Like so many things, I think it depends on the individual. For me, remote work is almost all benefit and no cost. I feel more productive, less stressed, spend less money filling up my car and waste less time driving. Most importantly, I find maintaining a self-care regimen (exercise, home-cooked meals, a full night's sleep) is much easier when I'm not coming home from the office every evening feeling physically and emotionally drained after being sedentary all day, dealing with silly office politics, and having a supervisor breathing down the back of my neck. When I have downtime at home, I can do other things, like household chores, instead of having to invent some redundant task for myself or my team purely for the sake of appearing busy. I end up accomplishing more in less time. Freedom, efficiency, flexibility, all major quality-of-life enhancers. That said, I've known plenty of people who really do seem to thrive in cubeland. I don't get it, just like I don't get wanting to live in a detached single family home, but I wouldn't want to take that option away from anyone. Ideally, I think everyone should be able to do what works for them. Some employers don't seem to like that because it means giving up some degree of control, but those who are willing to try it usually end up sticking with it because happier employees tend to be better employees.
That was how I felt when I was an employee, and it still is now. There are just days where you want to have your own professional space. I've found working out of a coffee shop is pretty nice. It reminds me of being in college and studying in the library. It's interesting how simply being around people and general buzz can be a mood lift.
So, I only have limited direct experience with this topic, as I'm active-duty military and a major chunk of my day-to-day work requires access to classified information, which just can't be done from home really. During the height of the pandemic, when my command was trying to minimize the number of people present in the building, I did some "working from home" that was really just doing limited amounts of administrative work (personnel fitness reports, awards, etc) and some unclassified online training. Otherwise, I was more or less just hanging out at home.
My sister, on the other hand, is a full-blown work from home machine. She does medical coding (ie, telling the insurance companies what a doctor did so the doctor gets paid) and she has a fully set-up home office. Having visited her and seen her in action with this, she is very disciplined about going into that dedicated room, shutting the doors, and focusing on work. When she's done, she comes out and doesn't tend to go in unless she needs to work some more. So, in that regard, she has some of the compartmentalization that you talk about that can sometimes go missing in a work from home environment. It also helps that she and my BIL don't have any kids (other than their dogs lol).
That's a discipline that's tough to do on your own, when you aren't being forced to. I do find that my work, with its flexible and irregular flow, is a good fit for my own working style. I don't know that I could maintain that discipline with a corporate job that had a strict workday.
I think a lot about this topic. In late 80s/90s, I worked in an appraisal office. Twelve appraisers, a half-dozen bosses, and a gaggle of secretaries. I left that industry to go into cooking - hardly a remote job! Covid hit and I got sent home on March 16, 2020. In January 2021, we were summoned one final time to the office - gather up our desk stuff (so lovingly dusted each day). the digital check was in the ether. Regaining my license to appraise real estate during the lockdown, I now work from home doing the same function I did 25 years ago with a support staff of dozens. I can inspect a property at 9 am and have it completed, reviewed, and uploaded by 5 pm. Often before 3 pm. Back in the day, it would take at least a week to complete that process. it would make no sense to require an appraiser to work out of an office. That being said, I miss the social interactions of the office. I have gone back to serving tables part-time, for money yeah. But really for some social interaction and I miss the rush of work. Of being pressed to act. Of being requested to do something. Of serving others.
Yes. My wife used to have to stay late a couple of nights each month, during closing time (she's an accountant.) Now that she's remote, she almost never works after dinner, and we have dinner together and cook every night. All of her coworkers feel they are more productive. I am too - a lot of the time I spent in the office was time trying to gather enough focus to get anything done. But I do miss the social aspect. It's difficult, though, to go back, because once the commute is optional it feels like you're choosing to spend all that time and money, what, for a little water-cooler talk? It's interesting. I'm very curious what new normal the professional/corporate world ends up deciding on.
Like so many things, I think it depends on the individual. For me, remote work is almost all benefit and no cost. I feel more productive, less stressed, spend less money filling up my car and waste less time driving. Most importantly, I find maintaining a self-care regimen (exercise, home-cooked meals, a full night's sleep) is much easier when I'm not coming home from the office every evening feeling physically and emotionally drained after being sedentary all day, dealing with silly office politics, and having a supervisor breathing down the back of my neck. When I have downtime at home, I can do other things, like household chores, instead of having to invent some redundant task for myself or my team purely for the sake of appearing busy. I end up accomplishing more in less time. Freedom, efficiency, flexibility, all major quality-of-life enhancers. That said, I've known plenty of people who really do seem to thrive in cubeland. I don't get it, just like I don't get wanting to live in a detached single family home, but I wouldn't want to take that option away from anyone. Ideally, I think everyone should be able to do what works for them. Some employers don't seem to like that because it means giving up some degree of control, but those who are willing to try it usually end up sticking with it because happier employees tend to be better employees.
That was how I felt when I was an employee, and it still is now. There are just days where you want to have your own professional space. I've found working out of a coffee shop is pretty nice. It reminds me of being in college and studying in the library. It's interesting how simply being around people and general buzz can be a mood lift.
So, I only have limited direct experience with this topic, as I'm active-duty military and a major chunk of my day-to-day work requires access to classified information, which just can't be done from home really. During the height of the pandemic, when my command was trying to minimize the number of people present in the building, I did some "working from home" that was really just doing limited amounts of administrative work (personnel fitness reports, awards, etc) and some unclassified online training. Otherwise, I was more or less just hanging out at home.
My sister, on the other hand, is a full-blown work from home machine. She does medical coding (ie, telling the insurance companies what a doctor did so the doctor gets paid) and she has a fully set-up home office. Having visited her and seen her in action with this, she is very disciplined about going into that dedicated room, shutting the doors, and focusing on work. When she's done, she comes out and doesn't tend to go in unless she needs to work some more. So, in that regard, she has some of the compartmentalization that you talk about that can sometimes go missing in a work from home environment. It also helps that she and my BIL don't have any kids (other than their dogs lol).
That's a discipline that's tough to do on your own, when you aren't being forced to. I do find that my work, with its flexible and irregular flow, is a good fit for my own working style. I don't know that I could maintain that discipline with a corporate job that had a strict workday.
I think a lot about this topic. In late 80s/90s, I worked in an appraisal office. Twelve appraisers, a half-dozen bosses, and a gaggle of secretaries. I left that industry to go into cooking - hardly a remote job! Covid hit and I got sent home on March 16, 2020. In January 2021, we were summoned one final time to the office - gather up our desk stuff (so lovingly dusted each day). the digital check was in the ether. Regaining my license to appraise real estate during the lockdown, I now work from home doing the same function I did 25 years ago with a support staff of dozens. I can inspect a property at 9 am and have it completed, reviewed, and uploaded by 5 pm. Often before 3 pm. Back in the day, it would take at least a week to complete that process. it would make no sense to require an appraiser to work out of an office. That being said, I miss the social interactions of the office. I have gone back to serving tables part-time, for money yeah. But really for some social interaction and I miss the rush of work. Of being pressed to act. Of being requested to do something. Of serving others.
Keep writing and I'll keep reading!
Yes. My wife used to have to stay late a couple of nights each month, during closing time (she's an accountant.) Now that she's remote, she almost never works after dinner, and we have dinner together and cook every night. All of her coworkers feel they are more productive. I am too - a lot of the time I spent in the office was time trying to gather enough focus to get anything done. But I do miss the social aspect. It's difficult, though, to go back, because once the commute is optional it feels like you're choosing to spend all that time and money, what, for a little water-cooler talk? It's interesting. I'm very curious what new normal the professional/corporate world ends up deciding on.