Working from home

[Dell12345]

hi all,

I've been really struggling with the whole work from home thing. I struggle with depression and anxiety anyway, but it has been much worse over the last couple of years.

The company I work for adopted 'hybrid working' but this has basically become defacto work from home all the time. We work in distributed teams with others around the country, so there are only a few people based at the same office in the same project team, so few people go to their offices.

I'm finding it really hard being on my own working all the time, and am really considering leaving to do something else.

Are other people struggling with this?

[Forgetmenots1]

Hello, I can’t relate to working from home but I’d like to validate your feelings of anxiety and can say I know what it’s like to be consumed by anxiety do to the work place, toxic work environment or just a work setting that doesn’t work. It’s not a good feeling because jobs take ups large percentage of our time and when it’s the cause of stress or anxiety on a daily basis it can feel like your drowning in anxiety or having a panic attack constantly. I thinks it’s okay to consider a change of job or company if your job is getting you to that state of living in anxiety. And it can definitely be liberating if pursued. I did it when I was in my toxic work in environment because I lived with that level of anxiety and drowning in it. I was so anxious I was becoming paranoid and having panic attacks on a daily even in my time off over work. I left and never looked back it was definitely a game changer!

[AnxiousSilver]

"I'm finding it really hard being on my own working all the time, and am really considering leaving to do something else.

Are other people struggling with this? "

For many people they "want" to work from home. (but I also realize that not everybody is the same)

My question to you is simply, are you missing the "office environment" or do you feel that it's harder to get projects done when working remotely?

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(Possible) Suggestions incoming:

Would it help if you went to a library or coffee shop everyday? That way you would have people (AKA more human contact) and also more of a routine.

& Would your company allow that? (for online security reasons)

[Dell12345 in reply to AnxiousSilver]

Thanks for the response. I understand that working from home for many people is great, especially those with children, pets, or other responsibilities. And I think it's great that many companies allow it now.

However it's not for me, as I miss the human contact mainly, but also the routine / separation between work and home.

I have learned to work around the initial difficulties of communication and am efficient in my work, so it's not that that is really a problem. I get very good feedback and have even had good pay rises.

Sadly I cant work from coffee shops or co-working areas as some of the work I do is confidential. I had been really looking into this before the company issued guidance against it.

[AnxiousSilver in reply to Dell12345]

"However it's not for me, as I miss the human contact mainly, but also the routine / separation between work and home."

I get it.

Just wondering where you were coming from. (and kinda had a feeling that was the reason)

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"Sadly I cant work from coffee shops or co-working areas as some of the work I do is confidential. I had been really looking into this before the company issued guidance against it. "

One of my previous jobs was working in IT for a Fortune 500 company.

If security is done correctly, working from ANYWHERE isn't an issue, if the security and login is set up properly.

But then again, not every company is a Fortune 500 company. (plus that does cost a lot to maintain)

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Either way.. I was just trying to throw suggestions out on the table, and I hope that whether you stay or leave, that everything works out for you.

[Dell12345 in reply to AnxiousSilver]

Thanks very much, I appreciate it 🙂

[Blueruth in reply to AnxiousSilver]

2nd security. Pretty absurd really… I had a client who insisted I use their hardware. They shipped me a computer for an 8 week project that is 100% in the cloud.

[Dell12345 in reply to Blueruth]

It is absurd really, I guess it's about people seeing what's on your screen.

[AnxiousSilver in reply to Blueruth]

"I had a client who insisted I use their hardware. They shipped me a computer for an 8 week project that is 100% in the cloud."

I get it. It's probably a cheaper and temp solution to do it that way.

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Overall.

Working remotely "safely" really isn't as difficult as some people think.

But doing things "100% in the cloud" has its pros and cons as well. (I wouldn't suggest a system that's 100% in the cloud)

(IMO) The best way to go for most people is a hybrid system (especially from what I've seen from prev employers), with a backup plan in case something goes wrong.

[Blueruth in reply to AnxiousSilver]

The military uses the cloud. No small company should be on premises if they have data to secure. You’d have to work hard to convince me to go on premise even when talking about PII or other sensitive data…arguably especially. Bonus… the cloud allows you to choose your operating system. The big three are all represented at the company I work. That would be impossible if we were a Microsoft shop which is why I got away from that universe. Dependencies on single companies is risky imo.

“(IMO) The best way to go for most people is a hybrid system”

I really think it depends and what that looks like varies. IBM is actually ahead of many companies in this regard. You go in for group meetings or events. Maybe you schedule a day of in person interaction. Then people can fly in. That’s actually what we do but we are way too small to have an office anyway. The biggest problem imo is employers never learn to ask employees what would work.

One new trend that I think works really well but I’m still getting used to is Loom videos. You make a five minute clip explaining or demo’ing instead of always scheduling a meeting. Then you discuss it in text or a huddle after they have watched *on their own schedule *. It saves so much time! I say um too much 😶

Ezra Klein recently did a podcast on this topic you may find interesting. I’m excited to where this goes.

[Dell12345 in reply to Blueruth]

Interesting stuff, thanks!

[Blueruth in reply to AnxiousSilver]

Off to start a new conversation in slack!

[Blueruth]

Honestly it could be exciting to change careers.

More broadly…This whole work shift to remote is really new. Nobody knows where it is headed. It is very likely to change. In the meantime you feedback would probably be welcome. I have heard stories of hybrid environments that work well. Company is ignorant if they are telling you no to a coworking space though.

Personally… I have been remote for years. There are many tips out there. I suggest creating a schedule for yourself to add structure. Include scheduled breaks and go for a walk. Listen to focus music. Also, chat with work buddies. Even though we are remote we still chat throughout the day. Instead of an email ask to talk on the phone.

[Dell12345 in reply to Blueruth]

Thanks, I appreciate your tips. Do you have family around / in the house while you are working?

On the days my family is around I don't mind working from home. It's the days that I'm there by my self all day and don't have many meetings that I find hard.

[Blueruth in reply to Dell12345]

I have a cat who has to meow right when I am on a conference! I am otherwise alone. I had a coworking subs but after covid I don't use it as much. Last week I was at my cousins working for a little bit but I moved to a different room because it was too distracting.

We focus most of the day but we also have a collaborative team and clients that will get on a slack huddle at a moments notice instead of scheduling a formal meeting. That might be a good thing to normalize. Even at an old job there were 3 of us doing different things from different states for the same client and we used to have crazy text threads throughout the day just to stay engaged. You just have to be careful about getting too distracted. That's why text is good. There isn't an expectation of an immediate reply like with a phone call.

Also, have you brought this up to coworkers? Some will feel the same way, some won't. Either way you can open up the door to more casual conversations.