The reactions I receive from people when they here I work from home almost always echo each other: You’re so lucky, you don’t have to worry about a commute, you can work whenever you want, you save money, and you can work in your pajamas.
Yep, for the most part that’s all true. And all those are huge benefits of my work situation. But remote working isn’t all sunshine and puppies — it’s actually a bit difficult, really. While I don’t want to discourage anyone from pursuing a remote position, I think it’s important to at least address some of the less-than-glamorous realities of this work set-up.
The Obvious: Work Hours, or the Lack Thereof
We frame our lives and activities with work hours. The time outside of work is, well, ours, and we know what to do with it and how to maximize it because we’re outside the office, living life, owning that time. In a typical work set-up, there’s rarely confusion about which hours are ours and which belong to our job.
When you work from home, though, the line between work and play time becomes blurred. As much as a certain amount of your time is owned by your employer, they’re not in your home defining that timeframe for you. This is why you see so many blog posts and articles out there about the importance of setting up a work-only area in your home and treating your workday as if you’re in an office. Without that frame, you can get sucked into working more than necessary, because you’re bored, because you feel guilty about not working, and because no one’s telling you not to.
Of course, there will always be situations that demand you work outside normal office hours, whether you’re at an office or at home. But, those instances of working overtime for no reason will, without a doubt, become more and more frequent when you work from home, because no one is watching.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you’re not the over-working type, without definitive hours you’ll swing the other direction and find yourself wasting time when you should be completing projects.
Whatever type you are, developing the discipline to tell yourself to get working or end your day takes more effort and consistency than most of us are used to putting in action. If you want the remote lifestyle, test the waters first. Consider asking your boss if you can try out working from home a couple days a week and see how you fare before committing to a permanent work-from-home situation.
The Less Obvious: Isolation
We’re social animals, right? As tough as it can be to deal with certain people in our offices, the general social satisfaction we get from working in the same room/on the same floor as others is surprisingly, um, satisfying. This is a perfect example of not knowing what you have until it’s gone.
Considering the well-known statistic that says 80% of human communication/understanding/connection is in non-verbal cues, it’s fairly easy to imagine how socially unsatisfied someone who works from home, alone, can become if they don’t make an effort to get out regularly to attend events, meet with friends, and even just work in a place with other people around.
If you’re a social butterfly in the mood for a remote position, make sure to plan your days accordingly. My team is steeped in community, so they spend a significant amount of time at events, and are regularly in contact with people. Check into co-working spaces in your neighborhood or surrounding areas. My friend DJ Waldow has a remote position and works out of home at least twice a week (or so Chris Penn tells me). If you choose to go the work-from-home route, recognize how often you’ll be alone (this, of course, also depends on your role) and honestly consider if that’s something you can handle.
The Even Less Obvious: Double the Communication
In a typical work situation, when you can’t get a question answered, document reviewed, or strategy okay’d, you walk into the office/cubicle of whoever you need to speak with to get that question answered, get that document reviewed, or get that strategy okay’d, and nab his or her attention long enough to get things squared away (of course, you knock and ask to come in that person’s office, right?).
While the lines of communication amongst remote teams are always open, you’ll never have 100% of a colleague’s or supervisor’s attention if you’re not in front of them. Truly. So you inevitably work twice as hard (if not harder) to hammer out work issues, hash out strategies, and collaborate on projects when you’re far away from each other.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that your work will take longer — although there are times it inevitably will — it just means that you’ll be spending a decent chunk of your time emailing and sitting on conference calls. An unexpected yet awesome benefit of this? You’ll hone your writing skills like crazy in an effort to make sure the questions you’re asking and decisions you’re trying to come to are as pure and clear as possible.
The Least Obvious: You’re Your Own Source of Validation
The most compelling case to work in an office is the sense of camaraderie and validation you receive from physically being part of a team. You experience wins together, people can easily pop in and tell you they thought your presentation rocked, and you even find validation in someone paying full attention to you with eye contact and engaged body language.
This is both a good and a bad thing for the remote worker. There are times when it can be hard to feel valued as part of your organization without these kinds of in-person forms of recognition and inclusion. On the other hand, you learn quickly how to pat yourself on the back and find confidence from those moments when you know you excelled, with or without external support.
If you’re the type of person who needs regular validation from your colleagues and superiors to feel good about yourself and your work, this type of set-up might not be for you. If it’s the direction you want to go, though, try to set up regular trips to headquarters and to visit other members of your team, to touch base and feel included.
Do you work from home? What are some of the things you battle with working remotely? What benefits do you reap from working outside an office environment?
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I was working from home full-time, and now I’m down to one or two days a week. This is a great post, and all things that need to be considered.
The thing that hit me the hardest was the isolation. I have always worked independently and was never a huge office social butterfly, but the isolation at home really got to me at times — especially because I didn’t plan time to get out daily (big mistake!).
Thankfully, I work for a telecommunications/conferencing company, so my colleagues are used to getting stuff done via conference call or e-mails. There were times when it would have been easier to walk across the office to jump-start someone, but I learned how to communicate more effectively as a result of not doing that.
I miss working from home full-time, while valuing the interaction I now get being back in the office. Mostly, working from home saves me time and money due to my 40-mile commute. Plus, I miss folding laundry while I’m on conference calls!
Very interesting post Teresa — I can agree with all your points, but I think for most people “working too hard / too much” would not be the problem. I think many people get distracted by responsibilities around the house when they should be doing employment objectives.
It really is important to have a distinct work space. When I started some remote work, I was doing it from a computer in my bedroom. It is tough to focus with a comfortable bed in the background.
I think the key thing is that there may be more remote opportunities these days but it is far from being a great option for everyone. You need to be incredibly self motivated, you need to set goals beyond those of your employer to a greater extent than you would at an office.
It really does improve written your communication skills.
Teresa, you make some great points here, both pro and con. I definitely think it should all be considered when entering into a remote workplace. I’ve thought a lot about it and I’m sure it would be a huge adjustment for me. I’m not sure I’d like it more or less than I like working in an office. On the one hand, I like being around people, I’m an extrovert and I both draw energy from and give energy to other people when I’m in groups. However, I am best able to concentrate on the tasks at hand when I’m not concentrating on others and the distractions that come from working in an office – meetings, conversations, etc. So, working from home or in a coffee shop or a co-working space could be great, but it could be terrible, too.
Working in the office gives us the benefit of socializing with others as well as many other factors the boost our well-being. Of course, there are down sides like gossip and the bureaucracy. Working at home goes the same. We may choose the time of our work but oftentimes, there are many domestic hindrances that prevents us from doing our work. I guess we need to find a balance in both.
Even though you only get to virtually hang out with us each day please know you are SO appreciated by all of us. Hope you have a sunny day Tee! We’re thinking of ya.
Thank you for the great comments, folks! There are, of course, some major pros to working at home, and I find that the best part of it is learning how to overcome these pain points. The discipline, self confidence, and communications skills you build in this work set-up are like no other, and, I mean, I work across from the beach, so can I really complain?
David — THANK YOU! I feel the love thousands of miles away.