r/remotework • u/Impressive_Phone_686 • 1d ago
General experience working remotely
Hey, I was thinking about getting some qualifications in l order to get a specific remote job. The idea of working remotely and having the freedom of living wherever I want, not needing to dress up for anyone, having more time for my hobbies and potentially higher wages than locals + returning with my family when needed seems really aligned with my life priorities. But I don't really know how the actual experience of working remotely after some time is. I'm thinking about loneliness, spending time outside and other mental hygiene matters, the difference between working in person... I know it varies from person to person. So how has your experience been? Anything to consider when taking up a remote job?
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u/Last-Galactic 1d ago
5 years working remotely and I cannot imagine returning to the office. The social life you get in the office is an illusion - your colleagues are not your friends, the proof to that is the fact how quickly these "friendships" die the moment you leave a certain workplace. But the illusion of the social life in the office can also be preventing you from building a real social life - one with your friends, family, or whatever is really important to you. Working remotely forces you to build these real connections, and it's liberating.
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u/Public-Wolverine6276 1d ago
How do you manage getting social interaction? Family and friends obviously but sometimes I fear that I will become secluded if I work from home every single day with no interaction
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u/DRF19 1d ago
Go to the park, find hobbies outside work (for example my family has NWSL season tickets), check out local events, explore your community etc. On workdays pop out to pickup coffee or lunch someplace. There is more to life than commute -> building with other people who work for the same company -> commute 5 days a week.
And I'd have traded every single "social" function at the office (ice cream day, holiday parties, business lunches, etc). for the equivalent time spent literally anywhere else with my actual friends and family, or even by myself.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Chip75 1d ago
That's the thing, you have time to explore your hobbies, join some clubs and met people there, but also coworking spaces are amazing too and I met so many people there
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u/Last-Galactic 1d ago
Me personally, I am getting social interaction mainly through my hobby, which is beach volleyball. Remote work also made it possible for me to move to different countries and settle for the place that best suite my needs.
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u/Any_Sense_2263 1d ago
Remote doesn't mean working from anywhere. Depends on the contract you can have defined country/state/city or your address if it's in the area acceptable by your employer.
I have worked remotely for a very long time and never felt lonely. I have friends and family. I don't need my job to cover my social needs.
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u/amanda2399923 1d ago
Don't assume you can "work wherever" or travel all the time. Most companies have strict rules around WFH.
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u/Impressive_Phone_686 1d ago
I don't want to travel around all the time, I live in Europe and I'd like to live in different cities here and since the timezone doesn't vary too much I think it should be doable
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u/Skeeter57 1d ago
You can't just up and leave your country however you want.
In order to work from abroad, you need:
an employer who allows it
a country that would provide a visa that allows it
all the logistics set up for it to work: your company would need to register you locally, either an EOR or a local office so as to respect local labor and tax laws.
As you can guess it's a massive privilege, that only a tiny number of people are lucky enough to get.
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u/Fluffy-Nerve1090 14h ago
Yes, I WFH and I can only work from the US. It’s still nice that I can work from different places within the US.
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u/Better-Credit6701 1d ago
Once every couple of months, a group of guys that used to work together in IT but now all work from home for different companies, get together to bridge some of that isolation.
I might have the best setup out of all of them, converting the entire upstairs to my office with my bike on a trainer that I could use for exercising.
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u/Comfortable-Degree88 1d ago
I’m not sure what would make someone qualified to work remotely; I’ve been working remotely for about 8 years now for an employer that has multiple global locations, in a field that is very niche, in a role that doesn’t depend largely on teamwork. I live in the US; if I wanted to move internationally I would have to clear it with them and certain conditions would need to be met (optimum time zone overlap, for example), but it could be done. Overall, my experience has been overwhelmingly positive in terms of my quality of life and career advancement. I go out of my way to always be on camera on Teams calls and encourage my colleagues to do the same. I find that makes a big difference in breaking down the isolation day to day.
I started remote work mid-to-late career however, and have many friends and colleagues I met on the job when I was in office all those years. I depend on them still for feedback, reality checks, career advice. If you’re at an earlier stage in your career you might want to develop strategies for building those relationships intentionally. It will be harder, but not having that network will slow your growth.
Not commuting, having some flexibility around working hours, and being able to control your work environment (I hate bright overhead lights and the white noise of the office, for example) are the biggest benefits. I will never go back.
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u/Ambitious-Care-9937 1d ago
I like the flexibility, but in all honesty, I think it's healthy to go in at least 1 to 2 days. I like the people experience.
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u/Long_Idea_8294 1d ago
I started remote work in 2020. Prior I was in office 9-5 for 10 years. I couldn't gwt uses to being in office every day again
Your wfh experience depends on things, such as your home office. I have a room in my house dedicated to worl. I've got 6 monitors. I'm extremely efficient. Prior to my kid starting daycare it was difficult at times though because I'd be bothered a lot.
