Remote work is not "freelancing"

Today I came across an old question “ Why does an employer prefer to hire a web developer in an office? ”: Habrahabr.ru/qa/22292 . The question was asked back in 2012, but, in my opinion, the situation has not changed much since then.

Colleagues, there is a serious misunderstanding here, which is long overdue.
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Many, I think, imagine a freelancer like this:

• Comes to some separate small task, performs it and leaves.
• Works on several small projects at the same time. Either has a permanent job, and the freelancer just earns extra time in the time remaining.
• He is not worried about the project as a whole. Just what he is responsible for.
• Encloses himself with technical tasks. And because of each new bun, a conflict may arise.
• It works when it wants. It is difficult to contact him.

In fact, I do not want to say that this is a myth. Not at all, such people are full. And they are in a certain situation, when it is urgently necessary to finish something in the current project, it may be very helpful. But a full-fledged project from one of these freelancers, as I described above, you do not concoct.

However, there is another category of remote. These are people focused on full time, as in normal work "in the office", just not in the office, but from home. How do they differ from those who are usually considered to be "freelancers":

• Work at full time (40 hours per week).
• They receive a fixed salary, or hourly, but still work out 160 hours per month.
• They are engaged not only in one task, but occupy a fixed position. Work six months, a year, two. As much as the project needs.
• Always present on communication during business hours. Actively interact with the manager, and with the whole team.
• And not infrequently, these same watches are also stipulated in advance. That a man works from so much up to so much. Well, or at least appears on rallies on a schedule.

In general, such an ordinary employee. For the worker himself, the plus is that you don’t need to go somewhere to the office every day, you can live somewhere very far away. For example, you can work for some European / American startup, and live in Thailand :)

During my long-term employment history, I had to work in completely different places: I had to work in offices, both as a freelancer for one-time small tasks, and as the above-described full-time remoteer. Including, I have repeatedly worked on projects that are fully developed by remote workers. That is, programmers, managers, designers and employers did not even see each other even once during the months of work. And, nevertheless, we did and supported full-fledged commercial projects that were self-sustaining.

Personally, I did not notice for myself the essential organizational difference between remote work and office work. The same Jiri , the same skram-boards , the same Skype . So it turns out that this form of work is even more convenient for an employee than to go to the office every day.

Of course, for people who, like me, are cooking in this remote kitchen, my story is not a revelation. But most employers look at us with some distrust, to say the least. Moreover, not even the old big offices, with their own corporate principles and other cockroaches, but quite “hipster” startups.

You open the next vacancy on Huntim and read: “young, ambitious, with cool modern technologies, flexible schedule and pin-ping at work”. Well, just a sight for sore eyes. But with remotes in any. And with the move are ready to help, and offer a salary "above the market."

Guys, why do we need your salary higher than the market, if you rent an apartment in the center of Moscow next to your office, you still eat at least half? And if you drive through the entire capital for an hour and a half in one direction - so it turns out, I will work not 8 hours a day, but all 11. With the same payment. I'd rather in my Muhosranske get a job for a salary two times lower. :)

Guys, I do not know what kind of cockroaches you have in your head, but let's discuss those “problems” with remote workers, which we often hear about:

There is no control over employees. What is he doing there?

First, what do you need for task managers and version control systems? Very well reflect the picture of what is happening, who is there and what he does.

Secondly, demand a constant presence in the chat during business hours, and arrange rallies. It is not necessary to require detailed reports - this will be counterproductive, - but it is possible to periodically clarify the situation from time to time. The project manager in the office, after all, is also not hanging over his subordinates 24/7, but the work is somehow moving. Yes, and in the office, people can chat with each other, and smoke to walk.

Thirdly, it is possible and a little paranoit. Pay for work by the hour, and take screenshots of the screen every 10 minutes, as oDesk suggests. In my opinion, this is overkill. Because there will be even more control than in the office. But you can start with this form.

Okay, let's say, I can follow his presence. But what if he suddenly disappears with the ends? I am not ready to take such risks.

And who prevents him from the office abyss suddenly and meet? Negotiate all working conditions in advance, and always enter into an employment contract. Then the risk will be less. In practice, there are such people, but there are still not so many of them. In general, risks must be taken into account in the cost.

Well, so I protected myself from the sudden disappearances of the worker. And how do I understand how good he is a specialist, and how he copes with his duties?

And do not immediately give a lot of responsibility. Give him a test task (even if it is paid). And see how he handles it.

Convinced. Here I found a responsible and good specialist. But this is not all. The office has a team chat. Including informal. This is an important part of the job.

I agree. But communication can be remote. Including informal. A team can be a team without being personally acquainted with each other. Do you yourself on the Internet only communicate with those people with whom you personally know?

Yes, but in the office, for example, I can go to Semen, and explain on the fingers, poke at the monitor. And with the freelancer, you also have to reconcile any TK again.

So you are not hiring a “freelancer”, but a permanent employee with your responsibilities. No those. assignments. Just like in a regular office.

A "poke a finger at the monitor" can be using TeamViewer or screen sharing in Skype. In the XXI century we live, comrades!

Well, I was “on the fingers” explained with remote managers, remote programmers, and remote designers. There is nothing wrong here.

Conclusion

Friends, I hope that I managed to shed some light on the situation with remote work. There are freelancers , and there are remote employees who are almost like ordinary office workers. They do not need to be afraid, with them it is possible to cook a good porridge.

Still, the 21st century. It would be desirable that business whenever possible kept up to date. The old forms of work, of course, will not go anywhere. In the end, some people like to work from the office rather than at home. But there is a good proportion of good workers who prefer to work from home, and the office for them is just an extra burden. And do not immediately close their eyes to them. Give them a chance. Fortunately, the specifics of our industry allows it.