

It's not a meetup - mh_
http://37signals.com/svn/posts/3457-its-not-a-meetup

======
nanijoe
So, let me play Devil's Advocate here. If meeting up with your co-workers in
person is so enjoyable, would it not make sense to just do it every work day?
ie make remote work the exception rather than the rule?

~~~
umjames
No. What makes it so enjoyable is that it doesn't happen every day. That makes
it a special occasion. It means that when you meet your co-workers in person,
the quality of the interaction is most likely higher than if you saw them 5
times a week.

Take any single enjoyable thing and do it 5 times a week, every week. You'd
have a law of diminishing returns situation. You'd get to a point where you no
longer derive enjoyment from it and you may start to resent it.

~~~
jmduke
_Take any single enjoyable thing and do it 5 times a week, every week. You'd
have a law of diminishing returns situation. You'd get to a point where you no
longer derive enjoyment from it and you may start to resent it._

Not to be glib, but does that apply to working from home?

~~~
ryguytilidie
Why would it apply to working from home?

Ones options are: -Wake up, fire up computer, start working, do whatever
throughout the day, when day ends you are at home, no need for commute. OR
-Wake up, get dressed, take shower, drive to train station, take train, get to
work, work from desk all day, take train home, drive home, wonder what you
will do for dinner since you got home so late.

Which one do you think one might derive more enjoyment from and which do you
think one might be more likely to resent?

------
ph0rque
_There's 36 signals now..._ one hire away from living up to the company name
:)

------
joshmlewis
Wow, do they pay for all their employees air fare + hotel to come in for a
week?

~~~
tptacek
Why would that be surprising? It's a pretty normal thing for companies to do.

~~~
ryguytilidie
While I don't think its surprising, its quite a stretch to say this is "a
pretty normal thing for companies to do".

~~~
tptacek
We do it at my company, which is comparably sized. The location rotates
between our offices. The company I was at before this one flew everyone out to
a ski resort. Every year. Not even to a central office! The company before
that was based in Calgary and hired most of its team from the US, all of whom
spent multiple weeks in Canada every year on the company's dime.

No, I think this is normal.

I think a lot of things sound expensive, but the reality of operating a tech
company is that nothing is as expensive as salaries, even occasional ski
trips.

~~~
obviouslygreen
Having been your experience does not make it "normal." Clearly there are
companies that do it, but there are certainly far more that can't, won't, or
otherwise don't.

~~~
tptacek
If you think company retreats, offsites, or all-hands meetings are abnormal
for tech companies, I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest you're not a
tech company operator.

