We here at Irreal strive for equanimity and maybe even a laid back attitude but sometimes the silliness just gets to be too much to bear. Case in point: Is Remote Working Bad For Developers? I’ve written many times that remote work isn’t for everyone and that some people really, really don’t like. I know some of those people and although I don’t understand it, I accept it as a fact.
But choosing not to participate in remote work is a lot different from claiming it’s harmful for all developers. Ben Hosking, in the above linked post, comes perilously close to making that exact claim. After listing the benefits of remote work—most of which are either scientifically measurable or at least involve asking actual developers—Hosking moves on to the “problems”. Some of them are just silly like the claim that remote work leads to a hamster wheel life of eat → sleep → code → repeat instead of the office work cycle of eat → sleep → commute → code → commute → repeat cycle.
A more substantive set of objections involve not leaving time for human interactions. That argument reminds me of the angst-ridden whining of the new Luddites about smartphones. The answer is the same: pull on your big boy/girl pants and show a little discipline. If you need time after work to decompress, there are other answers besides a commute. You could, for example, take a walk, pick up the kids, or stop into the local bar for some R&R.
Every hacker knows that if you want to get real work done you have to have uninterrupted time to do it without meetings or listening to Bob’s story about last night’s date. That’s why in the past—before remote work—they so often worked odd hours when other people weren’t there and now embrace remote work.
Most folks feel the need for contact with other people but, again, it’s just a matter of a little discipline. Arrange to have lunch with some friends or colleagues or even just hang out at the mall. Believe me, your life is not going to made better by a commute.
None of this is to beat up on Hosking who often posts interesting articles. It’s just that Irreal is over articles on remote work that sound like they were written by middle managers desperate to preserve their jobs.