It's Not the Remote Part

We're seeing a lot of back and forth about remote work, and office leases, and in person collaboration, and employee loyalty. 

And I think people are confusing remote work issues with things that are not entirely related to remote work.

Although, sometimes they are. I worked for a company where my entire office went remote, and then I got put on a team where other than myself and one other team member, they were not remote. They were getting one telecommute day a week, and were not allowed to have more. It was awkward to say the least. 

As such, we had team meetings where some of their questions were about the physical space, a physical space I had never (and still never) seen. They had contests involving listening to music in the hallways, that I could not participate in. We had large meetings, where a VP would come talk to us, and the VP would have to be reminded not to walk too far away from the phone, since some of us were listening in.

There were programs my co-workers had, that no one knew how to provide to me, or even who I should ask about them. 

I found out there was a group chat when my manager bragged that the team was so connected that we were all on a group chat. (I did get added the next day.)

When they moved to video meetings, another VP stood up and said this office space is the future of our company. Only for them to ask us to explain three months later why so many of us assumed they were planning to remove remote work.

And they posted no new job positions with a remote work option. Zero. 

So yes, as a remote worker I felt disconnected and not always valued. But it wasn't the lack of commute or the relaxed dress code holding me back. It was because I was disconnected. Because the company culture was built around in person collaboration and they did not know how to adapt it for remote, and honestly weren't trying. 

I've worked with other teams since, and plenty of us figured out lots of ways to stay connected across countries and timezones. To have weekly meetings and group chats that included everybody. To answer questions about tech and provide options for people to gather and even meet people not on their direct teams. 

Now certainly, not every job is suited to remote work.  But just like some meetings could be an email, if the only reason for in person gathering is collaboration, then it's time to consider altering the collaboration styles. 

Three Interesting Things

1. These high school students came up with an additional proof for the Pythagorean Theorem using trigonometry. 

2. I can pick up pens but not coins with my toes. But this next part of the sibling series talks about how such dexterity is often genetic. 

3. The  local student encampment was pepper sprayed and cleared early yesterday morning.  I have been reading student and faculty accounts.  Worth noting, there is an auction going on to  help raise money for people attempting to evacuate Gaza. 

7 Reasons Human Sex is Not Designed Solely for Procreation

It's very funny to me, because I spent years as a wee thing wondering how people were ever surprised to be pregnant. Yes, I know. I have studied more and learned more. But I mention this to say, if any of this is news to you, hi! It's cool. Learning is a lifelong process.

1. People who cannot conceive can have sex. Okay, remember when I said 7 reasons, it's really just one. But it's a biggie. 

2. Now you might be thinking, oh you mean like queer people? And yes, them too. And before you try to tell me why they shouldn't, I'm going to note, that if you are trying to argue our bodies, and more specifically our genitals were designed for this one thing, well, then they shouldn't work this way. And they do. It's almost like some humans just enjoy giving each other pleasure. 

3. People who are fundamentally, congenitally unable to conceive, can and often do, have sex. Not all species work this way.

4. People who have had their reproductive parts removed often still want and/or crave sex. 

4. Some people don't want or crave sex ever, even when they are able to procreate. 

5. People who have aged out of procreation, often still want and/or crave sex.

7.  It's probably worth noting, that I am not trying to argue that all human bodies are inherently perfect. I personally would like to submit my knee and my sinuses for a recall. The point I am actually trying to make is that there are an infinite number of humans who like and desire an infinite number of things. Every time we attempt to squish humans into a small number of types, we both harm people and leave them out. Any policy that tries to do more of that is by design biologically wrong and intentionally harmful. 

Three Interesting Things

1. I loved this story about the importance of public libraries.

2. This story is audio only, but Artomatic in DC this year is in an old office building, and one artist is displaying his art in the very office he used to work in.

3. A cat apparently got sealed into a box that was being returned,  I am fascinated about so many things in this story, including that the warehouse took the cat  home and then to the vet, where the microchip alerted them to the owner. So, it's helpful for even indoor cats, especially ones that sneak into boxes, to be microchipped.