[sigre]

This reads like yet another autocratic, micro-managing HR document. "Have a room with a door that shuts." Seriously?

How about this: hire smart people you trust, give them whatever tools and support they need to do their jobs most productively, then get out of the way.

[ISL]

One co-founder of Fog Creek has this to say, as a goal for the company [1]:

"* great work environment, with the goal of every engineer having an office with a door that closes"

And, in an oft-cited "Joel Test" [2]:

"8. Do programmers have quiet working conditions?"

Furthermore, the company itself says [3]:

"The average Fog Creek developer has 694 square inches of screen real-estate, 2 desktop computers, and an Aeron chair. Most have private offices with windows and doors."

Googling for "Joel on software door that shuts" will turn up similar results.

A shutting door is clearly important to the management, remote or no.

[1] http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000038.html

[2] http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000043.html

[3] http://fogcreek.com/about/

[mistermann]

From reading the comments in this thread, I don't think very many people in this thread know who Joel Spolsky is.

[bambax]

But what's the point of having a door if you're constantly chatting or video conferencing on Google Hangouts?

[legutierr]

Rules like this usually exist because there were people who did the opposite at some time in the past. It's a simple enough requirement; isn't having it better than disallowing remote work, or disciplining someone for problems created by not having a door (kid runs in in the middle of a staff or client meeting) when no such requirement was previously specified?

I would say one of the tools required to be productive as a programmer is a focused work space. You can give that tool to people who come to the office. But if someone works from home, that's the one tool they have to provide themselves.

[jacques_chester]

> "Have a room with a door that shuts." Seriously?

Yes. Seriously: http://www.dorsethouse.com/books/pw.html

> How about this: hire smart people you trust, give them whatever tools and support they need to do their jobs most productively, then get out of the way.

Good idea: http://www.dorsethouse.com/books/pw.html

[parennoob]

I don't understand -- if you could give some rational, reasoned argument or study that shows that smart people are very less productive on an average if they are working remotely instead of repeatedly chanting the link to a book whose reviews read "Bill Gates has built a company full of managers who read Peopleware" (that is supposed to be a plus?), your argument might make more sense.

[tghw]

Do you really think this is a literal rule?

"Can I work remotely?"

"Will you have a room to work in?"

"Yes"

"But does it have a door?"

"Well, no, it's a desk in the living room, but I'll be home alone all day."

"Sorry, no door, no remote work."

Consider, Fog Creek has spent substantial funds making sure that their on-site devs have offices with doors that close. Is it unreasonable, then, to expect a remote worker to have a distraction-free work environment?

[OldSchool]

Well said!