The truth about working from home. As someone who has been working remotely for the past year, I’ll share 11 things you should know if you are considering working from home or are currently working remotely. Some people say working from home is the best thing ever… and other people say that working from home doesn’t really work.
Show notes:
It’s not good for extroverts…It’s easy to get cabin fever where you realize you haven’t talked to another human for days. no happy hour, no team lunch, no “water cooler talk”, no discussing what happened to the super bowl last sunday. (may want to work out of Starbucks a couple hours a day, or find some other communities to be part of, such as volunteer, church). Make extra effort to call your coworkers and just have some chit chat.
It’s not good for introverts…. It’s even harder for introverts to insert themselves into the team, or be “seen” by management (volunteer to go into the office once in a while)
Hard to feel what the company culture is like…
End up working longer hours …especially for those on the west coast. People expect you to start working at 5 or 6 AM and work until 5 or 6 PM. You’re expected to answer phone calls right away, reply to emails right away…If you miss a phone call you can’t say “oh because I was talking to so and so… “
Can’t use “traffic” as an excuse for being late… there’s no getting out of “overslept”
Sometimes things are less efficient, much easier to just walk down the hallway and talk things through instead of texting back and forth. It is also much easier to be able to “read faces” during meetings
If the rest of your team is in another office together, sometimes you’ll feel as if you are being left out of decision making. They didn’t deliberately leave you out, but for those in the office they may just ad hoc decide things without you.
In general, probably don’t get much visibility in the company even if you are the most charismatic person in the world, hence harder to move up the corporate ladder (on the other hand, management might also “forget” to lay you off when bad times come)
Not good for weight watching … constant access to your own kitchen… However you CAN beat this with increased flexibility for exercise.
Pay for your own heater/air conditioner/coffee/ergonomic chair (very expensive)….may be hard to find a quiet work space if you have kids at home. no one to throw you baby shower/retirement party/…
Often more difficult to focus in your house. More interruptions, more distractions.
