Remote vs. office–based software teams: Which is better? – Remote efficiency: Individuals vs. groups
Recently, there has been an essential revolution in hiring and workplace spheres. People, nowadays, tend to work in co-locations and remotely. The changes surrounding these new approaches of work impact both the lifestyle of the employees and the condition of the economy.
When people are making a choice between the remote and co–located workspaces, they usually include two major factors that have immense impact on this decision. However, it is complicated to find one option that will suit the demands of every company, so in this case, every firm should create its path. To understand if fully or partially remote teams can suit you better, we must make a thorough research, observing both options on a larger scale. Also, we must find out how our colleagues deal with this issue, and maybe, we can learn from their example.
Cooperation or Interruption?
With modernization of offices, most don’t look like door to door rooms anymore. Nowadays, offices are rather open workspaces aimed to increase cooperation. Another important point is that open workspaces tend to be cheaper than more traditional model of offices. However, the first fruits of new offices have also shown that not every type of work can be efficiently managed in the open workspace. Some of its main flaws are noise and distraction.
Open workspaces make a debatable topic, as their advantage, like the opportunity to cooperate freely, is opposed to the massive damage caused by distraction and inability to concentrate in such conditions. Of course, it does not relate to every type of work and still can be effective for many.
Lately, two famous companies, Yahoo and Reddit, refused remote work, and they didn’t leave any negative comments about the nature of their decision. However, the loss of two large companies didn’t influence those who believe it to be effective and more profitable for their business. As a result, the announcement of Yahoo’s refusal of remote work was leaked, and the main reason for this was the fact that lots of decisions were taken in the cafeteria and other meetings and real–life discussion. In this case, remote work failed to provide better results than the real–life dialogue. A similar reason was stated by Reddit’s CEO on Quora. It is stated that they needed to discuss a lot of questions in a more profound manner and only real talk proved efficient, while friendly real–life conversations did the job.
The information provided from Reddit and Yahoo wasn’t proved by any data or research, no signs these companies wanted to co–locate their employees, so many people suggested it to be a cover to lay off lots of employees. It is illogical to compare co–located and remote work, as lots of other factors influence the effectiveness of work, like equipment, requirements, management, and professional staff.
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