Why I work only remotely

Creating software for startups is a serious task. Not because the writing of the software itself is rather difficult, but because most startups have a place to do such work far from optimal. In my more than 10 years of experience as a software developer for startups, I learned not to trust the employers' ability to provide me with an adequate working environment, and this prevents me from doing the work for them in the best possible way. I am, by nature, ambitious, energetic, and I don’t want anything more than to give the best I can in the place where I work. I give myself 100% of the company in which I work. But in most places where I worked, a lot was done to prevent me from doing this. That is why at some point in time I took a clear position: from now on I will work only “remotely”.

Open offices

Most startups are currently obsessed with the idea of ​​an open office environment, and it is almost impossible to find companies that do not implement this type of placement. They claim that they are striving to create an “open and transparent environment”, but if you know something about the essence of the matter, then you know that this is the worst environment for real work , which does not improve communication or culture. No need to go far to find a lot of research on this subject - and, frankly, there is simply nothing to discuss. There is no evidence to support the hypothesis that building an “open office” provides an environment that is more suitable for collaboration. And, of course, office managers, directors and founders selectively ignore mountains of arguments that refute this hypothesis.

This is one of the real tragedies of the startup world. It is difficult to estimate how many startups are being held back due to obsession and conformism with respect to an open office environment. Here we should take into account the cost of mental health of employees who are forced to stay in these crazy houses every day. While startups continue to swallow, chew, and spit out / burn young talents, there is very little hope of showing wisdom in this area to help solve problems like this. The words of David Heinemeyer Hanssen , creator of Ruby On Rails: “Open office planning leads to constant interruptions of work, a serious violation of privacy and a disastrous decrease in productivity.”

Working hours

I am an owl. You can tell me that I have to sit in a chair within your line of sight at 8 or 9 in the morning, but believe me, this will be very wasteful. You will waste my and your time. I'm not a morning person. I begin to work in full force only after 11 in the morning and in fact I get down to business in the afternoon and evening. If you force me to work at your preferred hours, then the employer and the employee will also suffer losses. You will get less from me! Below is a cycle that I go through if I am forced to start work in an office at 9 am:
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• I force myself to get up early and hurry to work, feeling ill-prepared.
• I try to focus and be effective in the morning, but the struggle and the day that started so badly, kill my mood and rush.
• After lunch, I feel tired and cannot work effectively in my peak time. I drink liters of coffee, trying to whip up my performance.
• I leave home when, at last, the matter begins only to unwind.
• I restlessly tossing and turning in bed and cannot sleep, because I drank too much coffee and am worried about sleeping.
• By the end of the week, I am tired, upset, angry and disappointed with my commitment.

This is a vicious circle, extremely harmful to my mental health and living conditions. This is an area where science speaks very clearly: people are "larks" and "owls." The employer must accept their employees as they are and optimize working conditions for their abilities. I feel like an owl, always been an owl and always will be. I tried to work in the morning - it is a waste of time, since at this time of day my productivity is low and I make more mistakes. Now I am ready to consider only such job offers, where I myself can manage my working hours. This does not mean that I am lazy or a slacker. Not at all - it upsets me when I cannot work with my maximum performance, and therefore, from now on, I will not accept anything different from this approach.

Who is against ROWE?

ROWE (a results-only work environment / Results-Only Work Environment) is a fantastic system that needs to be used where employees process information. It is necessary to measure the products issued by employees, and not the amount of time they spend in the office. I refuse to work in places with such a cynical point of view on my employees. If you really think that your employees will not work, if you cannot look at them over your shoulder at the display for control, then you have a wrong approach to relations with your employees (especially in a startup). It is necessary to hire people who are passionate about their work and believe in the company's mission. If your employees relax when you are not watching them, it means that your company has a disease, and you have discovered its symptom. It is impossible, having muffled this symptom, to expect that the disease is cured. More on this later (remove support systems and let problem employees show up).

In the case of homework / teleworking, some employees may not work well at home or they simply do not like it. This is great - but you must trust your employees and treat them accordingly as adults. Let them make decisions for themselves. Remove the support (such as extra wheels in a children's two-wheeled bike) and let them fall. If they cannot succeed when no one interferes in their affairs, then why do you think they will work successfully with a nurse?

The attitude of employees to work does not improve when they are constantly closely watched by their supervisor. Quite the contrary.
- David Heinemeier Hanssen

Remove support systems and let problem employees show up.

In the article “Introduce strict rules only as a last resort,” we consider how regulating the workflow in a company often helps bad employees and hurts good ones. Unnecessary workers in the organization will understand the rules and the process and will strictly follow them. Then they will find a way to relax and within these boundaries. Even if we wanted, we can not write a rule that magically makes people enthusiastic. We can achieve our goal by creating a workplace that they like and where they can perform significant, important work. Without a lot of rules and regulations, it becomes absolutely clear who cares about the company's affairs, and who does not, it is clear precisely because there are no rules and regulations, and not because of them. The reason is the same, for which communism does not work as well as capitalism, - things go better when you give people freedom as individuals.

If you look at your current employees through a prism: “I cannot give these people the freedom and the right to do the work in a way that they consider best”, then you should consider searching for other people for your organization, and not supporting an authoritarian regime.

In the end, I am proud that I am a very good specialist in his place. I would like to do significant and important work. I would like my activity not to go unnoticed. I would like to be part of a team that does great things. I like writing good programs, and I would like to do this with great people. It seems to me that I have reached a turning point in my life when I realized that in order to achieve all of this I need to open a new chapter and establish new boundaries in working conditions that I can accept.