Welcome Wednesday: Remote Work vs Return to Office

[#1]

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Recently, I shared my thoughts about the idea of returning to the office. As you can see, I have my reservations, but as with everything, I will reserve judgement until all the cards are on the table. I’m know that a number of you are probably already back to the office and a number of you are still working remotely.

So, I have a three part question for you this week:

1. What is your current work setup? In Office | Hybrid | Remote

2. Is this your preferred way to work? Yes | No

3. Why?

I’ll kick things off:

I’m currently working remotely, but should I need to go into the office, I’ll be in a hybrid setup.

I would very much prefer to stay working 100% remotely.

The main reasons for this is because I will have a 40 minute commute to the office which would leave my wife 100% responsible for the kids in the morning (in fact I would need to leave the house before they are even awake). Should there be an issue during the day, I’m not in a great position to be able to come pick up the kids from school/daycare. Finally, I will need to leave quite early in the afternoon to pickup the kids, which would limit the overall amount of in person collaboration time I’m actually available for.

I’d love to hear about your own work situation in the comments below.

Have a great rest of the week!

[Jack Brickey]

Confused...why did "welcome Wednesday" post on Monday? This is Monday is it not? 🙋

maybe a scheduled post issue?

Oh well...

1. retired so working remote
2. somedays yes some days no
3. i worked in the office for 95% of my career. I really enjoyed working with people and feel F2F brings an energy that cannot be replaced/achieved in a pure remote environment. I do think a blend would be great. Allowing team members to work remote when they enter the focused "production" phase of work is good. I like F2F during brainstorming and design phases is best.

[Amanda Barber]

Ohhh how I wish it were Wednesday! ;) 

I work for a fully remote company. I prefer this currently - it works really well for our family. When I was a teacher, it was much harder for me to pick up my kids from school due to illness, etc. unless it was summer when I was off with them. Now, I'm able to be there for my kiddos as needed - and take time for myself if necessary (which almost never happened when I was teaching!)

To be clear though, I've never really worked in an office setting since teaching is really a different vibe than an office. I don't think I'd particularly enjoy commuting - although there are times I miss listening to podcasts/catching up on the news during the drives to work! 

[Joanna Weber]

1. I'm technically fully remote but go into the office about once every six weeks.

2. Yes, this is just about perfect for me. Much as I enjoy spending time with my colleagues, I live 2-3 hours away from the office, and my colleagues live even farther away.

3. Aside from the inconvenience/geographical distance factor (my line manager and direct team-mates live in 3 different countries!), having to travel to arrive in a bright, noisy office (ugh!) to arrive on time (no!) in order to sit in silence (eek!) to concentrate enough to get anything done ... just no.

I worked in an office prior to the pandemic and for the preceding few years I developed the habit of hiding in a cupboard with my laptop for hours at a time. Now I travel in very occasionally and effectively write the day off whenever I do - I'm there for social connections, but I'll do my actual work at home.

[Randy O_Neal]

Currently working a Hybrid schedule - in the office 2 days, home 3 days.  My preference - and the overwhelming preference of my teams - is to remain that way... but out company is going to force our hands to max 1 day remote/4 days office later this year.  My main objection is both teams which I manage are not co-located, so no matter if we went to 100% in office, we will still have 30% of my teams which are "remote" for all intents and purposes; they will not be fully co-located teams.  To me, that deflates the entire argument of forcing us to return to the office = restoring face-to-face operations; it simply doesn't.

Granted, with 30% in another office, that means 70% of us will be face-to-face... but it adds commute time for us all, it re-complicates the lives of our team members who have young children who now must re-establish child care, and it changes the paradigm from "start work around 8, finish work around 5 or 6 or 7" to "get to work by 9, hit the road by 5".  We are going to see fewer work hours, less productivity, and more regimented time being worked.  Labor laws dictate a 15-minute break morning and afternoon, and a minimum 30 minutes for lunch... which is completely ignored when you're working from home v/s strictly adhered to when you're working in the office.

It certainly feels to me like people who have no concept of the benefits of working from home are quite literally throwing the baby out with the bathwater/slaying the goose which lays the golden eggs.  I guess time will tell...

[Carlos Garcia Navarro]

Oooh, I knew this question was eventually coming!

1) I started working 100% remote about 5 months ago.

2) Depending on the day, sometimes I prefer it, but there are days when I wish I had the option to go to an office (there is none close to where I live).

