I’m probably going to sound like a jerk for saying this, but, do not contact me with a position unless it is 100% remote. Any “remote until COVID” position is simply too unstable and unpredictable for me to place any faith within. Unless your req is fully remote, your email will simply be deleted.
Let’s face it, politicians are the people currently determining what is “safe” or not… whether or not we are “in the clear.” And, sadly, herds of sheeple are making life-altering decisions on the words spewing out of these politicians’ mouths. There is no way I will allow myself to be impacted by some guy or gal simply looking to make enough political friends to win the next election.
Any position or project I take must be one where I can commit 100% of my focus to that effort. I would never take on a role unless I am 100% confident of my success. This means ensuring I am capable of delivering what was needed, both technically and personally, while ensuring the team I join is financially and professionally capable of doing their part. Not knowing where I will be working, be it from home or from some office I’ve never been to, adds a degree of uncertainty that nobody should be adding to their world. I need to go in knowing I will succeed. Taking a “remote until COVID” position basically means everyone must accept this constantly-looming hammer exists, and the fact that it absolutely will fall, but without ever knowing when. Nobody can focus 100% in that environment.
In short, from the looks of it, I will never allow myself to be injected with the COVID vaccine. Religion and politics aside, the claims being made by the vaccine manufacturers are simply too erratic and illogical. And there is simply not enough real-world knowledge as to what impacts the COVID vaccines have on the body long-term. Personally speaking, I’d advise anyone thinking of the vaccine to wait a good 10 years, or more, to see what the fallout is from all of this.
I’ve run entire companies and departments where “employee monitoring” software was used to ensure employees remained productive. Just as I thought that was nonsense, I also believe the thought of an office setting being essential for employees to remain productive. Either the person has the ability to remain professional, work ethically and morally, and perform their duties at the required efficiency, or they do not. Granted, the person may have such a chaotic atmosphere at home that they need to work elsewhere. That’s fine. Let them locate, and pay for, a dedicated office or co-working space that works for them. In my opinion, such is no different than someone with poor vision paying for proper eyeglasses. Every profession requires the correct tools. For me, that does not include someone else’s office.
Honestly? I don’t know. It depends on the office. However, based on what COVID is, and what little we know, I can tell you that I will not even discuss it today. That means no on-site meetings of any kind. There is no way I will allow some imaginary future possibility to poison an opportunity today.
Many of us are accustomed to working with offshore teams in Russia, India, South America, and other parts of the world. We have been doing it successfully for many years. Ten or 15 years ago we were limited to phone calls and speakerphones. Today we have Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams, and countless other technologies which allow us to seamlessly work together on complex projects without needing to be in the same room or even the same country. This COVID thing is simply forcing the other less technical people to catch up with what we’ve been doing successfully for years.
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