The world’s best engineers rely on fast, consistent, accurate communication. But what happens when a global pandemic forces everyone to work from home? How do engineers, used to hands-on collaboration adapt? Is asynchronous communication superior, or real-time interaction over the phone? Does age and experience matter? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are two different takes from our sales engineers, Jeremy Klisares and Alex Anderson. Make sure to leave a comment on their LinkedIn accounts… or troll them. Because, why not? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do you see the challenges with communication between the different generations of people that I see?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The work-from-home revolution certainly has some fans and dissidents. Regardless of how you personally feel, do you think the disjointed and remote-first workforce benefits engineers? More specifically, optics and micro-optics engineers?
Micro-optics engineers are an astute bunch. A high percentage of younger engineers quickly and easily adapted to remote work, but I\u2019ve noticed it\u2019s difficult to reach them at times. Engineers who have existed in the workforce long communicate differently and are a bit more predictable in their communication.
Allow me to give you an example: fresher engineers seem to prefer a quick text preceding a phone call\u2014some even feel a call can be intrusive. They also seem to be more comfortable with asynchronous work. Engineers who have been in their roles longer, however, prefer to have a quick conversation on the phone. They prefer to work synchronously to work through the problem in real-time. But which is right?
Obviously being fresh in the workforce, or in the workforce a long time doesn\u2019t necessarily translate to better. So which style is better for engineers? Can these two styles work together in harmony? Is there more value in asynchronous work or synchronous work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n