I don't doubt the main conclusion of the article for certain tasks at least — what I do think is questionable though is using productivity as the only valid metric without controlling for others, including happiness, loneliness, effectiveness and sustainability.
For makers of any kind, I think remote work has mainly been a net benefit. There's a lot of developers in our teams who say they're more productive than ever.
For me as a technology manager, I'm more exhausted than ever. Video meetings are a pain. Because of this, people switch to asynchronous communication methods, which is definively more effective, but lacks even more personality. Text has many more layers of ambiguity. People get more aggressive and lonely. Misunderstandings rise.
My job is to be aware of the emotional undercurrents of arguments and technology and physical distance just seems to get in the way of that. Any forms of creativity that happens in a group, like whiteboarding together, just isn't the same.
So yes, I think I'm more productive, at least in some ways. There are some bright sides, also in my private life from being able to work from home that I'm sure to do more of once I'm able to go back to the office. But I haven't ever been as exhausted, lonely or miserable as right now and I simply can't wait to actually have the choice of seeing people in person again.
For makers of any kind, I think remote work has mainly been a net benefit. There's a lot of developers in our teams who say they're more productive than ever.
For me as a technology manager, I'm more exhausted than ever. Video meetings are a pain. Because of this, people switch to asynchronous communication methods, which is definively more effective, but lacks even more personality. Text has many more layers of ambiguity. People get more aggressive and lonely. Misunderstandings rise.
My job is to be aware of the emotional undercurrents of arguments and technology and physical distance just seems to get in the way of that. Any forms of creativity that happens in a group, like whiteboarding together, just isn't the same.
So yes, I think I'm more productive, at least in some ways. There are some bright sides, also in my private life from being able to work from home that I'm sure to do more of once I'm able to go back to the office. But I haven't ever been as exhausted, lonely or miserable as right now and I simply can't wait to actually have the choice of seeing people in person again.