If you've been somewhat in touch with Linkedin ever since the pandemic, you may agree with me there was a massive wave of people going back to their office jobs or transitioning to a hybrid working model, while fewer people say they remained or transitioned to remote.
At the same time, I often see many polls asking what is the favorite model, and more often than not, the home office wins. I keep wondering why there's such a massive gap between what people want and have and today I decided to explain my thoughts on this topic.
What's the main difference between home office and in-person work?
As you may already have guessed, the home office is a working model where you work from your own home, or wherever you are. It's remote-based and there is virtually no physical place to have to work in, being the most geographically flexible of all models nowadays. You may eventually want to meet up with colleagues, teammates, clients, etc..., but the day-to-day work can be done entirely from wherever you are.
In-person work, on the other hand, is the model where you must attend a physical work location every day and perform your daily tasks there. All your teammates, colleagues, and bosses will be there, and all the contact you have with everyone, that being meetings, coffee breaks, and problem-solving, are done in the presence of everybody. It's the most geographically fixed and much more socially intense.
There are advantages to both and people might fit in one better than the other, etc...
I thought about writing a list of the main differences and how each type of work deals with aspects like focus, decompressing, commute, growth opportunities, work environment, etc... and talk about the obvious advantages and disadvantages of them.
Then I thought to myself that is not how I do things around here, I don't want to talk about what everybody else is talking about, I want to explain my take on things, so here we go.
I have been working remotely for the last three years, and it has not been as easy as it might sound for someone who never worked like that.
For me, the main issue was separating my life and home from work, as well as dealing with the lack of social contact for extended periods of time.
Working from home has enabled me to be with my partner through whatever move we have to make and whatever city we live in. It has enabled me to be with my dog 24/7, to save money day-to-day, and to work with people I wouldn't have had the opportunity to connect with otherwise. Those are the biggest advantages for me and the ones I need for my life right now, but to say I'm the most happy working from home would be a great lie.
When I first moved out to start working in a Chilean startup, I was just ecstatic to work in a high-rise building, go out to have lunch with my new colleagues, decompress during the day with a cup of hot chocolate, chat and feel I was in an environment that I could focus, having other people working around me, which made working on my own tasks much easier.
Self-managing
On that note, I don't think people realize how much self-discipline you need to have to be able to work well remotely. In my case, that is one of the most difficult challenges I had to get through and I still feel like that needs more improving. This is true if you are self-employed as well.
Making your schedule might sound wonderful, but in reality, it shifts a huge weight onto you and how you manage your tasks and priorities.
I personally really benefit from working alongside someone else, even if they don't have the slightest idea of what I'm doing. Having that sense of accountability in an office environment makes it a lot less stressful. Or even with a friend in a cafe.
On the other hand, if you deal with a micromanaging boss, that can feel a bit much, but to me, it's much more about finding common ground with them and telling them what makes you comfortable than it is working remotely, as in away from them. Trust me, that will not solve the micromanaging problem.
Commuting
Commuting for everyone else, I feel like, has this weight wasting time and I'm sure that my situation is very particular. I have worked somewhere I would spend around 6 hours daily commuting and that is simply absurd, I know and agree.
But one and a half hours of commuting to work gave me time to prepare for the day ahead of me, listen to the new playlist Spotify had put together, and get to know the new city I was living in. In a few months, I already recognized everyone who would take the bus at the same time I did and it somehow grounded me.
The same would happen at the end of the day, going home. Commuting would give me the time I needed to turn work off and start preparing myself to make dinner and relax for the night. Mind you, commuting for me at that time would take 3 daily hours.
Decompressing
Decompressing at home for me is also harder because I feel guiltier having to self-manage and needing to take a break to decompress. It took me years to be ok with taking one hour to lunch. At the office, it was okay if you were not at your desk and needed to walk around for five minutes. I know not every workplace is like this, and I'm sorry if don't have that space. Consider bringing it up to someone.
And the thing I miss the most is my relationships with my coworkers. Being able to make a comment with someone, solve a question right then and there, make small talk, sit beside someone, and talk about what you'll have for lunch. For me, having moved quite a few times in the last years and months, the office, and any workspace for that matter, was my source of meeting people, making friends, and building relationships.
The only in-person company I have during the day is my dog, which I am super grateful to have, but I miss being social, and I miss a lot.
What I prefer
Although it's clear I prefer to work in an office environment, I'm not able to do it now.
I need to take remote work as best as I can and adapt to it as much as I can. As I said, some people fit in different types of workplaces, but I also think we all are capable of working however we need to.
Our circumstances dictate what we are and aren't able to do, whether we like it or not. It's up to us to make of it what we will.
How do feel about this subject? What do you prefer?
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