3) I really  like the convenience of working remotely and as I appreciate that there is no commute and the flexibility to run errands or to help with the kids or the house when needed. That said I miss people! I know I can meet with friends after work.... but I believe that the connections that are also needed for successful professional interactions cannot happen without the face to face time. Trust only happens when people spend time together, and 100% remote make it harder. I read somewhere that trust cannot happen until people can look directly into the eyers, which can't happen when using video technologies.

[Rae Foote]

1. Hybrid! I go into the office Tu-Th and WFH Monday and Friday.

2. Absolutely!

3. Transparently, it gives me time to catch up on the "life" part of my work/life balance. I'm pretty social on weekends, so I was having a hard time figuring out how to make time to do the day-to-day upkeep living alone requires. Usually, on WFH days, I can work while doing laundry. In between meetings I can clean up the house a bit, get some grocery shopping done on my lunch break, and reset. I get the social aspect Tu-Th which is really nice, but I like having the alone time as well! 

[Neghena drawio Diagrams]

Oh! My favorite question.

I currently work remote and have been since 2020. On some days, it is my preferred way to work as it gives me so much flexibility and I save time from commuting. I remember commuting 3 hours a day and struggling to cook and have a social life after work. It was tiring.

Sometimes I do miss the social aspect with co-workers.I think collaboration and team work is strengthened through in person.

However, if it was between going to an office or working from home, I chose WFH each time. I appreciate quarterly meet ups and trips to the office once in a while.

[Trudy Claspill]

1. What is your current work setup? Fully remote

2. Is this your preferred way to work? Meh - no

3. Why?
   I miss the in person interaction with people in the office.  I have always been fortunate to have relatively short commutes (depending on whether I drove or took public transportation). I definitely would not want to work in an office if that meant a commute of more than 30 minutes!
   With my current employer the entire company is remote and there are, technically, no central offices. There are a half-a-dozen or so people in my geographic area, and we did get together once last year for a potluck. I really enjoyed getting to be in person with them.

[Bert van Dijk _TMC_nl_]

1. Hybrid, but 80% @home

2. Yes, definitely.

3. Ideal to combine with a family life.

[Teodora V _Fun Inc_]

Because I'm pretty pedantic, I will answer this on Wednesday 🤓

I never thought of going remote until the big stay-at-home era (like many of you). I never had a good working setup at home nor the desire to have it.

But it's been a wild ride since 2019. I moved to a new home, changed my company and went from 100% office to 100% remote which left me no choice than embracing it.

1. What is your current work setup? 
   Fully remote with a nice working corner where I created my batcave.
   
   

2. Is this your preferred way to work?
   Me from 2019 would say "Never", but me now considers it very convenient. I structured my life to fit the remote work and it allowed me to enjoy longer gym sessions in the mornings and life changes such as getting a dog! (something that would never happen if I am glued to a work location)
   
   

3. Why?
   For the above reasons and the ability to work with people all around the world. I am not trading my current team for a fortune and I feel them even closer than if they were next to me at the office. 

[Amanda Culver]

What is your current work setup? 

Currently (sneakily) WFH.  Work is 100% office based but as I'm averaging a new desk/site/location every month, I was feeling a lil unsettled so started WFH - AND NO-ONE NOTICED. 

Is this your preferred way to work? 

Ummmm.  Actually, no.  

Why?

I'm a people person. I gain value out of sharing with the team and having them hone my ideas to best fit the purpose.

[Summer Hogan]

Good questions @Jimmy Seddon and I didn't see this post till today so for me I guess it is Welcome Wednesday! 

1. What is your current work setup? Fully Remote and have a dedicated office space that is full of the things I love! 

2. Is this your preferred way to work? Yes, but only about 85% of the time

3. Why? Remote is definitely my preferred way to work, but there are pros and cons.
   The Pros: I live 50 miles from the closest AAA office and that is a 100 mile commute a day for me. I'm glad I don't have to do that on a daily basis. Secondly, I like the private environment in which I get to work. I don't think after being 100% remote for over 4 years now I could go back to an office environment. I do have the luxury of going into the office once in a while for large events and at that time I get to see all my co-workers. I'll be going into the office for 3 days for PI Planning in Oct so I got a hotel close to the office so I only have to do the drive once. 
   The Cons: I don't get to interact with a lot of people I work with very often and I miss that. Also, working from home is also sometimes a very lonely experience. And lastly, I miss the social events that would occur during work hours and after work hours. At one company I worked out, we had a team lunch every month and at many companies I've worked at we would have non-corporate happy hours. 

