offsetting my work time.
Shalin Doshi
@legonaidas As per your comment I can understand 2 things, either your employer put a lot of work on you or either the work was not completed in the office hours? Because how much ever work is there, I’m sure you can squeeze some time for yourself and not everyday there is work, some days are easy as well.
Adventurous-Green420
@shalin_doshi I've worked with a BPO company before as part of the escalations team and the workload isn't really that heavy and there's a bit of a downtime.. the only problem is that I have to travel daily to the office which usually takes an hour or more depending on traffic since I only use public transportation. My work isn't exactly that hard back then and I can finish all of it in 3 hours and would spend the rest of the time managing agents. Now I work on video animation which requires a certain time to brainstorm on how the animation would play out
Shalin Doshi
@legonaidas Travelling is a hassle I agree. But wouldn’t brainstorming sessions be better at work?
Shalin Doshi
@legonaidas working from home comes with challenges and we have tried to solve one of the issue of networking with people by launching our product DashLynk https://www.producthunt.com/post..., so check it out and give us your feedback if possible.