In a blink of an eye, we are approaching the second half of 2023. Oh, how time goes by.
Before I knew it, I hit my first anniversary as a fully remote worker.
1 Year, 12 months, more or less 365 days at a new job. A year went by without me realizing it, and I still feel lost now and then.
New chapters are always exciting in the beginning, excruciating as you adjust, and tiring as you go on. A new year could mean another chapter, a subplot in this current one, or an alternate view of everything outside the main character’s perspective.
Although still coping with and am afraid of more on my plate in the next 6 months of 2023. Here are a few lessons I have learned 1 year into this new remote position:
1. From an office of 20-30 people: Remote work can get lonely
I admit, the small talk by the water cooler is not so bad after a year of no small talk and no pantry to hide. The office work set-up gives you countless opportunities to step away and hide from the job throughout the 8-hour workday.
You get up to make a coffee, get up to have a snack, get up to buy yourself lunch, get up to get coffee after lunch, and get up for another snack before your shift ends. Along the way, you say hi to Shirley at the register or drop by the storage area to exchange a few words with Cheryl as you look for your unit’s last cartridge allocation.
Working remotely, I only stand up when it is time to prepare food for lunch and when I have to walk my dog after completing all my morning tasks. I even have an alarm set to 11:45, a reminder to eat. If it were not for this, I would be working straight into 2 pm (this has happened on more than 2 occasions over the last year).
Unlike the office, the world of work is only you, your computer, and the clients you occasionally have to talk to. Rarely do I get on short informal huddles with workmates to casually rant about the day or discuss work dynamics.
Remote work is by no means boring without the other people. It is a full-time job with many parts moving too. There will be days too jam-packed to have time for office small talk anyway. But it does get lonely—my dog helps, don’t worry.
The solution, find other people you can work remotely with. Or, if you are like me, enjoy the solitude and work where you never thought possible. There are so many options out there.
2. Office work is like working with a flock. Remote work is working as a lone wolf.
In an office, we all work around 8 am to 6 pm. We all get there after breakfast or not, have lunch at about the same time, and all clock out at 30-minute intervals from each other.
Like a herd of sheep regularly flocking out of the pen to graze up a hill each morning, we all mindlessly wake up and join the morning rush to clock in on time.
Like clockwork, they spend each day eating breakfast together after clocking in, stepping out to their favorite karenderya for lunch, and clocking out to walk to their or toward their respective bus, taxi, or jeepney stop.
Breaking free from that cycle after 6 years, it’s crazy how much time you have in your hands Working flexible hours and from home, I can merely crawl out of bed, log in, and answer a few emails (from bed sometimes) and my 8-hour work day begins counting off.
Although not a good habit to work from bed, I do not need to catch up with everyone else for lunch break.
I can move my break to any time that best suits me. I can also step away earlier knowing I can complete tasks later that night without being reprimanded. Or knowing I have nothing left on my plate anyway.
Unlike a flock, I have command and control over how my day goes. What matters is I get the job done in time. I just have to learn to grant myself grace and not push past 8-hours of work even if there are other things on my plate.
3. Working from Anywhere could be a hoax but sometimes an absolute gem if you are lucky
It’s feeling like a 4-leaf clover to get the perfect balance here. But it is possible, and I am still looking for my 4-leaf clover in hectares and hectares of grass that I am still exploring.
There is still so much out there that I could not write this off as a myth. Of all the times I worked and traveled, it was not a walk in the park. The stress hits differently. You are not only worried about your travel itinerary but worried about internet connection, laptop battery life, and sometimes a place to sit and get deep work done.
As I said, I am still leaning into this aspect of remote work. I am still trying to properly juggle the demands of my company as I hit the road. This will be something that needs getting used to.
With my past failed experience, I have to better understand how to plan things weeks in advance, so I am not worried about internet connection and places where I need to fully concentrate on work.
Starting small, I will be more confident and ready as the years go by. Like other people in this company that regularly travel while they work, I too will have the peace, confidence, and experience to back up new adventures as often as I could.
4. There is no such thing as unlimited (paid) leaves
If I took a year off, I would get kicked out of the organization.
But working for an international organization has me working on local holidays even if I am on leave and taking breaks on days that are holidays for the customers. It has me working on vacation weeks, staying up later, and waking up earlier to accommodate special requests.
Of course, the company needs a workforce. You cannot take leave all you want. You are being paid to work anyway.
Since I still needed to work while I was supposed to be away, leaves have lost their impact on this organization. Something I miss from my last job.
Previously, I knew exactly what was on my plate. Ensuring everything gets done before I leave means nothing else will come in when I am away. Here, I have new issues and requests almost every day.
Although I do not carry over work from the day before, I catch up when I return from leave. Even if people step in, they are only placeholders. I will still need to get into the meat and bones of each concern and request.
Today, I am still learning how to make use of the best part of this benefit. Even if that means working a little when I am away. Sadly, taking a leave stressed me out more as a remote worker but maybe I am still figuring out how to make it work for me.
5. No Work Place is Perfect
No matter how promising it looks and how seemingly good the people are, there will always be politics, always be that one person who is power hungry, that one person who knows how to suck up to the right people, and that one person that sits pretty and gets paid as much or maybe more than you do.
Life is unfair. It will always be.
No boss is perfect, they may all mean well, but there are always hit-and-misses with everyone. Partners in the organization will clash and not see eye-to-eye. And there are some people who, no matter how hard you try, you cannot get along with.
On a positive note, this organization has been 100 times better than the last one I was in—with all the politics and blind devotion to the corporate ladder. But we all fall short.
I am not a perfect employee either, and others may hate how I work, too.
It takes time to brush aside personal irks and issues and remain professional. Even if people around me are imperfect, I am learning to give all I can and do honest good work. If I do my best and things still do not go my way down the road, then this may not be where I will grow in the long run. And I am alright with that.
We are meant to move around and grow in different circumstances. So when the environment, the job, or the heart doesn’t feel right, there is nothing wrong with letting go and moving on—even if it means you have to start again.
Busyzi 