1) Are you fully remote or hybrid? 2) How far away have you been from your physical workplace? 3) How have you handled it psychologically? Has remote work made your life easier/harder? 4) Pros and cons? 5) Any special observations you've made regarding your location, circumstances, et al.? 6) Would you recommend remote work either in general, in relation to your experiences, or not at all?
2) HQ is an hour domestic flight but my job has been remote from the start 3.5 years ago
3) Although I'm an introvert among large crowds, I've found myself to become an extrovert among small groups of people. That latter aspect has disappeared since having started this new remote job. I form more genuine relationships with clients than coworkers in my customer-facing role. This period in my life has coincided with the birth of my child so I see myself focusing more towards my family than my social circle.
4) It sometimes feels like an illusion on whether I control my life, time, and actions with this remote arrangement. Whatever flexibility I have in taking care of errands or spending time with loved ones is counterbalanced by the erratic nature of work, childcare, and my exhausted discipline to take care of body/mind/soul.
5) I've been fortunate to move in to a multiple bedroom residence in HCOL just months before the pandemic which has afforded me the ability to physically separate from work when needed. That extra square footage is nice but space does not mitigate loneliness or the ability to truly separate and unwind.
6) Remote work feels inevitable not as a utopia but rather as a post-apocalyptic reality. It really blurs the lines between work, self-worth, and our purpose. I cautiously recommend remote work but you'll need a totem a la Inception to stay grounded in the dream.
2) I'm about a 30 minute walk/10 minute drive from the office
3) Working from home hasn't been too bad, a bit of loneliness, but mostly it is fine.
4) Pros - Less people bugging me throughout the day to answer questions, able to go run errands during the day if needed (e.g. grocery shopping off peak hours). Cons - Having to plan when I go into the office to do stuff, keeping track of the other people on my projects and making sure work is being done, more meetings, later hours (mostly due to being asked to oversee an project from an overseas team, at least I don't have to get home before or after the meetings).
5) It sucks living in a tiny apartment and working from home. It would be greatly useful if I had a separate office so I can shut work away at the end of the day. I literally go an lie on my bed just to get away from my workspace. If it was permanent, I'd be looking to move to a larger place. A job specific observation/quirk, remote desktop doesn't work well with 3D CAD programs when you run 4K monitors at home.
6) It depends on the type of person. My job could never be fully remote, but a hybrid model works better than I expected. I'll definitely be wanting to work from home occasionally even once everyone is back in the office.
2) My office doesn't exist anymore, but I'm about 35 minutes away from where it was. Just the next city over but opposite corners. In previous jobs (that weren't remote) I've lived as far as 2 hours away in previous jobs (it was awful).
3) Not too bad. The benefits far outweigh the negatives for me. If we didn't have this pandemic I would have seen my local coworkers 2 or 3 times this year already (we did see each other in January).
4) Pros: No commute, able to step away from work, if stuck in a boring meeting I can work on other things during it, can cook lunch or do dishes for lunch, spend more time with the dogs.
4) Cons: Me sitting on a headset a bunch the past few years might be why I have developed a constant Tinnitus in my ears the past year. That's not great. And sometimes it's harder to be productive when I need to be.
5) Pandemic remote is not the same as regular remote. Regular remote is better. Before the pandemic I would spend my mornings before work having a coffee at Starbucks and writing, and I would often go pick up lunch and have a brief chat while there, to keep me feeling a bit social. Haven't done that since the pandemic.
6) I hope to never have to work full time in an office environment ever again. I'd be okay with 2-3 days in the office a week, maybe, but it just doesn't make sense to me to keep doing 5 days a week in the office.
2) No offices at all :)
3) Definitely easier. No commute, no office shenanigans. I dislike communal spaces because a lot of folks are not caring about them, but I DO care. In the office before I was one of the few who took care of the dishwasher etc. Now at least it’s just me and my mate.
Being back at home is a bit taxing, as I work from the kitchen. Hopefully lockdown is over soon and I can get back to my shared space.
4) pros: Nobody gets sick (COVID and colds). no times I have to be at the office. flexibility around doctors visits, shopping, etc. No noisy or smelly people around me.
Cons: have to be strict about my work hours not to overwork myself, For example separating work and private laptop. You have to have friends that you socialize with outside of work, or it can be lonely. I feel it is harder to train junior folks/mentor folks.
5) You should have a separate Home Office. Get good equipment for the team. Webcams, mics, etc. you need decent Internet speeds. Make sure you stop working after X hours, start routines around it. e.g. go on a walk after you stopped for the day
6) yes. I believe almost anyone can work remotely, but it likely needs adjustments that are not always possible.