[Ryan]

Personally I prefer Office based working, I have the perk of living local to my office, and my role requires constant interaction with other office based team members.

[Halina Cudakiewicz_Deviniti_]

I work fully remotely now and I like it like that. I love the convenience of it, but sometimes I miss the interaction with team members.

[Svenja Lorenzen]

1. What is your current work setup? 

My contract says I can work full remote but I enjoy the hybrid schedule. I try to be in the office 1-2 days a week, depending on meetings and work load. Sometimes I am also less often in the office this is because I have to commute to work. When everything goes as planned I need about 40 minutes, but if my train is delayed, it may take longer (60-90 minutes). If I have a a lot going on I stay home to make better use of the time.

2. Is this your preferred way to work?

Yes! Every time I'm in the office I enjoy the time with my colleagues and the in person interaction. When I'm having a full day or need some more peace to work in a concentrated manner I like to stay at home. 

Sometimes I wish going to the office wouldn't take me that long so I can decide more spontaneously, but it's alright.

3. Why?

I feel like the hybrid schedule is giving me the best of both worlds. I can interact with my colleagues in person once or twice a week, but also I enjoy the advantages of working remotely (less disturbances, self-selected environment, comfortable clothes, etc.). 

[Benjamin]

Remote.

Yes but would like to be able to go to an office once a month or quarter.

I definitely prefer working remotely but would like to have an option to come in to meet colleagues for lunch or team building activities. 

[Andy Gladstone]

1. What is your current work setup? 
   Hybrid. M-TH in the office with a 1.25 hour commute each way via a combination of walking one mile (to the train), train and CitiBike from the train to the office. The commute used to be shorter since I drove to the train station but in the past 2 months started walking for both physical and mental health purposes. Fridays I work from home. In the late spring/summer/early autumn I work as many hours as I can from my front porch to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. In the late autumn/winter/early spring I either start the day from a local coffee shop with a latte and laptop or from my home office. I have a pretty good home office setup, which is almost an exact mirror of my physical office setup - but know that sitting inside my house all day can make me a bit stir crazy.

2. Is this your preferred way to work?
   Yes.

3. Why?
   Although I am scheduled to work a 4+1 week, in truth we are pretty flexible and I can work from home as often as necessary. When working in the office I open my laptop on the train and usually catch up on overnight emails and Atlassian Community posts and content. If I know that there is a day that I will spend on Zoom with my office door closed, I'll work from home to save the time and money and mental and physical energy. I do like the days that I have more freedom in my schedule in the office to create interactions with team members such as in person meetings (Zoom fatigue) and just catching up with a lot of the company employees on the floor. 

[Muhammad Akram Sharifi]

Like everyone's post here. full remote go to office as if needed. 

[Jean-François Bernier]

1. Fully remote, we do not have an office
2. For sure, I choose this company for that reason.
3. It' really a matter of family life. Managing daycare, time on the road and the flexibility it gives me.

[Kate Baranda]

Working remote and loving it. Mostly because I get to still spend quality time with my loved ones while working :)

[Randy O_Neal]

Our current setup is hybrid.  My teams are spread across two locations separated by ~70 miles.  None of our teams are co-located.  To be honest, even when we're back in the office, we're still sort of going to be working hybrid due to our teams not being co-located.  All of this changes here in ~2 weeks; the company has asked us to return to the office with 1 day WFH max per week.

Working a hybrid schedule makes the most sense to me, and it is by far my preferred method of working.  Here's why:

Pre-Covid, we had a tendency for our team members in one location or the other to feel either "in the know" or "left out" due to hallway conversations.  The very nature of hallway conversations is that - quite often - critical tidbits of information and decisions are communicated to everyone privy to the hallway conversations... but these tidbits of truth often do not make it over to the team members in the other office.  We also have all our execs in one office and the other office often feels both left out of critical discussions or left in the dark over critical hallway conversations/decisions.

The result of having everyone mostly remote is our fallback communication methods rely heavily upon chat tools and/or remote meeting tools (we use Teams and Slack).  But when we're all in the office, we wind up in this awkward "us v/s them" situation where one office or the other feels left out of decision-making and information dissemination.

To be honest, we've been remote for so long now, it will be interesting to see how long it takes for those old habits and old feelings to creep back into our daily lives.