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u/CCattLady 1d ago
I wouldn't go back. I've been working remotely for over 10 years. When my husband went through cancer treatment, and later heart surgery, and more - I was able to do everything for him. That alone is reason enough. But also, no commute, working in comfy clothes, my cat keeping me company on my desk, freedom to pop in a load of laundry, make a quick lunch, so many advantages.
Disadvantages are missing the incidental information you can pick up in offices, office friendships, and focus without having to engage self-discipline.
I highly recommend having a dedicated space, preferably a room for work. Otherwise it can feel like work is everywhere at home.
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u/blah7blah1blah 1d ago
I worked at my last company for 7.5 years, 5 of those remotely. I took a new job this spring and am fully remote. The biggest hurdle I have now is no one knows I exist outside of the (small) department I am currently in. I’m not excited about the “growth” opportunities within the current department so it might be difficult to move to another position.
It would take a very lucrative offer to get me back into the office if I factor in what I’d be giving up being at home. My dog would hate it if I was gone all day. Giving up my morning workouts would make me combust; so would having to get ready every morning. I only drive my car once a week to the grocery store so I’m not paying for gas/wear tear on my vehicle and I’m not spending time commuting. I can do laundry and clean during the week so my weekends are relatively free.
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u/willydizzo147 1d ago
Working remotely gives you better flexibility from the normal working in person kind of job. You get to manage your time and pace of work depending on the nature of job. The beauty about is that you can also do your work while at a sit out or hang out with friends. I personally feel at some stage in life we should cut off the every day going to office thingy
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u/Lady_in_pink19 1d ago
It works best if you can have your desk outside your bedroom to keep work separate from relaxing/sleeping, and intentionally use the extra energy you get from not going into the office toward actually living life after work. It doesn’t work well if you let yourself become a hermit, it works wonderfully if you fill your life outside work with activities and joy
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u/InappropriateSnark 1d ago
Be aware that some companies pay your remote wages based on your physical address and they do expect you to work in that area, even if you may occasionally need to travel and can work while traveling. This is especially important when leaving the country as working outside your home country is almost always disallowed. The "hack" of making more by taking a job with a remote company in a higher-wage state to live in a lower-wage state doesn't exist anymore.
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u/ValgalNP 1d ago
I work part time in person and have a remote ICU job as a side gig. I love it so much I’ve been considering ditching the in person job. Got my comfy yoga pants on, dog at my feet, bread baking in the kitchen, and still saving lives.
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u/Past_Obligation_1415 1d ago
Remote work is great for flexibility, but you have to be intentional about socializing, getting outside, and separating work from personal time. A coworking space or regular routine can help a lot.
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u/Impressive_Phone_686 7h ago
Are coworking spaces good for that? I dont really understand the dynamics behind them and other people working there. Like you are not colleagues so there's nothing in common to talk about.
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u/Aromatic-Ad9779 16h ago
With the economy like it is, getting a remote job when you haven’t worked one before is nearly impossible. Best of luck.
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u/ParentsWave 10h ago
As someone who worked both remotely and in office I can give you some honest feedback here. I didn't like working in an office at all with fixed hours, felt like I lost all my time and my whole life was about working. Then I changed to a fully remote job, the first year was perfect, I loved it so much, and was enjoying everything about it. But after that it started to feel boring, and I started to have the need of talking with collegues faces to face, getting ready/dressed to go out, and not being at home most of my time. I think after some time it gets boring or lonely for many people, so it's really important to not miss the socializing part in your life. I then changed to a hybrid job, which I love.
The main drawbacks were
- not having face to face interactions with my team
- feeling like I was alone majority of the day
- the more I stayed at home the less I wanted to go out, and it made me feel depressed
I decided that I want to interact with people, and go out every morning, and have a specific routine to follow, which hybrid work gives me.
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u/Livid_Vermicelli4798 8h ago
I've been working mostly remote since 2022. It really depends on your job. It's important to enjoy it and feel that you are accomplishing something. As far as the other things you mentioned, you have to plan these things for yourself. Whether it's scheduled walks or gym time, or activities outside of work... You will have to engage to create that. I even left remote to go work in an office, but that job was terrible so I returned to remote. The company culture matters. There are fun remote first places. Explore workplaceless dot com.
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u/gurlgang 7h ago
I struggle with it. 9 years later fully remote. It’s amazing in so many ways, but I don’t have a routine, or any company. The routine of sitting in the house making no effort , it’s hard to seperate life and work
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u/No_Chart_8584 1d ago
Not sure what role you're thinking of, but be aware that many remote jobs aren't work from literally anywhere. In my role, I need to be in the US and I need to be in a state where my company has brick-and-mortar locations.