2) 50 miles away from physical workplace.
3) Great. Life is easier with less commuting.
4) Pro: no commutes. Helping the environment by not driving, and conserving precious fossil fuels for future generations. Con: physical distance does increase the time to copy files here and there, but overall not a big deal.
5-A) I wonder if this blessing may be a curse in disguise. Will high salaries in job centers start to drop off when physical location is no longer a factor? I choose to live far away and commute specifically to get the best of both, low cost of living and high salary. Could international competition bring down salaries? Could any laws preventing this be changed? New laws written?
5-B) I think having a big monitor and a good keyboard are key. Working on the laptop directly sucks and is uncomfortable. Basically have a real desk/workplace. I notice some of my coworkers sitting on the couch with the laptop in their lap. They don't seem to mind.
6) Yes for myself. Yes for most programmers. I do wonder if there could be issues with new fresh programmers being thrown into the world with a monitor as their only view port to the team. But that's how the open source world works, and many people have learned much with that remote style of interaction.
2) no change in distance from usual (I live in the same big city I work in, commute is about an hour).
3) it's been awesome
4) pros: two hours more of life daily (no commute). Being able to stop 5 min totake a shower, switch were I sit, etc. Basically not having to look productive on top of actually being so.
Cons: a bit more difficult to integrate new people on the team at first.
5) nothing in particular.
6) I absolutely would recommend it. The only caveat is that your experience might vary if you don't have an adequate work environment at home due to lack of space, presence of children or similar. Some people who have been using work To fill their need for social interactions can feel a bit isolated, but I'd say that's only uncovering an existing issue and that having a social life outside work should be a priority for everyone (otherwise what would happen if you're fired, for example?).
2) ~250km
3) I enjoy it quite a bit, but I'm not a super social person. Doing 1 day of coworking space every week or two helps maintain sanity, as do animals at home.
4) Pro: No commute, quality office space, view on a green garden. Con: Distractions are present and easy to find, as is the fridge...
5) It's much easier when you have a house with a dedicated room.
6) People have very different ideas about remote work. I'd recommend trying it. There are those who love it, and those who will feel miserable in that setting. We all have different needs and preferences, who knew? It's also good for people who can't stand working at home to realise that others feel that way about coming to the office.
2) I am remote for 4 years now. I moved to Houston but no one noticed just one time I used my cowboy Hat ;)
3) Same as usual work, focus, focus and gym
4) Pro: I work best as remote, Con: wife did not handle well
5) Each 2h do give a walk and get some air/sun if possible;
6) I do recommend but people must be aware it is not "working with pajamas" It is Harder than going to Office.
I track my productivity with Rescuetime[1] -> https://www.rescuetime.com/ref/183867
2) 20 minutes walk.
3) I miss lunch talks with some of my colleagues.
4) Other than that, everything else was an improvement. I am strongly introverted, so just sitting in an open space for half of day increases my stress level; I dread the day I will have to experience that again, unfortunately most jobs in my area are like that.
6) Different people have different needs. Extraverts seem to suffer from not being surrounded by people. Also, for juniors this seems difficult, because it makes it harder to ask for help. So I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. But for people like me, it is incredibly helpful.
2) about 30 minutes of brisk walk
3) No major changes, I worked outside of the offices for most of last 10 years. Lack of hiking hurted me far more
4) Pros: I enjoy quiet of my home vs. noise of the office Cons: people are not good at communicating. I enjoy async-remote more than replicating everything that happened in the office.
5) Nope
6) I hope for the sake of non-tech people offices will be back. Most of people I work with live in small spaces and have small kids. I also enjoy quick back and forth face to face meeting and webcams can not replace that for me.
2) about half an hour door to door
3) good. Rough patches in between with boundaries (already not great before) and being productive (historically a problem for me at home)
4) I can work my hours and sleep longer, I’m more flexible, and in sum it’s great. I do look after my well-being and try to be sensible with regard to my health and whether I should go to the office.
5) hide your phone, choose a different room when possible. Invest in good equipment (e.g. a chair)
6) as an option yes, you and your Team have to be clear and actively learn when to meet in person etc.
2) 25 min commute by bike (supplanting 25min metro this year)
3) Very well. The first few weeks was a great relief, an opportunity to get work done without constant disturbances. As the months went on, I started craving a little more social interaction, one day at the office every now and then would do the trick.
4) Pros: gotten much more work done. Cons: poor ergonomics in my small apartment setup.
