Remote work: myths at night
On a Habré the subject of a remote site rises constantly. There was a frank post that responded to the very depths of the heart. Today there was an advertising post where the concept of a remover is somehow confused with the concept of a freelancer. And now there will be an emotional post - from a simple girl who has been working remotely as an IT manager for 4 years. I'll be a myth destroyer, captain of evidence and a dude with dollars, but about the latter another time.
As an option - isolate boring workaholics
Variations of the phrase “Wow, you don’t have to go to work!”, “Yes, you have a shaft of free time!”, “Yuhu, you are right in your pajamas, yes ?!”
No, my dear friends, remote work is a method of work when you belong to the company, have an employment relationship with it (an employment contract in my case, sometimes there is a contract agreement) and work according to its schedule and established standards. Just because you have the same access to infrastructure, work with documents, communicate with colleagues, connect to some super important meetings, etc. Accordingly, in pajamas or not, and at the beginning of the working day be like a bayonet in the workplace.
It’s cool to work from home when your relatives are able to understand and accept the specifics of your work and provide a quiet and comfortable space that you can arrange in the most business or friendly format. I talk about cases when you howl on the first day and rush to look for coworking (for now, this is the name of this place).
In especially clinical cases, neighbors join the process, who recognize you as an alcoholic, a person under house arrest, a parasite and a seriously ill person.
Oh yeah, your worst enemy is living at home - the refrigerator.
I do not know. Someone can and can, in my case - a maximum of the second project and rake more than row. Again, this is due to working hours. The employer trusts you and you have no moral (by the way, and legal) right to neglect trust and work as a freelancer sitting on a salary. All that is - all in over working hours. Yes, there is a simpler moment - you can redistribute the time a little, but you need to be prepared for the fact that your working day is not 8 hours + lunch, but 12 and even more hours minus lunch. It is unrealistic to pull more than two projects in such a period of time, and then - only if the second is part-time.
But I warned - there are a lot of emotions. Therefore, I do not impose my point of view and position, but I consider it as decent as possible with respect to the employer.
You can’t stir anything up there. Do you know why? And nowhere is stupid. There are dozens of coolest co-workingings in Moscow, I’ve been to some - and this is space and pure inspiration. In St. Petersburg - less, but also cute. In my millionaire coworking city ... no. There are a couple of strange parties where you are actually sitting in a strange office of a very creative screaming crowd. If you’re very unlucky, there will be vapes, a guitar and continuous chatter right in your room. Intelligent coworking guys are sitting as quietly as you are not particularly ready for startups - they work for the same companies, for example, my neighbors plow in Moscow, Israel and Germany.
This organization of labor causes a lot of problems. You don’t have a system administrator and you service all your equipment yourself: are there viruses, burned-out boards, dead mice, a broken chair, spilled tea and laptop on drying ... You don’t have colleagues who can be called for human help, which is sometimes really needed . Therefore, the autonomy is all on your shoulders: water, medicines, peripherals, paper, stationery and more. This is a trifle, though: just walk to the nearest store. But it takes time, and often nerves.
NO This is the most difficult and emotional moment. Let's point to no water.
And these aspects are the main ones, because it is communication, work itself and human relations that make up our normal working life. Something fell out - and that’s all, a feeling of emptiness and a hole somewhere where the soul should be.
Of course, any coin has two sides, and the remote is no exception.
Of course, each has its own nuances. I wrote about the situation when you work from a Russian city. I could not work with the beaches in Thai or Nice, probably there is something in it, but I can hardly believe it. It’s unrealistic to work and relax without nerves as fashion bloggers and remote workers of intergalactic corporations write.
I also cannot say if I am ready to return to the office. More precisely, even until I’m ready - I love my job. But I do not have enough people, a sense of ownership and integrity with the company, some kind of this special office friendship. At some point, you grow up to be a professional, but you understand that this, human, cannot be replaced with anything. However, this is subjective.
And how do you live, brothers and sisters from a distance? (Please do not worry freelancers).
As an option - isolate boring workaholics
“Wow, you can sleep as much as you want!”
Variations of the phrase “Wow, you don’t have to go to work!”, “Yes, you have a shaft of free time!”, “Yuhu, you are right in your pajamas, yes ?!”
No, my dear friends, remote work is a method of work when you belong to the company, have an employment relationship with it (an employment contract in my case, sometimes there is a contract agreement) and work according to its schedule and established standards. Just because you have the same access to infrastructure, work with documents, communicate with colleagues, connect to some super important meetings, etc. Accordingly, in pajamas or not, and at the beginning of the working day be like a bayonet in the workplace.
“To work from home is cool! I got out of bed and now you are already at the workplace. ”
It’s cool to work from home when your relatives are able to understand and accept the specifics of your work and provide a quiet and comfortable space that you can arrange in the most business or friendly format. I talk about cases when you howl on the first day and rush to look for coworking (for now, this is the name of this place).
- You have retired elderly parents who manage to keep you busy and there is no such thing as a home office in their coordinate system. You sit at home - be kind to give, bring, get, run away, count, tune, find the series. The head at the end of the day turns into a mishmash of household chores and work. This is my case, I lasted exactly two days: the first is an experiment, the second is a convulsive ringing of office centers. On the third day, I flew to the office after 14 stops.
- You have children - this is without comment. They simply will not let work. It was checked on the niece with whom I had to sit a couple of days. It was a brave war over a 9-year-old laptop. Saved a tablet with cartoons and an iPhone torn to pieces. Work dragged on for very long intervals because of fear for the behavior and condition of the child.
