Chief, I want to work from home

A few years ago, with about this phrase, one of the leading programmers came to me. Let's call him Ivan (all characters are fictional, and any coincidences are random). He was going to move to live in the country and every day he was uncomfortable going to the office. Ivan had a decent track record, several years of work in the company and a large train of trust. Then we agreed that Ivan will work remotely on Monday and Friday, and Tuesday and Thursday he arrives at the office with the morning schedule.


I understood that this decision would not affect the performance and results of Ivan’s work; everyone knew how cool he was. On the one hand, the employee got the opportunity to work from home 2 days a week and a schedule that was very much shifted by the morning on other days. On the other hand, we agreed on a bonus that keeps the leading specialist in our department from going somewhere. Win-win, whatever one may say!

After some time, when we were looking for a cool programmer for the team of Ivan, the opportunity to work for two days remotely played a crucial role for the new man Vasily in accepting a job offer.

Then I wondered why other development teams could not also work remotely. How do they differ from Ivan and Vasily?
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But for the management in the company it is always easier for people to sit in the office and be in control. Most fears of remote work are caused by distrust of subordinates:

• What if they stop working?
• And what if I suddenly need something from an employee and I cannot find him on the spot?

You might think that if an employee is in the office, he will not find an opportunity to kick the bald and watch the seals. Most of the arguments against remote work are based on the fear of losing control, let's talk about it directly. I had no problems trusting the people I hired.


Let's see what bonuses employees receive from remote work:

• The opportunity not to spend precious time on the way to work. Of course, we are not Moscow, but traffic jams are big. You can also talk a lot about the stress that public transport brings. All this affects the productivity and health of employees.
• Ability to work in a comfortable environment. You must admit that very few people will answer the question “in the office” to the question “where you work well”. Or clarify about the early morning when there is no one. Not everyone understands that the work of a programmer is a creative work that requires concentration and attention.

Thus, I did not have internal contradictions against remote work. First, I spoke with the leaders of the development and testing teams and received an enthusiastic appruv from them at the suggestion of remote work. It remained the most difficult - to convince the leadership.

My reasons for this are:

1. Ivan and Vasily work from home, why can't the rest? We are a team doing a common cause!
2. Let's judge by the result of the work, and not by the place where the result was achieved.
3. Additional non-financial motivation, which for many employees may be decisive in deciding to leave or stay.

I have to pay tribute to my boss, he supported me in many matters, so for the first time we agreed with him on one remote day for all the staff of the unit. Victory? - Yes, a little, but a victory!

I decided to move in small steps: remote day for some employees -> remote day for all employees -> 2 remote days for all employees -> ???
The basic idea: to prove that remote work does not harm the business, but only helps him.

Total, current result, the ability to work Monday and Friday remotely for all employees of the unit.

• Employees have the opportunity on Thursday evening to go somewhere outside the city and return to the city only on Monday evening. Note, without traffic jams!
• Employees themselves can choose their work schedule.
• Labor productivity did not subside at all.
• Motivation and overall emotional background improved.
• 3 days remain for communication with colleagues face to face and holding meetings. This is enough to not lose yourself for society.

And how do you work in large companies? Do you have remote days and the opportunity to work from home?

Freelancers who work remotely, I also urge you to leave comments.

Finally, I’ll give everyone who doubts a great book about the advantages of remote work "Remote: an office is not necessary" Jason Fried, David Hensson.