5) I could use a bigger apartment with room for a proper desk and multiple screen setup.
6) Absolutely
2) A domestic flight away
3) I was fully remote before the pandemic, so things aren't different.
4) Pros are work isn't a dominant experience in my life. Cons are that in normal times I have to travel by plane a few times a year.
5) Nothing special. I love a short flight to the Bay which really allows me to treat it like an extension of my local job market.
6) I have no plans to not be remote for the rest of my career unless I don't have a choice. So I recommend it. Not doing so means you're wasting hours of your life you could reclaim if you do the hard work of making remote work work for you.
2) I live 20 minutes drive from work. About an hour on a bicycle
3) Not great. We have 2 small kids and remote work has been a constant challenge. We finally have a rhythm, but a covid surge (or worse a case in the household) could be looking any minute. I am busy around the clock with very little time for self-care.
4) Pros: short commute time, no pants at work. Cons: everything else.
5) kids are definitely a different game than wfh for single people.
6) Never. I like the ability to work from home, but the reality of doing it full time is souls sucking.
2) over a hundred miles
3) reasonably well, some water-cooler video calls help
4) pro: control over environment; con: environment shared with children
5) fewer social options outside work is a bummer
6) would recommend remote generally
2) ~10 minute bus ride
3) Not too well. I work at a lab as a grad student and miss school and all its facilities
4) Pros: eating out less and improved my cooking skills much Cons: too easy to stagnate in terms of learning/making progress
5) Nothing in particular, just glad that I still have the opportunity to work despite the situation
6) For me, no. Its nice to have the option to work from home every once in a while, but in general I prefer going to a physical workplace. (it helps that my commute was very quick)
2) 20 minutes bus ride
3-4) Pros: I work better at home (I'm more relaxed and more concentrated), don't need to spend time on the commute. Cons: I miss seeing my colleagues for random chats, I get less exercise.
6) On the whole I like it, but I would prefer to spend a bit more time (maybe one or two days a week) at the office.
2. 1-1.5hr 1 way commute :(
3. It’s improved because I’m not stuck in my car for hours on end.
4. Pros : more time working on cars, more time to read. Cons : lost 15lbs, need to go start lifting weights again.
5. Na
6. Yeah I’m all for it, in-office should be optional.
2) About 30 minutes away by public transport or bike.
3) Not too bad, I enjoy it. But it's nice knowing it'll someday end, otherwise I'd seek out some middle-ground (e.g. co-working space). I can't see myself ever enjoying full-remote or full-office permanently. I'd love to work at the office 2 or 3 days a week. Without the commute, the mandatory grooming to be presentable, and the eating and such I do at home during reading / passive meetings etc, I feel there's a bit more time left and I have more energy to be extraverted with my people of choice after work. Rather than be forced 5 days a week to socially interact with people I happen to work with, and be drained after I get home. I like office friends, just not 5 days a week.
4) Listed main pros above. Cons are that I feel I was part of a company more, spoke to way more people than I worked with directly, at the office. Those relationships continue WFH, but not for long. If I'd started at a new job from home, I'd miss out on a lot of contacts, both social and professional. Another pro is that I find myself exercising more and destressing more at home. Few of us can be productive for 8 hours. So we're often productive 5 hours. Then spend 3 hours talking, getting coffee, browsing the news, sending a friend a quick meme on our phone. At the office however a lot of that time is kind of wasted, it's 'fast food' content. Whereas at home, sometimes I take a 45 minute lunch break, grab some food from the fridge and watch a nice episode of a detective. Then get back to work. My unproductive time is more valuable and purposeful, less aimless.
5) No, in hindsight it was easy to see Covid-19 lasting all year. We kind of all said it. But there were also various signals that said otherwise. Some countries got a hold on it and opened up after. Other countries had successive lockdown/open-up waves, the situation kept normalising to some extent. But if I knew what I know now (western-europe would begin the pandemic in lockdown and end the year in lockdown), and my manager did too, I could've made the case to move to another country and WFH. I'd rather have been stuck in say Taiwan or China as of the summer, than Europe. Way cheaper, way more fun, way safer, and just generally a nice adventure. Time zones would've been a challenge. But no, I stayed home (western-europe). I'd have way more energy working from home, knowing at 5-6PM I could head out to a nice restaurant, get some drinks, go to a comedy club, visit the museum next evening... than just being stuck at home all evening and working the next day.
6) Yes I recommend it, but we still have a long way to go culture-wise. I'd hate to WFH in a company that doesn't actively facilitate it. Most companies got a big cultural headstart this year, but we're not there yet.