There's a lot to say about in-person collaboration and knowledge transfer through osmosis, but I think this quote from the article highlights the crux of it
> When you’re remote, you’re out of sight, out of mind
The people in the office are having lunch together, they're talking and laughing, participating in office birthday celebrations and get togethers after work. Even something as simple as a warm smile and a "good morning" has a cumulative impact on those around you. Your presence is a contribution to the cultural mosaic of the company in a visceral way.
It's a lot easier to lay off someone you've never met and a lot easier to trust someone with responsibilities when they're also someone you can have lunch or drinks with. The business world is just as much about politics as it is about productivity and if you find yourself far away from court, you'll inevitably deal with the consequences of those who are present to assert their influence.
> When you’re remote, you’re out of sight, out of mind
This simply isn't a state of being. You can be out of sight, and out of mind, if you have a shitty manager or a shitty company culture, in that case, it's probably a blessing to be fired.
> It's a lot easier to lay off someone you've never met and a lot easier to trust someone with responsibilities when they're also someone you can have lunch or drinks with.
If you're at a company that chooses promotions based on a crappy HR pizza party leave immediately. I've never been rewarded at work because I pretended to care about coworkers personal lives beyond courtesy.
What got me promoted was being courteous but also reliably getting shit done. You can do this in the office, remotely, or through some hybrid set up. I've done all three. Do good work, make sure it's visible. It's not complicated.
I feel a whole lot closer to the sales people and random product people who come in the office than the other developers on my team because those people in office are real people while the others are just icons on a screen.
> When you’re remote, you’re out of sight, out of mind
The people in the office are having lunch together, they're talking and laughing, participating in office birthday celebrations and get togethers after work. Even something as simple as a warm smile and a "good morning" has a cumulative impact on those around you. Your presence is a contribution to the cultural mosaic of the company in a visceral way.
It's a lot easier to lay off someone you've never met and a lot easier to trust someone with responsibilities when they're also someone you can have lunch or drinks with. The business world is just as much about politics as it is about productivity and if you find yourself far away from court, you'll inevitably deal with the consequences of those who are present to assert their influence.