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> As someone that also works remote, it's not all roses and daisies. I spent the past two years working remote, and at this point I don't think I would ever wa
by 67726e 10y ago
> As someone that also works remote, it's not all roses and daisies.
I spent the past two years working remote, and at this point I don't think I would ever want to do it again. Something I don't think I've ever really seen mentioned about working from home is that it can be incredibly isolating and overall mentally unhealthy. The isolation, lack of separation of work and home environment (in the physical sense), and even weird hours caused me to become very depressed and unstable.
In my case, my company was still located in-town and I even had weekly lunch/beer meetings. I pushed myself to get out and socialize with my friends, co-workers, and girlfriend several times a week. I still don't quite know what it is about working in an office with other people does that wasn't being replicated, but there's something there for me.
As far as the physical environment goes, I spent enough time reading different folks strategies. I tried many different strategies as well. I tried having normal office hours and a normal (home) office. I tried just floating about the house, working wherever I felt like. I tried working from coffee shops, bars, parks, and so forth. I tried working in blocks of time, all at once, having an inverted sleep schedule. As mentioned, I even had an actual company office I could work from. Still, I came to have a certain feeling of disdain, of wanting to escape the office at the end of a day of work. The only problem was my office was my home. You can't run from that.
I will say the convenience of having a flexible schedule is amazing. Being able to run errands as needed, or just go to the beach for a couple hours on a Tuesday because "why not" is great. However I always felt a bit weird about things, because "normal" people are in an office that I'm somehow doing something weird or wrong by being out and about during non-traditional hours. And of course among your friends and family there's always a little gentle chiding about how "You don't really work/have a real job", in a semi-jealous but not actually hostile way.
Working from home can be great, and I would enjoy the flexibility to do it a day here and there as needed. What I cannot do is work from home permanently.
- fizzbatter 10y ago> Something I don't think I've ever really seen mentioned about working from home is that it can be incredibly isolating and overall mentally unhealthy. It has mostly been the same for me. I've worked 3 years remote currently.. and i loathe to give it up for my next job (which i'm hoping to land in the next week or so), i firmly believe it will be good for me. Really, the only reasons i want to work remote currently is the checklist of savings. Saving time, gas, etcetc. Mentally, i all but feel it's worse off for me. I have a harder time focusing (i don't have a dedicated, isolated office at home), i feel disconnected, the days blur together, etcetc. The place i'm hoping to land next is going to be half(ish) remote, which seems like a nice middleground at least. I can avoid traffic on some days, but hopefully feel less isolated.
- Klathmon 10y agoThe isolation never bothered me. I have a few close friends, and a wonderful wife, and i tend to be "introverted" in the sense that it's really draining for me to be in a social setting for too long, so working from home has been perfect for all these years. That being said, the "you work from home so you should be able to handle X" really gets to me. I actually have less flexibility than it sounds like you do, it was never explicitly said, but most of us work 9-ish to 5-ish monday-ish through friday-ish. It was something that my wife and I needed to work out on our own, because she would expect me to be able to run out and pick up prescriptions during the week, or would ask me frequently to go to the store to grab something for dinner. And I'd feel like an ass for saying no, because on some level she is right, I do have the ability, and it is easier for me, but it still impacts my day a lot to interrupt my work to run to the store. We have found a good medium now, but it was a common argument for a while.
- Joof 10y agoHaven't worked remote, but I homeschooled myself through highschool; the easiest way to deal is that work time is for work and make sure everyone knows this. Doctor appointments and such may be worth breaking this rule, but picking up prescriptions or even your kids from school (assuming they have a way home) are unnecessary interruptions.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]