I’ve seen a lot of reasons shared on the interwebs on why folks like remote work.
People seem to anchor firmly in one of the camps — remote vs. hybrid (mix of virtual and in-office) vs. 100% in office — and vehemently opposed to the others. Social media doesn’t do well with nuance.
For the “Remote work is best! Change my mind.” crowd I’m seeing variations on why it’s the best.
Here’s five themes I’ve noticed on why people like working remotely. Four I’m seeing called out in articles and social media, and one of my own.
None of these are mutually exclusive. I’m sure folks have a mixture of a few. (I’m a 2 & 5 with a some 1 as well)
Remote reason #1 - Productivity
I’m much more productive when I’m solo. Time in the office is basically social hour. I only get work done at home.
I see this also in support of hybrid too. The crux of it is that being in the office is not productive. Working remotely allow time and quiet for deep focus and the ability to produce quality work.
(This also tangents into the “there are too many meetings” arguments. That’s a different post, but more often then not I find [good] meetings a great use of time. Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water.)
Remote reason #2 - Schedule Flexibility
I get so much more control over my day. No commute means more hours to do what I want. Be with my family, exercise, sleep, etc.
A lot of this came with the days of Covid lockdown. Folks who were doing 5 days a week in the office suddenly weren’t and so they discovered better ways to use that time. Spending 1-3 hours getting to and from the office could be used in ways that supported their life a bit more.
Remote reason #3 - Location Agnostic
I get to work anywhere I want! Across the country or across the globe. The world is my oyster.
Digital Nomads were the first real group I noticed making remote work “a thing”. If nothing else they had the best PR.
You’ve seen the photos on Instagram… A laptop screen, a beverage and some incredible view. (I don’t know how they deal with screen glare while writing code on the beach in Maui 🤷♂️)
Remote reason #4 - No desire to see coworkers in person
I’m not here to make friends, I have friends. I don’t need to be in person with coworkers to produce good work. An online, often async, culture works for me.
This came from someone calling out that if you call a job “remote” then that means you should never, ever have to see coworkers in person. Otherwise it’s just hybrid with a longer cadence between required in person time.
There’s probably a lot of overlap with #s 1, 2 or 3, but this theme is about never having to go to the office or offsite gatherings. No in person requirements at all.
Remote reason #5 - Where I live and where I work don’t need to be connected.
I don't work remotely because I hate going to an office.
I work remotely because I don't want to base where I live on what job opportunities are within commuting distance.
My current job is too far away to visit on a weekly basis.
This is one of my main reasons and I don’t see it mentioned.
I’m an extrovert. I’m energized by in person interactions. I really like the conversations in the cube-isle or near the coffee machine. I love it when an informal chitchat in the hallway ends in a room where we’re white-boarding a solution to a sticky problem we were talking about. I haven’t yet been able to replicate serendipity while working remotely.
Even so, I don’t want to limit where I live (usually in a city or suburb) just so I can be close to many office choices.
I think this is a little different from 3.
3 is about the flexibility to move and travel and therefore I need to work remotely.
5 is about keeping the decision of where to live separate from where to work.
Where to live is about way-of-life and community. Where to work is about professional contribution and opportunities for success. Different.
I’d quite happily go into an office a few days a week if it were near me. I miss in person coworker connection and collaboration.
Working remotely isn’t necessarily about working remotely .
Except #4 above, virtual work doesn’t have to be about working remotely. It’s about wanting something that makes working in an office a challenge. The remote work is a byproduct of another want or need.
What do you think? Did I miss something? Do you like remote work and if so what’s your combo?
What about your teammates or friends - do you know their reasons for working remotely?
Till next time! 👋