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It all comes down to 2 things: - If you're single, working at an office is good for you. Surround yourself with people who share a common interest. Yeah, it's

It all comes down to 2 things: - If you're single, working at an office is good for you. Surround yourself with people who share a common interest. Yeah, it's work, but I'm sure you'll meet people who have similar interests outside of work. Go share a 2 bedroom apartment with someone else in downtown and enjoy the social life. - If you're married (or even with kids), remote work is what you should be looking for so that you take away the bad energy you collect at the office and you don't bring it back home. You can spend more time with your family which is what matters the most. The bad energy includes a long commute to get to work since you can't afford living next to the office. Competitive environment and politics. Dress code, loud open space environments where you can't get anything done, constant distraction, having to fake working 8h straight sitting in front of a screen while anyone can look over your shoulders. You need to be able to afford a bigger home to host your family so you need to move far from your office. You can get flexibility in both, not only remotely. As long as you're not forced to commute more than 30 min to work, usually Tech giants are flexible companies in terms of hours, etc.

knappe 8y ago
This is bad advice because each and every pro listed when you're married is also a pro when not married. So I guess I don't get it. Also, there are a million ways to meet people and from my experience meeting people through work is really one of the worst ways to go about it (if you're looking for a relationship). Go join a singles club or something.
- lucasmullens 8y ago
  For many people, their coworkers are their main group of friends. I personally would have fewer friends if I worked remotely. If I was married, I would prioritize my family over my friends, and would likely prefer remote work.
  - hiram112 8y ago
    > For many people, their coworkers are their main group of friends. From what I've experienced, this is true only until your late 20s, or about 20% of your career.
    - bsvalley 8y ago
      +1 This is really true. I made amazing friends at my first 2 jobs and since then, nothing but work. The culture has changed as well for the last 10 years. Colleagues don't even say "hi" anymore. When you're already established in your life you usually don't have time to make friends at work.
- bsvalley 8y ago
  This has nothing to do with dating, which is probably why you didn't get the point. I was referring to the martial status. If someone is not married doesn't mean he or she is not dating anyone. I was pointing out family responsibilities versus no family responsibilities. A simple example like I mentioned is your home. If you have kids, it's hard to share a one bedroom with a roommate in a condo next to your office. It is simply not an option. Meaning, you have to move far away from work in order to be able to afford a larger home. That adds up on your commute and makes your life way harder compared to a someone who doesn't have a family to take care of. That's where remote versus non-remote jobs could make a big difference in your life. Hope this help ;)
navinsylvester 8y ago
For the past 5 years i am working remotely and i am single. I don't think this advise is for everyone. Good social life doesn't mean you need to be always around someone. I do catch up with my buddies over weekends. My mom is a cancer patient so remote work provides me quality family time.
linkregister 8y ago
Interestingly enough, I have the opposite perspective. A single or childfree worker can structure her leisure time at will, spending it socializing or engaging in activities, such as a sports league or making music. Work can be done in the home office and social activity later. A worker with a family has much less control of his leisure time, being obliged to pick up or drop off children, and to be present for dinner. Socializing is much more opportune at the office. It seems that your basic premise is that being at the office is unpleasant. I posit that being at the office can be pleasant and productive, and lead to social situations that otherwise would be harder to justify to one's family or encounter naturally.
- bsvalley 8y ago
  Are you married with kids? It seems that your perspective comes from someone who still values personal activities and self care over the family life. I was exactly like that before I got married. Totally fair... But when you start having kids, it's a complete different world, nothing else matters but your kids. It doesn't stop you from going to the gym at lunch time, etc. People have different priorities in life based on their own setup I totally agree with you. Looking at spending 8-10 hours at the office plus 1-2 hours on your way to the office and way back home, when you want to spend time with your kids it takes away a lot of your happiness. It all depends on your priorities I guess. Everyone is different :)
Steve44 8y ago
I've a different view. Before being married the social life of work was fantastic, that naturally waned once the different social circle post marriage developed. Regarding remote working, although it's great to have the flexibility of working at home with a family around I much preferred going into the office as I found it was a much better working environment. It's also good be be with other creative people so you can thrive in the mental energy there. My family were good at not interrupting when working at home, but it was always there looming in my head. I still prefer being in the office but do some days at home as I get less interruptions there now the family have grown up. I've worked in open plan offices and have always had my own desk so can't compare to hot-desking which must be hell, especially for anything creative.
- bsvalley 8y ago
  I have the exact same configuration as yours and I confirm I can't get anything done during the days I'm at the office. It's all about face-to-face and meetings which is why I usually commute to work. Getting job done requires a quite place and at home, thanks to my wife, I can get a little control over my own private space which makes things easier unlike at the office where I lose control of the basic things like a quite space and some alone time. Since our jobs require both, it feels like putting milk instead of gas in your car waiting for it to move. It’s not fair and certainly not optimized for good results. Yes I can still hear some noise on the background (wife/kid) but I can pop out of my room at anytime and chill with them. Rather than having a 10 min lunch with colleagues talking about work, jumping back straight to my screen listening to everyone else’s stories.

