The way we work is changing. It’s changing much faster than expected in light of a global pandemic that necessitates work from home policies, but we’ve been heading in this direction for a while.
Even when I was in the office, I was guilty of sometimes pinging co-workers on Slack who sat next to me to ask quick questions or share a highly relevant meme. But for longer work- and non-work-related discussions, it was nice to be able to swivel to face my co-workers and hash things out verbally.
There are a lot of benefits to working in an office — otherwise, people wouldn’t do it. It’s easier to argue your point in a meeting when you can clearly see your colleagues’ body language and don’t have to worry about a frustrating glitch interrupting the momentum of the conversation. Offices are also free from many of the distractions that make working from home occasionally maddening.
There’s also an unquantifiable benefit to being around the same people day in and day out, all working towards a common goal. You see what people eat for lunch everyday and notice the pictures they choose to keep on their desks. Quick conversations by the coffee machine add up, and pretty soon you’ve built relationships that make the workday a lot more enjoyable.
Now that we’re living more isolated lives, we’re missing the creature comforts of regular human contact. This loss can negatively affect employees’ well-being, which ultimately impacts productivity and company culture.
We talked to four engineering managers about how their daily workflows and management strategies have changed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. While they each had different approaches to enabling a smooth transition to work from home, everyone we talked to agreed maintaining lively channels of communication and preserving a sense of community is key when face-to-face interaction is no longer possible.
TL;DR
Who we talked to:
Robert Raymond, director of software development at HUB International. HUB International is an insurance brokerage providing wealth management, property, casualty, risk management, employee benefits, and life and health products and services across North America.
Jonathan Taylor, solutions architect at a B2B media company covering news, best practices, and technology in the manufacturing space. Jonathan supports a development and support team that assists with infrastructure networking.
Joey George, VP of global software R&D at Stratasys (formerly GrabCAD). Stratasys manufactures 3D printers and 3D production systems for office-based rapid prototyping and direct digital manufacturing solutions. Joey has years of experience working with remote teams and contractors.
Pascal Kriete, director of engineering at LogRocket. LogRocket is a frontend debugging and APM company based in Boston, MA. Pascal heads a team of engineers who specialize in developer tools, event processing, and building highly available distributed systems.
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