What are the pros and cons of working fully remotely?

[dha302]

I'm in late 20s and started my first proper tech job around four months ago. I work fully remotely for a small pharmaceutical company with around 30 employees. I'm the only IT person and work as an independent contractor.

There are definitely benefits. I don't have to commute, I save money (quite underpaid but gaining expereonce) and have more flexibility. However, I'm finding it quite lonely at times. There's very little interaction with colleagues, no real work events or social activities, and some days I finish my tasks and have very little else to do. I don't have anyone to talk beside family, since my buddies moved away and have other commitments (married, busy at career, etc).

I'm single and still living at home, so working remotely can sometimes make life feel repetitive. I'm grateful to have the job, especially after struggling to get my foot in the door, but I feel like I'm missing out on the social side of working life and opportunities to learn from colleagues.

For those who work remotely, do you enjoy it long-term? Do you ever feel isolated? If you work remotely but have recently moved to a hybrid arrangement, how has that change affected you? Would you recommend hybrid work instead, especially for someone starting their career?

I worked remotely over Covid but now it’s hybrid with 2 days in the office.

I do prefer hybrid. It’s good to see colleagues in person & there’s often the chance to have a useful chat with someone. I definitely wouldn’t want to go back to 5 days in the office, though.

Having said that, 5 days in office was the only realistic option for me back when I was lodging in a house with bad WiFi so it does depend a lot.

Edited to add that IMO it’s really important to get out of the house for a bit on WFH days, even if you just go for a run round the block.

I’ve worked remotely for the previous 5 years but then I moved jobs & went back to an office. I hate it. I don’t particularly want to be sociable & I very much liked being away from the office environment. I’m older than you so perhaps don’t feel the need for social connections as much. You don’t have to stay in your current role forever, just enough time to get some experience that will make you more desirable to other employers.

I’m the opposite to @MildlyAnnoyedIf I had to choose between fully remote and fully in the office I would choose being in the office. I am also older than you but working remotely over Covid was definitely not good for me. I have a role that requires building relationships but even aside from that, I like being around people.
Edited to add: I currently work hybrid, with 3 days in the office, and that’s a good balance.

I wfh and can find it lonely (live with DH and teen DCs), I now go into the office once every couple of weeks (helps but I am less productive that day).

I also worked hard to build relationships with colleagues and have a couple of people I can have a bit of a chat with (over teams). We are on teams a lot, which used to annoy me but actually helps.

I try and leave the house every day, even for a short walk.

Would love to have an separate room/office that I can shut the door on in the evenings.

I would not work fully in the office again, but hybrid would probably be the best option.

I was going to say loneliness. I'm not that sociable and happily work in the office all day without actually talking to anyone but do like the chatter around me. And if anyone is in from my team those quick questions about work are so much easier face to face.

Some advice from an oldie..... Work friends are not friends. Clock off and spend that commute time on an exercise class, art class, walking the dog ..... walking meet up.... something that brings you joy and other people.

I think in person work is good when you're young however it really is rare to find proper friends at work. I've had a handful in my life.

I wfh three days a week. I dislike being in the office now. I have an hour's commute and parking charges so it costs me going in. I find the office noisy and far more difficult to work in. Pre Covid, we had a huge office (we are a newsroom) and now we have a tiny space so far, far, far less room. Consequently not many people go in. However, I am in my 50s. When I started work 30 years ago the office was my main social interaction. My best friends now are still from that period. We socialised out of work all the time. Times have changed and not necessarily for the better. I learned so much from being in the office with colleagues 30 years ago. I doubt I would the learn the same in these times. I feel sorry for new starters now. It's like chalk and cheese.

I absolutely disagree with this. I have met loads of friends at work. I’ve been to their weddings, christenings, been on holiday with them. I don’t work with any of them anymore, but we are still really close (haven’t worked with them for over 10yrs, some over 15yrs).

When I was in my 20s and 30s, I used to have great times with work friends (as well as my non-work friends). We really helped each other out too at work.

