from Hacker News

The virtual office is here to stay

by billylindeman on 5/18/21, 6:31 PM with 5 comments

  • by PragmaticPulp on 5/18/21, 6:38 PM

    Note that "virtual office" in this case refers to Tandem's virtual office product, which is a sort of synchronous alternative to Slack. This article is more of a sales pitch than an honest discussion about remote work.

    From their home page pitch:

    > Spontaneous Conversations

    > Time zones got you working late? See who is also in work mode and get quick feedback on your work.

    When I'm working late, the last thing I want is for other people to pop in to spontaneous conversations with me.

    This product may be great for teams that thrive with always-on collaboration and struggle to contain their collaboration to scheduled meetings, but I personally think that it's better to adapt working styles to remote working tools than to try to adapt the tools to imitate the office.

    > True real-time Presence creates the feeling of being in an office with co-workers. You don't feel alone. You feel like you can talk to people as easily as turning your head (and, in a Virtual Office, you can).

    I don't think I want to bring the open office concept into remote working. I'm sure this is a great product for certain teams, but this isn't really ideal for heads-down work.

  • by nunez on 5/18/21, 8:52 PM

    WARNING: mildly-veiled ad for Tandem