On professional children

"[Remote work] requires a lot of self-discipline and trust, and most people don't have this". This is what

Amir Salihefendic

from

Doist

said. Many companies use this fact to justify office work mandates.

I understand how sometimes, being in an office tends to motivate and energize someone. This is especially true if they are surrounded by those having a more productive day and a brighter Frame of mind.

But still, how can you allow grown-4ss adults, paid professionals, to say: "I'm not disciplined enough, dude. Lock me up with prison guards (often called managers) or I won't produce"?

Am I the only one who finds that exceedingly indulgent? Isn't it more appropriate to draw a line in the sand and say: "Grow up Steve. You're 35. We're paying you..."

Yes, remote work requires more self-discipline. Learn to become more self-disciplined. Figure it out the same way you figured out all your current skills.

We all struggle with maintaining our discipline and focus. Here's me for one, ranting on LinkedIn instead of doing something actually productive. At no point do I go: "*hit, I wish my client was sitting next to me so that I would be shamed into firing up Notion and doing some work".

A few important notes

• Remote work doesn't mean working from home. If you need movement around you to feel right, go to

WeWork

like the rest of us. They have semi-acceptable coffee and at times, some very attractive people 😉.

• A major change to one's settings takes time. It's like going from your parent's home to a dorm and then to your own place. Don't expect remote work to require any less habituation. The benefits are clearly worth it.
• We mostly get our social interaction at work. We can consider other avenues, ones where we get to pick which people we hang with. I myself started intentionally injecting more social interaction just to get some social time. I rather not because most people are morons, but it's the way of life.
• Most people's workplaces kill their souls. We, in tech, are the lucky ones. Most people have someone called a "Boss". Can you imagine that? They don't have standing desks and Macs. Sometimes, they don't even have windows, (the glass things not the OS). They don't have bright people to learn from and look up to. That's what most people's reality looks like. Let's not let our privilege delude us from the grim reality of office work.
• Somebody's inability to be disciplined is their own responsibility. A company has no business forcing people into the perils or office work just because some child can't focus when their Xbox is in close vicinity.
• Given the space, most people will learn and grow. But we can't change social norms around work if we keep coddling people. Let them out. Some will drown and end up at

Burger King

, but most will grow and end up at

WeWork

and the stock price will rise again 🥹

Grow up. It's kinda nice 😘

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