I have worked remotely for 7 years and in a few different companies in that time.
In my experience the companies that struggle with remote work are the ones the manage via attendance. One company drove me insane with random “Hows it going” messages throughout the day so I just left for another company and let them know why on the way out.
Managers that have enough domain expertise to manage via outcomes however thrive in remote environments. But, this is harder to do than taking headcount.
Remote working environments require different approaches than in person or hybrid. Change is hard and all that.
> One company drove me insane with random “Hows it going” messages throughout the day so I just left for another company and let them know why on the way out.
But this is ideal right? Their culture is asking "how's it going" throughout the day and it's not a culture you wanted to be part of so you left.
Asking "how's it going?" throughout the day isn't objectively good or bad – it's just not for everyone.
> Asking "how's it going?" throughout the day isn't objectively good or bad
Most of the time, this simple innocent question is an introduction to a work related question. It is, and has always been for me, a massive waste of time. You lose your focus, you stop working while waiting for the coworker to decide whether or not he will ask you the real question in the next 10 minutes.
I approximately lose 1 hour every day due to this behavior and it's really annoying.
Again, nothing against you if you dislike being asked how things are going by a coworker — but if that is the culture of the company you work at, there’s nothing wrong with it.
It might be wrong for you, so you either get a different job or learn to deal with it.
"How's it going" from your co-worker is obviously different from HR or your CEO or someone X levels above you.
As a long-time WFH person I always assume I am big-time socially inept (and I definitely am) but apparently office-dwellers (you) are even worse!
To me it is clear that Bill-From-This-Mornings-Standup saying "Hey, what's up" is different from Emily-Director-Of-HR saying "Hey, how's it going today?" is different from "Kim-your-bosses-bosses-boss" saying "Good morning. Got a minute?"
There are common etiquettes across cultures that transcend age/location/rank, etc.
Wasting people's time is objectively, universally bad. Even if it wasn't universally bad, it would be at least overwhelmingly bad in the context of a productive enterprise, which most workplaces are.
It’s 100% fine to be someone who doesn’t want to be asked randomly by coworkers, “How’s it going?”
It’s less fine to be that person and work somewhere where the culture values being asked randomly by coworkers, “How’s it going?” But it might be something you can live with.
It might be a conscious choice to trade off short-term productivity in favor of long-term balance. It might be a way to weed out anti-social people who they don’t want working there.
In my experience the companies that struggle with remote work are the ones the manage via attendance. One company drove me insane with random “Hows it going” messages throughout the day so I just left for another company and let them know why on the way out.
Managers that have enough domain expertise to manage via outcomes however thrive in remote environments. But, this is harder to do than taking headcount.
Remote working environments require different approaches than in person or hybrid. Change is hard and all that.