At first glance, remote work looks like it has all the perks and none of the frustrations of an office job. No dress code. No commute. No loudmouth neighbor in the next cubicle. Freedom to stay home or travel or visit the beach whenever you want. But remote work has its challenges, just like anything else. And some of those challenges stem directly from the things we love most about it.
No mandatory office hours? Great! But what happens when that urgent email comes in after dinner, or a client wants to call you on the weekend?
Easy access to the beach? Dream come true, right? But what happens when you can’t enjoy your favorite activities there, or the week is filled with stress, because you have to bring work along and you keep putting out ‘virtual’ fires?
Working remotely is a wonderful blessing, and sometimes the only feasible job option — but it’s not without frustrations. Here’s what the #WITeam loves and hates about remote work.
What We Love
Flexibility of being able to work anytime, anywhere—
“I love being able to work in the early morning hours and knock things out while the kids are asleep (especially in the summer or on school breaks), which means that later in the day I can say “yes” to doing things with them.” – Carrie K.
Freedom from office hassles—
“Time is valuable and not wasting it in the car is great, not to mention the savings on gas . . . Being able to get started earlier and end my day earlier than if I had to [commute/get ready for work] leaves more time for all of life’s other responsibilities.” – Sarah K.
First-rate results—
“I like the freedom of skipping a trip to the office on snow days or when there is other bad weather. I have the best of both worlds with splitting time between the office and home so there’s nothing I really dislike about this set-up.” – Becky R.
What We Hate
No face-to-face interaction—
“I love surprising co-workers with coffee and I can’t do that… but maybe I’ll just send bags of coffee to people’s doorstep.” – Lindsey V.
No official boundaries or “work hours”—
The Bottom Line
The truth is, fitting work around the rest of life is wonderful and messy and rewarding and unpredictable. We must learn to balance the comforts of being home with the expectations of those around us, both from our communities and families as well as our clients and coworkers. But we grow through it all, and our work is better because of that.
In the words of one team member . . .
“The only downside is that I don’t live on a tropical beach. Although that might be more distracting, I dare say.” – Mike D.
Tell us something! If you work remotely, what do you love or hate about it?