Back in Office
What’s a Remote Java Dev doing back in office you might ask? Well, as a consultant I recently started a new client and so I’ve been working on site for the past month or so. Going back in office for a time is…interesting, I’ll say.
The Good
There are some good things about being in office. It can definitely be a little easier ramping up at a new place when you’re in the same location. It’s also much easier to get to know your coworkers when you can meet them face to face.
Chatting about non-work related activities too is much easier and more organic. Building rapport is important at any workplace, but is especially so for a consultant. As our time at any one client is limited, we operate under a strong time pressure.
Likewise, it’s easier to build comradery when you’re together with people in the same room. Whether it’s team lunches or gathering at the coffee machine, it’s just easier to talk with a colleague about his or her interests.
You also share common experiences such as bad traffic or weather in getting to the office. It may seem trivial, but the shared annoyances help form bonds and ultimately trust between people. This pays off down the line both on a personal and a professional level. It’s easier to work with people with whom you’ve built trust.
The Bad
This will be nothing new to those who’ve read some of my past posts regarding remote work. One of the biggest problems is almost always the work environment.
A wide open floor separated by cubicles is a horrendous location to do development work. It’s unfortunately extremely common.
If you put 100 people in an open space, it’s going to be disastrous for productivity. Maybe companies feel what they save on real estate can compensate for this, but I have my doubts.
It’s the constant cell phones ringing. The person two cubes over who warms up leftover fish and eats at her desk every day. The unfortunate guy on the other side of the cube wall who has a terrible chronic cough. They all serve to make the work environment extremely unpleasant.
It’s almost never a result of malice. It’s just the gathering of many humans in a small area will inevitably lead to countless distractions.
The Ugly
The meetings. A meeting that runs long while you’re remote is not fun. However, you can at least get something productive done while people drone on. No such luck when you’re sitting in the same room as the other meeting participants.
When the daily corporate “Standup” lasts 45 minutes, it flat out stinks! Standing there in a room while two people dive into minutiae irrelevant to the remaining group is a huge waste of time and energy.
Meetings also seem to go much longer than necessary when in person. This is just my anecdotal observation, but I’ve found it to be fairly consistent. The meeting may start about one topic, then is quickly veered off course by several other orthogonal concerns.
Everyone’s in the same room, so might as well handle that too right? Usually not right, because what may be germane to two people will be wholly irrelevant to the other five.
It all boils down to time mismanagement. It takes pretty iron-willed leadership to recognize this as it’s happening and stop it. These things are just easier to avoid or mitigate when remote, I’ve found.
The Future
It’d feel a little odd running a blog called remotejavadev.com for very long while not working remotely. Happily, I’ll be switching to working remote only starting in June of next year. My family and I will be moving to the Kingdom of Tonga at that time and we’re beyond excited about it.
I’ve worked remotely from Tonga a couple times before, but this one will be much easier. Easier because we’ll be living there beyond a few months at a time so I can really settle in and set up a nice work environment.
Relocating permanently overseas will be a whole new challenge. So if anyone has any advice for soon to be US-Expats, please feel free to reach out! I’m on Twitter @RemoteJavaDev or can be reached via email at dan@remotejavadev.com