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slack is rebranding itself as "remote friendly" which is a funny way to say "we have been entirely wrong for several years about the possibility of remote work, and we changed our minds because our employees might die otherwise!"
this is a "i became a feminist after having a daughter" revelatory moment, and it should receive just as much contempt
we're remote friendly**
** in six of our twenty-one locations
** in six of our twenty-one locations
look i understand PR and jumping on a bandwagon but don't expect me to hold my tongue about a u-turn so big it can be seen from space
look, working from home, working remotely (i.e same timezone but often different legalities), and working asynchronously all involve different legal and practical hurdles, and there's numerous reasons why it can be difficult
but it shouldn't take a death toll to make it possible
but it shouldn't take a death toll to make it possible
remote working is a skill, and it's very difficult and isolating to be the only one on a team being out of the office—even if you use slack
working in an office is a skill too, but your employees have already been trained to look busy at school
working in an office is a skill too, but your employees have already been trained to look busy at school
denying remote work for convenience is frankly ableist at the best of times
it's also been shown that organizational structure makes more of an impact—topological, not geographical distance
but it's easier to work around your boss in the office than over email or slack
it's also been shown that organizational structure makes more of an impact—topological, not geographical distance
but it's easier to work around your boss in the office than over email or slack
frankly, a lot of open office fetishism boils down to a boss wanting to step out of their office and see the masses punching keys, a feeling of power, a feeling of status
which is to say, it's of little surprise to find out that people are stuck in endless zooms to compensate
which is to say, it's of little surprise to find out that people are stuck in endless zooms to compensate
i exaggerate and i'm bitter, but that's because i've routinely been told that my medical needs can't be met, what i'm asking for is impossible, and so on
you'd be sarcastic too if suddenly remote work became a possibility once ceos had to stay at home
you'd be sarcastic too if suddenly remote work became a possibility once ceos had to stay at home
offices provide social spaces and backchannels for free, but they also lose written trails, and rarely have structured means of knowledge transfer
i've always seen remote work vs offices as trading one thing for another, not one being "better" and the other being "difficult"
i've always seen remote work vs offices as trading one thing for another, not one being "better" and the other being "difficult"
simply put, if you put accessible needs first, everyone benefits—the things that make a remote job work are often the same things that make offices run smoothly
working in an office is often a workaround but instead all i hear is: "it works at my company!"
working in an office is often a workaround but instead all i hear is: "it works at my company!"
not to go on about the access model for disability but it's been very frustrating to be told, time and time again, that i am too broken to fit into an office job—and now be told that it's the future
and still be ignored
and still be ignored
anyway, many companies will be rebranding as remote-friendly and i have my doubts
instead of building structures that work for remote workers, we'll inevitably try and make things work like they did in the office
it just won't work out
instead of building structures that work for remote workers, we'll inevitably try and make things work like they did in the office
it just won't work out
if you want a computer metaphor: it's as if we've learned nothing from pretending local and remote file access are fundamentally different—latency changes everything
you can't just shift people out of their desks and into zooms and hope for the best, it will fail horribly
you can't just shift people out of their desks and into zooms and hope for the best, it will fail horribly
anyway, good luck to everyone wanting to compete in the new market for remote work, when everyone's already using "zoom" as the generic term
then again, maybe salesforce will buy you, good luck
then again, maybe salesforce will buy you, good luck
anyway, here's an adorable baby goose from the local duck pond
this is a classic "wow i've been mad about something for a whole hour" thread which is a good sign i should log-off and try and sleep
it's almost 8am where I am, too
it's almost 8am where I am, too
