A Crusty Old Programmer Reminisces About The Dangers of Remote Work

Remote work is fabulous. Your commute is measured in seconds, your office is exactly the way you like it, and you never have to listen to your annoying cube neighbor clipping his fingernails (full disclosure: I was the annoying cube neighbor that would clip his nails).

A friend of mine, Gerald, had been working remotely for about six months. He's slipped into a comfortable groove for his work and style, and as any engineer would, managed to optimize his environment for comfort while maintaining the standards required by his organization.

This all worked quite well until one day when he was on a video call with his boss and a couple clients. He was dressed in a nice polo shirt, and... quite comfortably, otherwise. His wife, not realizing he was on a video call, wandered by with a basket of laundry. She loudly proclaimed "Gerald, I wish you'd wear pants when you're working. I've got some right here if you--"

He immediately disconnected, but not before becoming a remote-working legend among our circle of friends.