In my early 40s I wfh full time. It was easier as I had a baby and enjoyed the flexibility, but I missed the social aspect. I’m now back in the office full time and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve learnt so much from these people and I like the incidental conversations where you find out what’s going on and can quickly solve problems. I also love the camaraderie and feeling like a team.

I’d happily work remotely full time. I’m allowed one day work from home. I really struggle getting up at 5.30am, then commuting 90 mins there and 90 mins back to do exactly what I could do from home.

There are colleagues I like at work, but only a handful I’d actively choose to keep in touch with or see after/outside of work.

I’m much less productive in the office than I am at home. There are so many distractions. Sometimes, I’m the only person in out of my team as we can pick our remote day or they are all out and about.

If I worked from home full time, I’d be able to go to the gym more, cook more, take up some more hobbies etc.

I love hybrid working now, but at the start of my career I would have hated it!

I used to love dressing smartly, socialising at work, Friday drinks etc. I'd have been thoroughly depressed being at home all the time
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Now as a busy working Mum some WFH is helpful so I can throw a load in the machine, flex off for an early finish to get the dc from school etc, but I'm at a different stage to you.

The role doesn't sound to have a huge amount of profession either? Is there anywhere more vibrant you could apply to?

I fucking love WFH. Your job sounds like my dream, OP.

I did have more social times when I was at work when I was younger but they were fairly superficial friendships mostly. Didn't last when I changed jobs. Some have lasted but a small amount.

Probably depends on the field you're in to an extent.

I'm glad that's not been your experience.

I suppose I'm just saying don't look towards work as being the only way of having friends and a social life. There's other ways and perhaps better ways.

If this is only a contract maybe a hybrid role would be better in the future. I do think it's good to get out of the house!

I work from home remotely full time and have done for about seven years. I used to commute about two and a half hours a day, so it’s a big time saving. I really like it. It’s a full on, stressful job with no downtime at all, so I like no t having a commute on top of that. It is quite lonely though. We don’t have meetings, so you rarely get to even talk to another person all day.

I absolutely love it, although I do loads of online meetings and probably see people face to face on average once a week for two or three hours.

However I am in my sixties and have zero interest in progressing before retirement in a couple of years. I don’t need to network, and am a total introvert so it’s perfect for me.

From a career progression point of view, I do think WFH hinders things at least in some roles. You miss out on so many opportunities to have conversations with people working either above you or at the same grade in a different area, harder to build connections which can help both with learning & development but also with getting a foot in for promotions, knowing the right people etc.

We are hybrid now 60% WFH but in practice because everybody does different office days & even when in the office because not everybody is in a lot of people spend 90% of their office days with their headset on for calls, you still don’t get the full benefit of being in the office. I feel really sorry for the people who we hire now into the entry level roles because I can see how much more difficult progression and promotion is for them to achieve.

When I started, which wasn’t actually long ago it was just a couple of years before Covid, I was able to get promoted 3 times in the space of 12 months and that was largely because I was sat in the office every day alongside my manager, the senior lead for another team and colleagues who were working at higher levels than me. It was easy to just ask them a question, chat to them, get some support, throw my name in the ring if they ever needed some work covered or helped on (which I could then use in promotion applications to show I was capable of doing the higher level of work), shadow colleagues or management to get some indirect experience, it was so so much easier to get promoted then because the opportunities were literally an arms reach away.

I wfh once a week so my son can skip breakfast club one day.
I don’t like it but I appreciate that it’s available. I can get house chores done during my lunch.
During covid I hated that you couldn’t keep work and home life separate.

I much prefer to be in the office. I’m more productive and in “work mode”
It’s much easier to interact with colleagues and learn, advise in person etc than over a video call.
Also, i’d rather use work’s electric than my own!

My job is fully remote, but I was born in the 1970s, so I’m not interested in socialising with work colleagues, learning from older mentors, or climbing the ladder. I also am at an age where I own a home with my own dedicated office space.
Pros:

• no commute costs
• get out of bed 60 minutes before my first call
• savings on work clothes
• log out at 5pm and I’m downstairs cooking dinner

Cons:

• boring
• lonely

At your age though, you need to be networking and learning from older colleagues.