Many years ago, I was unemployed, inexperienced and looking for any kind of job that would employ me. A fellow parishioner suggested looking on craigslist, so I did, and amazingly I found a job and it was legit.
It was a position at a small call-center with an easy commute and a short training period. They signed up all comers at the front desk: we needed a pulse, ID, and authorization to work in the US.
So the training began. The system was run entirely on these amber Unix terminals that hadn't changed since 1975. We were tasked with political fundraising, cold-calling individuals at home. Just follow the script. The training just taught us how to operate the terminal and follow the script in real time.
During breaks, I was able to scope out the actual call center floor with people at work, and workers would step just outside to have a smoke or chill out. My training room had 12-15 new recruits in it. Once we got into the live calling part of training, I realized that I was completely unsuited for the job.
We needed to hold a conversation over an ordinary headset while a dozen other people were jabbering similar conversations, and my brain was just not designed to do this. That was the main objection I had. It is a common experience for most people to be called from a noisy call-center, and whoever is capable of handling voice calls amidst all that cacophony is a better man/woman than I am.
I had a WFH job that began during the pandemic lockdowns and I was able to hold it for 4 years. The best thing about WFH was the lack of noise and the focus I could achieve just comfortably sitting at my own desk. The worst part was the distractability that developed because it was my own kitchen, my own bathroom, my own domain that held every comfort apart from work. I finally discovered that I really couldn't sit still, even for an hour, and I kept compulsively leaving my post. That wasn't good for an hourly job!
The best time I had at school was just pre-pandemic. A few classes were online or hybrid, and most were in-person. But doing my homework was best accomplished not at home, but somewhere at school. I could sit in the library, or the coffeehouse, where even the computers were provided. Being "at school" to do schoolwork was a very effective method of focusing and avoiding the distractions of home.
When we switched to working from home during COVID both my productivity and my job satisfaction went up so much
Not being interrupted all the time was a huge part of it
Having peace and quiet to focus on a task was another huge part
I never want to work in an open office bullpen ever again. Maybe that works for some people, maybe it works for some professions, but I don't think it works for deep work like writing software
> I think sometimes¹ it helps to hang out with the group and just talk, or drill down into something or just free-associate. It is anti-isolation
I agree with all of that!
I'm not even against going on-prem to work at an office
I'm against trying to work in a noisy open office full of distractions and people demanding your attention without so much as a cubicle wall between you and your neighbor
I'm not a fan of taking zoom calls while my mic picks up the voice of the person that sits across the room. I'd call being able to communicate via voice call without noise issues a need. While it can be done, constantly hearing other ppl in the background during a call just feels unprofessional/sloppy.
As a programmer, you know what I need? Colleagues who care more about not supporting sites like Substack and Twitter, and who refrain from posting on those sites, because they’re run by Nazis[0][1] and are a net negative to society.
So we don't have to share the pizza!
Many years ago, I was unemployed, inexperienced and looking for any kind of job that would employ me. A fellow parishioner suggested looking on craigslist, so I did, and amazingly I found a job and it was legit.
It was a position at a small call-center with an easy commute and a short training period. They signed up all comers at the front desk: we needed a pulse, ID, and authorization to work in the US.
So the training began. The system was run entirely on these amber Unix terminals that hadn't changed since 1975. We were tasked with political fundraising, cold-calling individuals at home. Just follow the script. The training just taught us how to operate the terminal and follow the script in real time.
During breaks, I was able to scope out the actual call center floor with people at work, and workers would step just outside to have a smoke or chill out. My training room had 12-15 new recruits in it. Once we got into the live calling part of training, I realized that I was completely unsuited for the job.
We needed to hold a conversation over an ordinary headset while a dozen other people were jabbering similar conversations, and my brain was just not designed to do this. That was the main objection I had. It is a common experience for most people to be called from a noisy call-center, and whoever is capable of handling voice calls amidst all that cacophony is a better man/woman than I am.
I had a WFH job that began during the pandemic lockdowns and I was able to hold it for 4 years. The best thing about WFH was the lack of noise and the focus I could achieve just comfortably sitting at my own desk. The worst part was the distractability that developed because it was my own kitchen, my own bathroom, my own domain that held every comfort apart from work. I finally discovered that I really couldn't sit still, even for an hour, and I kept compulsively leaving my post. That wasn't good for an hourly job!
The best time I had at school was just pre-pandemic. A few classes were online or hybrid, and most were in-person. But doing my homework was best accomplished not at home, but somewhere at school. I could sit in the library, or the coffeehouse, where even the computers were provided. Being "at school" to do schoolwork was a very effective method of focusing and avoiding the distractions of home.
When we switched to working from home during COVID both my productivity and my job satisfaction went up so much
Not being interrupted all the time was a huge part of it
Having peace and quiet to focus on a task was another huge part
I never want to work in an open office bullpen ever again. Maybe that works for some people, maybe it works for some professions, but I don't think it works for deep work like writing software
I think sometimes¹ it helps to hang out with the group and just talk, or drill down into something or just free-associate. It is anti-isolation.
[1] don't use this as evidence for RTO, working at home is good and healthy!
> I think sometimes¹ it helps to hang out with the group and just talk, or drill down into something or just free-associate. It is anti-isolation
I agree with all of that!
I'm not even against going on-prem to work at an office
I'm against trying to work in a noisy open office full of distractions and people demanding your attention without so much as a cubicle wall between you and your neighbor
Very easy answer: they don't.
I'm not a fan of taking zoom calls while my mic picks up the voice of the person that sits across the room. I'd call being able to communicate via voice call without noise issues a need. While it can be done, constantly hearing other ppl in the background during a call just feels unprofessional/sloppy.
Just read the headline?
Exactly.
The best programmers don't actually need to go without interruption all that much nor all that often.
It's really more of a way for the employer to show how much respect they have for their people compared to lesser outfits that don't give a shit.
As a programmer, you know what I need? Colleagues who care more about not supporting sites like Substack and Twitter, and who refrain from posting on those sites, because they’re run by Nazis[0][1] and are a net negative to society.
[0] https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/feb/07/revealed-how-s...
[1] https://usa.inquirer.net/files/2025/01/AP25022455612199-scal...