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I've been a 100% remote worker at Microsoft for just about 5 years now. My last two jobs were both 7 year long gigs, so this isn't the longest I've worked somewhere, but clocking in at a half-decade, it's the longest I've worked remotely. Given that I haven't yet been fired, it's fair to say that I'm a pretty good remote worker. Some tips for making remote working work.
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Fantastic post. Thank you Scott.
Marc
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I wonder if having some sort of avatar to represent you in the office would help others feel like you are more a part of the team. There was recently some tech conference where one of the products being presented was essentially a camera/screen atop a pole with wheels. Looked a bit like the screens from the conference room in Demolition Man. The screens show the face of a remote worker (or whoever), and the remote worker can "drive" the screens around to chat with people.
And I just found an old video of something similar: VGo. Basically, video conferencing on wheels.
And an article of another one: iPad on wheels.
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The iPad on wheels is brilliant.
We tried to make a small one with a smartphone and Google+ hangout, but making a little Segway from a Lego nxt controller proved to be tricky. It could stand up and correct himself a little if you gave it a little nudge, but eventually it falls down.
Then somebody pointed out that it would be easier to make one on 4 wheels and feeling stupid we abandoned the project.
Video conferencing is better than e-mail and phoning, especially during standup meetings. But, being an i-pad on wheels or a permanent face on the wall takes it too far imo.
The Segway may be a fun little gimmick at the start, but in an everyday work situation, where people have to plug you in every single day, configure the new wifi settings, getting you unstuck, etc... you're annoying them slightly, in addition to being the weird kid who got special privileges. It seems a little tragic to me.
When working remote, I think It all comes down to the goodwill of the team and the remote worker to make the best out of the situation.
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0bx wrote: where people have to plug you in every single day
The one I saw had a charging dock you just back into (there is a reverse camera, IIRC).
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