Let me caveat the following by saying that I'm one who believes the future of tech work is fully remote and personally hope to stay fully remote post-COVID.
I do not believe now is the time to be drawing comparisons or conclusions between the office norm and the fully remote situation most of us have been thrust into.
Sure, some people procrastinate more than others. Some people need more management than others to keep going. Some people are better self-driven and self-organized than others.
The effects of the externalities many are now faced with
- worry over savings / the state of the market
- job security as we watch others get laid off
- how the kids are holding up, how will this impact their education and future
- sick family members
- etc. etc.
renders it impossible to draw conclusions meaningfully e.g. "Susan was super productive when we were working in the office, but she seems to have really dropped off now that she's remote. Looks like remote isn't for her!"
or
"I was so effective in the office but now that I'm at home I can't seem to get anything done, or focus, therefore I must not be cut out for remote work".
Whilst in the background you, or Susan, are facing a big drop in your 401k, or you're worried your kids are watching too much tv at home all day, or Mom is headed out to get groceries again when she really shouldn't be and there's nothing I can do about it.
I believe the sweet period when some sense of normality resumes but we're still mandated to WFH because it'll be impossible to institute social distancing effectively in cost-optimized open office spaces will be when we can more effectively starting measuring and drawing conclusions over fully remote work and its impact on people and the office.
Yes, it's hard to separate the effects of remote work from the effects of... everything else.
Also the fact that it was a dramatic change overnight, so people can no longer follow their old habits, but didn't have enough time to develop new habits. For example, it is possible to exercise in a gym, and it is also possible to exercise at home, but people who used to exercise regularly in a gym are probably exercising less now, because their habits have been broken.
Not just habits. For example, I have a standing desk at my job, but I didn't have one at home. It took me some time to reorganize my desk, so that I can use the computer comfortably while standing. Then my kids complained, because it was too high for them. It took some time to adapt to the new situation.
Thats true. The point of the comment is that the set of people who just aren't cut our to work from home happily and productively is a lot smaller than the set of people who can't work happily and productively right now, no matter where they work.
I do not believe now is the time to be drawing comparisons or conclusions between the office norm and the fully remote situation most of us have been thrust into.
Sure, some people procrastinate more than others. Some people need more management than others to keep going. Some people are better self-driven and self-organized than others.
The effects of the externalities many are now faced with
- worry over savings / the state of the market
- job security as we watch others get laid off
- how the kids are holding up, how will this impact their education and future
- sick family members
- etc. etc.
renders it impossible to draw conclusions meaningfully e.g. "Susan was super productive when we were working in the office, but she seems to have really dropped off now that she's remote. Looks like remote isn't for her!"
or
"I was so effective in the office but now that I'm at home I can't seem to get anything done, or focus, therefore I must not be cut out for remote work".
Whilst in the background you, or Susan, are facing a big drop in your 401k, or you're worried your kids are watching too much tv at home all day, or Mom is headed out to get groceries again when she really shouldn't be and there's nothing I can do about it.
I believe the sweet period when some sense of normality resumes but we're still mandated to WFH because it'll be impossible to institute social distancing effectively in cost-optimized open office spaces will be when we can more effectively starting measuring and drawing conclusions over fully remote work and its impact on people and the office.