As many of you will know, this new COVID-19 (or SARS-CoV-2) epidemic is spreading all over the world and I am one of the lucky ones who found thems...
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I have been working remotely for years and my advice is to recognise that even in a 9-5 8hr corporate office job most people really only pretend to work most of the time. So relax and forget about signing on and signing off. Work when you feel productive. If your job's work culture is simply appearing present to maintain a perpetual snowball of micro-communications with the primary purpose of saying "look at me, I am still here", then the work culture is unproductive in the first place, and remote work is a good opportunity to reshape the ethos. With remote development you can take part in daily standups at most, though I think with good team members even that is too much. This is an opportunity to pressure things for decent upfront specs, rather than pointless continuous conversation.Good luck in Italy. Hopefully things will pass soon. I am hoping for a gastrotourist holiday throughout the country this year.
That's an insightful point of view, thanks for sharing! Most likely my new remote working habits still have to adjust to an actual remote workplace, trying to transpose the in-office workplace somewhere else. I recognize what you're saying and I also think for an effective remote experience those habits, microcommunications and micromanagement should be abandoned, or at least reframed. Being in an emergency situation, it has taken the whole team accustomed to be working closely by surprise, and I don't think it will carry on after the cautionary quarantine ends. I'd be happy in knowing I contributed to plant a seed which could say "Yes, this can work and it's more effective done this way".
When this whole confusion flares down Italy will be ready to welcome everyone to try our delicacies 😁 I expect prices to crash down in order to win back foreign tourists.
I think we are on the same page perfectly, yes. It depends really who the key decision makers are. Unfortunately in many companies it is those with less real usefulness or value who try to justify their position through constant meetings and chat. A new work ethos based on highly focused and targeted development that minimises communications in favour of communication quality would most likely result in people losing their jobs, and often it's those same people who shape the workplace, regretfully.
On Italian delicacies, absolutely! One of the great advantages of working at home is that I get to cook proper risottos, or Salsicce fatte a mano con salsa pepolata whenever I want :-) Strangely, it was Gennaro Contaldo and Antonio Carluccio who inspired me to quit corporate life and go looking for tradition, history, culture and a life in the country....
I think we'll have to wait and see what happens about this mindset, hoping it spreads quickly.
Aw, those are new names for me, thanks for bringing them up, I'll look into them. Luckily I'm not unfamiliar with those dishes 😋
Hey Nicolò! First of all, I hope everything is gonna be back to normal as soon as possible in your zone! Well, nice considerations, but I'm wondering: if would be possible for you to do full time remote working (in a normal situation without this emergency), will you accept it? I'm asking you this because in my case, even if I could be a full time remote worker, I still prefer to visit the office at least 1 day per week mainly to organise the tasks for the week. My ideal work location would be a "hybrid" between remote and office. What do you think?
Hey Francesco, I hope everything will be again normal as fast as possible. I would have to adjust for sure, and will need to also adjust my "home office" for constant work. I'm a promoter for remote working, but I guess I'd miss some camaraderie that comes from the office setup and probably a remote office cannot replicate (I'd be glad to be contradicted). I'd put my preferences on a spectrum of 80% for remote time and 20% for office time.
Hope that the situation gets better in your area.
I think that companies avoided remote working because afraid of "losing" that sense of control. However, after living a decade in Norway and having embraced remote working in several companies, I can clearly see that being at the office has nothing to do with being productive, building successful companies and company culture.
Good luck Nicolò!
Thanks for your support!
I think the same about the dominant mindset of employers, where remote work cannot be controlled. I'm glad that your experience is so positive, and I hope that even here in Italy things will change, especially after this forced experiment.
Remote work may be a huge jump for some companies. This outbreak is a stress test to see how many businesses are truly prepared to maintain operations while managing a distributed workforce. Just to add to your valuable insights, here are some great tools that can be helpful for remote work: dev.to/invonto/preparing-for-remot...
Best of luck, wishing all the best for you and Italy.
The UK has not been affected by covid-19 yet (Not as bad)
But the pressure caused a popular airline to shut down
I hope it doesn't get hit so hard.
I'm also looking closely the travel situation because I had a trip booked for MArch 11th.
Take care!
It won't be the worst if we act together and fight it the best we can. Practice social distancing as much as possible and take the necessary precautions. Stay safe!