Do you prefer working remotely or on-site? What are the pros/cons of both for you?

Question

Hat Johnson · Accepted Answer

I like a mix.

Remotely:
Pros:
-no commute.
-can use your own kitchen to cook good meals, rather than reheat food from the night before.
-no one steals your food from the fridge
-no dirty washing in the sink
-own bathroom
-peace and quiet to think
-get to hang out with my dog
-can take breaks when needed 
-can work super flexible hours

Cons:
-can sometimes get distracted. A bit too easily.

On-site:
Pros:
-can bounce ideas of people in the moment
-social

Cons:
-the commute
-office politics

Thomas · Answer

Remote
Pros: 
1. No traffic
2. Work in comfortable clothing, or none at all if that's your thing
3. No distractions from other coworkers

Cons:
1. No human interaction
2. Entirely possible you don't leave your house for 2 days

On-site
Pros: 
1. Easier collaboration with a team

Cons:
1. Tons of face to face meetings
2. Traffic
3. Generally feeling like you're paid to occupy a seat instead of perform actual work

Teekay Rezeau-Merah · Answer

On-site ? What's that ?

Jokes aside, remote work is the only way in my line of work. Here are the Pros and Cons of both

Pros of remote work:

- No commuting, that means less time to waste traveling somewhere where you're going to sit uncomfortably for the next 8 to 9 hours
- Better focus: no more colleagues who barge in on you while you're working
- Better sleep: because you can gain up to an hour of sleep by working from home, you'll feel more rested and therefor more energized when you actually get going
- Decreased costs: some may bike to work (and hope your bike doesn't get stolen), but many still rely on public transportation and their own vehicles to go to work. 
- More office space: blackboards, bigger office, more screens, you can have it all in the comfort of your home 
- Independence: freedom to take breaks whenever you want long as you finish the tasks at hand
- Doing actual work 
- Homecooked meals
- Better for the environment (and less traffic)

Cons of remote work:
None

Pros of onsite work:
None

Cons of onsite work:

- Commuting 
- Less focus
- Catching your neighbor's flu/whatever sickness he has
- Feeling less motivated to get out of bed cause you don't always get along with the people in your office space
- Uncomfortable office space and/or materials 
- Having to bear the chatter of your colleagues, esp. in open spaces 
- No freedom to take breaks as you please cause the boss's watching
- Toxic work culture 
- Office attire

Ryan Hoover · Answer

I definitely prefer working remotely (I won't ever go back to an office job if I can help it), but it comes with challenges: https://medium.com/@rrhoover/the-problems-in-remote-working-1a6f165585d

Laura Vasquez · Answer

@rrhoover So true! I read your blog post and resonated with many of the points you mentioned. But I don't think I'd like to go back to an office job either!

Laura Vasquez · Answer

@lindsay_fuce I love all of your points! And yes, a remote job that requires you to go to the office once or twice a week sounds good!

Laura Vasquez · Answer

@tl__robinson I see your point! I sometimes miss the morning routine of getting up really early, taking a hot shower, having breakfast, getting dressed, and going to work at my office desk. But I think I'm so used to working from home now that that would seem a bit monotonous!

TL Robinson · Answer

After working remotely for the past several months, I definitely prefer working on-site. Although I get more work done at home, I miss the ceremony of getting ready in the morning and connecting with people in person. Side note: It's much easier to gain weight while working at home and consistently wearing comfortable clothes.

Hat Johnson · Answer

@laura_vasquez95 It's a great way of getting the housework done that's for sure. I'm struggling with the design of something today, so I've done quite a bit of cleaning.

Renia Rigopoulou · Answer

Hey there- I started working remotely last June as head of product management. It has been quite an interesting experience so far with lots of ups and downs.

BAD NEWS FIRST: THE REASONS FOR NOT WORKING REMOTELY
- Loneliness. You might definitely feel disconnected from the company sometimes.  Personally, moving from an office of 2k people to working from home and being by myself, it was a huge change. One of the most recommended way to fight this is to work in co-working spaces or quite coffee shops.
- When u work from home, being responsive on the chat is the same as being on time at work in an office: it gives an image of reliability. If you do not really want to give the impression that you are taking a lot of breaks, you might find yourself checking your notifications a lot while taking lunch for example, while if people had seen you working the whole morning, you would not feel the need to be so responsive. 
- in remote working, since people are not seeing you work, you feel that you should show results every day|
- Working at home does not leave you time to cool off while coming back home from work.

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, SOME OF BENEFITS OF REMOTE WORKING

- Remote workers are more productive. When working remotely, you dont get distracted as often and if your prioritisations skills are good, then you definitely get lot of more work done.

- Not having to commute can improve your quality of life. Not needing to commute and significantly reducing your travel costs can lead to an increase in real income.

- You also eat better, making your own meals at home.

- Your work life balance can be greatly improved. Exercising, Spending time with family and friends.

- Your stress can be greatly reduced

I hope that's helpful :)

Lindsay Fuce · Answer

Pro's of remote work: 
- instead of commuting I work out in the morning
- instead of spending money on lunch, I make my own 
- instead of simply keeping myself busy when I have an off day, I structure my own time and get way more done in return 
- instead of going to happy hour with colleagues that I really have just work in common with, I've built relationships with other remote workers who are real, true friends.
- other pro's: better work environment, no dress code, v close to my kitchen at most times, peaceful atmosphere, no ones rushing around frantically, can go on walks to break up my day, can work from different co-working spaces, or cafes, etc.

Con's: Not many, aside from the fact that I am extroverted and can find myself lonely every once in a while. But that is easily fixed by surrounding oneself with friends or other remote workers. Oh, I can also get distracted easily, but discipline is necessary for any remote worker.

I love working remotely, but I wouldn't mind if a job required me to go in-house once a week or maybe even twice in the future. That said, I don't think I could ever do more than that.

Laura Vasquez · Answer

@teekay A lot of people choose to go to work even if they're really sick and I think that's pretty selfish to their coworkers (if they can easily get a valid medical excuse)! Definitely agree on that con

Laura Vasquez · Answer

@hatbaggins I too sometimes get distracted when working remotely! But I agree that's about the only con from working remotely.

Devanand Premkumar · Answer

@hatbaggins @laura_vasquez95 Question is how can we avoid this distraction while working remotely.?

Devanand Premkumar · Answer

@hatbaggins Bouncing ideas of people would be a highly beneficial one, if you are in creative or problem solving situations. Also it is said that two brains are always better than a single brain :D

Do you prefer working remotely or on-site? What are the pros/cons of both for you?

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