knappe 8y ago

This is bad advice because each and every pro listed when you're married is also a pro when not married. So I guess I don't get it. Also, there are a million ways to meet people and from my experience meeting people through work is really one of the worst ways to go about it (if you're looking for a relationship). Go join a singles club or something.

lucasmullens 8y ago
For many people, their coworkers are their main group of friends. I personally would have fewer friends if I worked remotely. If I was married, I would prioritize my family over my friends, and would likely prefer remote work.
- hiram112 8y ago
  > For many people, their coworkers are their main group of friends. From what I've experienced, this is true only until your late 20s, or about 20% of your career.
  - bsvalley 8y ago
    +1 This is really true. I made amazing friends at my first 2 jobs and since then, nothing but work. The culture has changed as well for the last 10 years. Colleagues don't even say "hi" anymore. When you're already established in your life you usually don't have time to make friends at work.
bsvalley 8y ago
This has nothing to do with dating, which is probably why you didn't get the point. I was referring to the martial status. If someone is not married doesn't mean he or she is not dating anyone. I was pointing out family responsibilities versus no family responsibilities. A simple example like I mentioned is your home. If you have kids, it's hard to share a one bedroom with a roommate in a condo next to your office. It is simply not an option. Meaning, you have to move far away from work in order to be able to afford a larger home. That adds up on your commute and makes your life way harder compared to a someone who doesn't have a family to take care of. That's where remote versus non-remote jobs could make a big difference in your life. Hope this help ;)

navinsylvester 8y ago

For the past 5 years i am working remotely and i am single. I don't think this advise is for everyone. Good social life doesn't mean you need to be always around someone. I do catch up with my buddies over weekends. My mom is a cancer patient so remote work provides me quality family time.

linkregister 8y ago

Interestingly enough, I have the opposite perspective. A single or childfree worker can structure her leisure time at will, spending it socializing or engaging in activities, such as a sports league or making music. Work can be done in the home office and social activity later. A worker with a family has much less control of his leisure time, being obliged to pick up or drop off children, and to be present for dinner. Socializing is much more opportune at the office. It seems that your basic premise is that being at the office is unpleasant. I posit that being at the office can be pleasant and productive, and lead to social situations that otherwise would be harder to justify to one's family or encounter naturally.

bsvalley 8y ago
Are you married with kids? It seems that your perspective comes from someone who still values personal activities and self care over the family life. I was exactly like that before I got married. Totally fair... But when you start having kids, it's a complete different world, nothing else matters but your kids. It doesn't stop you from going to the gym at lunch time, etc. People have different priorities in life based on their own setup I totally agree with you. Looking at spending 8-10 hours at the office plus 1-2 hours on your way to the office and way back home, when you want to spend time with your kids it takes away a lot of your happiness. It all depends on your priorities I guess. Everyone is different :)

Steve44 8y ago

I've a different view. Before being married the social life of work was fantastic, that naturally waned once the different social circle post marriage developed. Regarding remote working, although it's great to have the flexibility of working at home with a family around I much preferred going into the office as I found it was a much better working environment. It's also good be be with other creative people so you can thrive in the mental energy there. My family were good at not interrupting when working at home, but it was always there looming in my head. I still prefer being in the office but do some days at home as I get less interruptions there now the family have grown up. I've worked in open plan offices and have always had my own desk so can't compare to hot-desking which must be hell, especially for anything creative.

bsvalley 8y ago
I have the exact same configuration as yours and I confirm I can't get anything done during the days I'm at the office. It's all about face-to-face and meetings which is why I usually commute to work. Getting job done requires a quite place and at home, thanks to my wife, I can get a little control over my own private space which makes things easier unlike at the office where I lose control of the basic things like a quite space and some alone time. Since our jobs require both, it feels like putting milk instead of gas in your car waiting for it to move. It’s not fair and certainly not optimized for good results. Yes I can still hear some noise on the background (wife/kid) but I can pop out of my room at anytime and chill with them. Rather than having a 10 min lunch with colleagues talking about work, jumping back straight to my screen listening to everyone else’s stories.