I am actually grateful that remote work was not an option in my younger days when I was starting my career.
I learned work culture, professional interactions, and had quality social time with my peers.
Now that I’m a parent with more responsibilities, I am grateful for my hybrid work arrangement. I get to be more present for my son and attend school events without much friction.
The balance is just right for me at the moment but I think starting your career as a fully remote worker means you miss out on a lot of valuable experience.
Your story perfectly mirrors my journey as entry-career level professional, where I experienced everything in person. Lunch together every day with everyone who came to the office that day. Coffee breaks on the terrace. Just asking the colleague in front if I was struggling. Now almost 10 years laters working from home, mother of 2 below 5 y/o, same ambition but different priorities at this stage. I appreciate the beauty of this stage of my life (despise the fact I don’t thrive, sometimes I just survive with my husband)
I worked from home back in the 90s and 2000s before COVID changed the traditional work environment. As a medical transcriptionist, it was a status symbol to be able to work in the comfort of your own home. It was how I was able to work full-time without the expense of childcare for three boys.
Conference calling was the meeting media back in the day instead of Zoom calls. Without team building or loyalty among co-workers, remote workers were not only missing eye rolls or private whispers in the hallway, they were being made fun of for their contributions during the meetings and maligned as an ass-kisser over private messaging by the cliches that were formed by the employees that worked together before you were hired. It was an insidious way of allowing the employees that were in the popular loop to keep their jobs while quickly pushing the unpopular ones out on the street.
There was the freedom of working remotely in a sense, but as you said there were trade offs. I found myself working early in the mornings and late into the night. No matter how many times you told your husband, children, and friends that you were working and should not be disturbed, interruptions were inevitable on a regular basis. And yes, the commute time twice a day was not missed, until you had to go from the home office directly to the kitchen to make dinner, clean up after dinner, and then straight back to the home office to finish up your work.
Like with most things in life, there are always trade offs.
Your newsletter hit the nail on the head as far as delineating the problematic issues associated with remote working. I enjoyed reading it.
Thank you for sharing your broader perspective and first hand experience - this is very valuable. What used to be a status symbol 30 years ago today is considered a standard. Your comment about employees hired before you speaks a lot about company culture. I’m glad you enjoyed the read and hope you will stick around for longer! Cheers
+1 on the 'not an upgrade' point. I've worked remote for fifteen years. And you're absolutely right, I'm missing just as much as I'm gaining. Some days the trade-off works perfectly. Other days a real hallway conversation is a much better option than having meetings in your pyjama bottoms.
This is a honest and mind piercing article! It should be distributed "aggressively" so that more people approach these conclusions. Thank you! Sharing...
Are you part of the global team? Then I’d imagine you are right, even when you go to the office you get only part of experience.
About team bonding I have seen it all: coffee chats, once or twice a year team onsite with fun activities, remote trivia, paint and sip over zoom. I always appreciate management is making an effort to bring the people together and genuinely foster the community feeling. But let’s face it - it’s very hard to replicate the depth of relationships when working remotely
Very insightful read!
I am actually grateful that remote work was not an option in my younger days when I was starting my career.
I learned work culture, professional interactions, and had quality social time with my peers.
Now that I’m a parent with more responsibilities, I am grateful for my hybrid work arrangement. I get to be more present for my son and attend school events without much friction.
The balance is just right for me at the moment but I think starting your career as a fully remote worker means you miss out on a lot of valuable experience.
Your story perfectly mirrors my journey as entry-career level professional, where I experienced everything in person. Lunch together every day with everyone who came to the office that day. Coffee breaks on the terrace. Just asking the colleague in front if I was struggling. Now almost 10 years laters working from home, mother of 2 below 5 y/o, same ambition but different priorities at this stage. I appreciate the beauty of this stage of my life (despise the fact I don’t thrive, sometimes I just survive with my husband)
I worked from home back in the 90s and 2000s before COVID changed the traditional work environment. As a medical transcriptionist, it was a status symbol to be able to work in the comfort of your own home. It was how I was able to work full-time without the expense of childcare for three boys.
Conference calling was the meeting media back in the day instead of Zoom calls. Without team building or loyalty among co-workers, remote workers were not only missing eye rolls or private whispers in the hallway, they were being made fun of for their contributions during the meetings and maligned as an ass-kisser over private messaging by the cliches that were formed by the employees that worked together before you were hired. It was an insidious way of allowing the employees that were in the popular loop to keep their jobs while quickly pushing the unpopular ones out on the street.
There was the freedom of working remotely in a sense, but as you said there were trade offs. I found myself working early in the mornings and late into the night. No matter how many times you told your husband, children, and friends that you were working and should not be disturbed, interruptions were inevitable on a regular basis. And yes, the commute time twice a day was not missed, until you had to go from the home office directly to the kitchen to make dinner, clean up after dinner, and then straight back to the home office to finish up your work.
Like with most things in life, there are always trade offs.
Your newsletter hit the nail on the head as far as delineating the problematic issues associated with remote working. I enjoyed reading it.
Thank you for sharing your broader perspective and first hand experience - this is very valuable. What used to be a status symbol 30 years ago today is considered a standard. Your comment about employees hired before you speaks a lot about company culture. I’m glad you enjoyed the read and hope you will stick around for longer! Cheers
Love this piece. Subscribed.
+1 on the 'not an upgrade' point. I've worked remote for fifteen years. And you're absolutely right, I'm missing just as much as I'm gaining. Some days the trade-off works perfectly. Other days a real hallway conversation is a much better option than having meetings in your pyjama bottoms.
This is a honest and mind piercing article! It should be distributed "aggressively" so that more people approach these conclusions. Thank you! Sharing...
Comments like yours are the best ROI I could ask for. Thank you!
Yes, going deeper is the key for a network like this one.
I feel like we’ve lost the synergy that exist in office space
Team bonding is essential and Remote work gives little space for that
Are you part of the global team? Then I’d imagine you are right, even when you go to the office you get only part of experience.
About team bonding I have seen it all: coffee chats, once or twice a year team onsite with fun activities, remote trivia, paint and sip over zoom. I always appreciate management is making an effort to bring the people together and genuinely foster the community feeling. But let’s face it - it’s very hard to replicate the depth of relationships when working remotely