- You have an endless series of repairs from your neighbors, stuffiness, impossible Internet and other physical conditions in which it is impossible to work.
In especially clinical cases, neighbors join the process, who recognize you as an alcoholic, a person under house arrest, a parasite and a seriously ill person.
Oh yeah, your worst enemy is living at home - the refrigerator.
“You can work five jobs and paddle with a shovel”
I do not know. Someone can and can, in my case - a maximum of the second project and rake more than row. Again, this is due to working hours. The employer trusts you and you have no moral (by the way, and legal) right to neglect trust and work as a freelancer sitting on a salary. All that is - all in over working hours. Yes, there is a simpler moment - you can redistribute the time a little, but you need to be prepared for the fact that your working day is not 8 hours + lunch, but 12 and even more hours minus lunch. It is unrealistic to pull more than two projects in such a period of time, and then - only if the second is part-time.
But I warned - there are a lot of emotions. Therefore, I do not impose my point of view and position, but I consider it as decent as possible with respect to the employer.
“Coworking is wow! You can stir up startups "
You can’t stir anything up there. Do you know why? And nowhere is stupid. There are dozens of coolest co-workingings in Moscow, I’ve been to some - and this is space and pure inspiration. In St. Petersburg - less, but also cute. In my millionaire coworking city ... no. There are a couple of strange parties where you are actually sitting in a strange office of a very creative screaming crowd. If you’re very unlucky, there will be vapes, a guitar and continuous chatter right in your room. Intelligent coworking guys are sitting as quietly as you are not particularly ready for startups - they work for the same companies, for example, my neighbors plow in Moscow, Israel and Germany.
This organization of labor causes a lot of problems. You don’t have a system administrator and you service all your equipment yourself: are there viruses, burned-out boards, dead mice, a broken chair, spilled tea and laptop on drying ... You don’t have colleagues who can be called for human help, which is sometimes really needed . Therefore, the autonomy is all on your shoulders: water, medicines, peripherals, paper, stationery and more. This is a trifle, though: just walk to the nearest store. But it takes time, and often nerves.
"Head and colleagues far - YEEESSS"
NO This is the most difficult and emotional moment. Let's point to no water.
- All communications pass with a slowdown (even in the presence of CRM, instant messengers, chats and a phone). If only because colleagues and management should take the time to communicate with you, and the remote employee is always psychologically at a lower priority.
- You do not participate in meetings and small rallies "on the run." On the one hand, this does not take time and you are already getting a squeeze, and on the other hand, you can not get this squeeze, some of the information is lost and transformed beyond recognition.
- Coordination of tasks is very problematic and requires an ideal business process. In general, only real heroes can embed a remote agent in the overall process - honor and praise to them. It is more logical to single out individual tasks and transfer them to “remote outsourcing”.
- In the event of conflicts, work problems and acute situations, the remote person is not a refuge, it is 90% inability to fully explain his position or situation, to put forward arguments. If it’s the messenger, it’s a trumpet: everyone reads your messages with their own intonation, and an innocent resentment or a half-joking rebuke turns into a thunderstorm.
- You're lonely. No matter how you are an introvert, there comes a moment of pure human loneliness - there is no one to turn around, turn to, no one to eat, drink tea, discuss work problems and tasks in an informal setting.
- You are completely cut off from the corporate culture, from the traditions of the company, colleagues (especially new ones) hardly perceive you as part of a team, and sometimes they don’t even consider you at all. You can love your work and company more than other employees, work responsibly, try, process, but always be a “cut off piece”. And at one point, taking it is simply unbearable. You are a stranger, and you can’t come to terms with this because you yourself associate yourself with the best company that you have trusted and that has partially trusted you.
And these aspects are the main ones, because it is communication, work itself and human relations that make up our normal working life. Something fell out - and that’s all, a feeling of emptiness and a hole somewhere where the soul should be.
About the pros
Of course, any coin has two sides, and the remote is no exception.
- Remote is a degree of freedom that you exchange for responsibility. If your employer is adequate and does not put time tracking on each gadget, you should value trust and reciprocate. But at the same time, you can safely listen to your favorite music or podcast in the background, go to any sites, switch between tasks in your own mode, and not in team mode (not always, but still).
- The remote is an opportunity to be a little healthier: take a walk around the office during the break, spend lunch on a secluded walk, etc.
- Remote computer is an opportunity to take a laptop and work without prejudice, simultaneously solving important urgent issues (for example, issuing foreign passports or examining in a hospital). Again, this is a conditional plus: nothing prevents you from doing the same in office work. Unless you infuriate nobody with absence.
- The little girl turns office visits into a holiday: in your or distant city (99.9% of the time far), you are always extremely happy to see your colleagues, you are waiting for a meeting with them, discussions, solving important issues, etc. My advice: get out more often, it’s a charge of inspiration and strength.
Of course, each has its own nuances. I wrote about the situation when you work from a Russian city. I could not work with the beaches in Thai or Nice, probably there is something in it, but I can hardly believe it. It’s unrealistic to work and relax without nerves as fashion bloggers and remote workers of intergalactic corporations write.
I also cannot say if I am ready to return to the office. More precisely, even until I’m ready - I love my job. But I do not have enough people, a sense of ownership and integrity with the company, some kind of this special office friendship. At some point, you grow up to be a professional, but you understand that this, human, cannot be replaced with anything. However, this is subjective.
And how do you live, brothers and sisters from a distance? (Please do not worry freelancers).
UPD Attention! Be sure to read the comments - they are cool, they have a lot of useful life hacks and valuable experience. Thanks to all the commentators!