There is no doubt whatsoever that three years after the initial onset of the pandemic, opinions on its impacts have been divisive in about every way it was possible to be. That’s regrettable: after the initial spirit of co-operation, it feels like a lot of opportunities to move humanity forward have been wasted. One of the more controversial topics has been the issue of working from home. If we can do it during a period when cramming people into office space is an immediate public health issue, is there a reason we can’t do it the rest of the time?
Of all the people whose opinion matters in this question, perhaps the most important is you, the worker. Employers can hardly dispute that a happy worker is a more productive worker, and if you’re happier working from home, and that is reflected in your work, is there any reason that they should be resistant to you doing your job this way? That’s a question we’re not going to address today, because it’s clear there are competing opinions and we can never do justice to them all. But for you, what are the priorities you need to take into account where remote working is concerned?
Getting rid of the commute
While some think pieces written during the pandemic suggested that people were missing out on the joys of the commute, this is a line of thinking that didn’t convince a lot of commuters. There may be some bright spots involved in traveling to work, but unless you’re thinking about the type of work that is covered at Digital Nomad World, the overall experience of commuting is at best a painful necessity. If you’re working from 9 to 5, it’s not uncommon to be out of the house from 7 to 7, particularly if you rely on public transport. That’s not exactly thrilling.
Working from anywhere
It’s often referred to as “working from home”, but when you have the opportunity to work remotely, there is certainly an element of freedom that’s hard to beat. If you have the kind of job that suits remote working, it doesn’t have to be a case of setting up your laptop on the kitchen table and trying to shut out the sound of next door’s lawnmower. You can choose to go to a co-working space or a local cafe. If you’ve always wanted to try the digital nomad way of life, you can – in many cases – decide to take what was an office job and do it from rented accommodation in another country entirely. You can take it wherever you want.
Nothing is 100% good
It should also be said that while working remotely has its converts for the reasons above, and others, there are reasons why people don’t enjoy it – and that’s entirely legitimate. The loss of water cooler conversations with co-workers can be tough to adjust to. It can be harder to convince your boss that your new idea will save the company millions on a Zoom call, where your certainty and powers of persuasion can seem flattened. If you don’t want to work remotely long-term, that’s legitimate too. The office isn’t going anywhere right now, so embrace it and keep doing whatever makes you happiest.