Remote working looks like an exciting life in pyjamas! Since WordCamp Pune has a lot of remote workers involved with it in various roles, we got six of them to give us some insight into the whole work-from-home scenario. We asked all six the same questions:
How important is remote-working and why?
Joe Working remotely is one of my highest priorities when considering work.
First, the freedom is incredible. With remote work I can travel and see the world and my family and friends while continuing to work. It helps me clock quite a few hours a week and still feel like I’m always on vacation.
Second, this allows me to take advantage of exchange rates and differences in cost of living to get more out of my paycheck. This is a free earnings multiplier that affords me a lifestyle out of reach if I were to be living in the places where my employers are based.
Finally, you’re no longer limited to your local job market. You can apply for and seek jobs in countries all over the world, even piecing together part time work from different continents.
Sudar Remote working has become an integral part of my life and is very important for me. Remote working gives me the freedom to choose where, when and how I work.
Akshay Personally, remote working provides all the necessary flexibility to organize work based on your priorities. Other benefit of a remote organization as compared to traditional brick and mortar offices is cross timezone availability. We are a global team of 3-4 people across contrasting timezones and hence at are able to complement each other’s availability very well working remotely. This is quite difficult to achieve otherwise.
Umesh No more commuting in early morning traffic, better Pay Scale, more work responsibility, flexible work hours which further leads to better productivity, flexible leave policy.
Joshua Remote working is great. It gives you control over your work schedule, the way you work, and the environment that you work in.
Harshad Where you are located is of little importance in today’s connected workplace as long as you fit into the overall scheme of things at the company and contribute effectively to the brand’s growth.
It’s always been a dream of mine to set my own schedule, and working from home gives me the perfect opportunity to do just that. The only commute I worry about is the small walk from my bed to the computer desk and I consider that to be awesome. Your home is powerful in the fact that it’s a familiar place where you can shut the door and really focus. Also, working from home gives you the opportunity to step away and clear your mind with other activities when necessary. Just don’t get distracted!
What is the most important benefit of a remote job according to you?
Joe My answer to the last question covers this, I guess.
Sudar The single most important benefit for me is that I get to spent more time with my family, especially with my 2 year old son. Apart from that I don’t have to waste time in traffic and “wear pants” 😉
Akshay Same as the last answer of mine.
Umesh I can pursue my hobbies, as the work time is flexible. Like, I’ve been going for hiking, more frequently and I plan to indulge more in it.
Joshua It allows you to do things you love, more often, without the need to take a break from work. This keeps you a lot more happier and in turn makes you a lot more productive.
Harshad I highly recommend working remotely; it gives you so much freedom to manage your time. It doesn’t just offer benefits, you earn more money than in your country, you manage your time efficiently, you save money, and the most important of all, you get to spend time with your loved ones.
Is it difficult to switch from a regular workplace to a remote workplace?
Joe The hard part is developing a routine and to finding a place conducive to productivity. Everyone is different – for me, I love working in cafes. I can’t work effectively at home and I dislike coworking spaces. I know others who work remotely that prefer working from home or coworking spaces.
The key is to experiment and find what works for you.
Sudar In the beginning it may be slightly difficult, especially when people might assume that you are free when you are at home. But once you set the proper expectations with your family and people around, it would become easy. Also once you are used to remote working it is like taking the “red pill”. There is no going back 🙂
Akshay I would not be able to comment on this as I part time remote along with my regular job. Not really a major switch for me.
Umesh It isn’t. It does takes around a month or so, to get used to the work schedule, you don’t have to wake up early and get ready for office, and since you are not staying with family, you’ve to make food arrangements and there are few other needs, which you’ve to take care of.
But sooner, if the schedule is not strict, maintaining the flow gets tougher, specially if you are staying at same place 24 * 7 for work and everything else.
The most important need I feel personally is, you need to keep in touch with people you know already, and keep looking for ways to meet new people as there is no workplace anymore.
Keeping the pace and all things together is more important than the initial switch.
Joshua At first it does seem a bit difficult to stay focussed and disciplined, but eventually you get used to it and start enjoying the benefits it has to offer.
Harshad Once you decide to change the way you work and don’t go to an office anymore, you have to organize your time and activities carefully, If you organize your time and activities carefully, I don’t think it would be much difficult to fit yourself in the remote work model.
So it looks like, remote working has a couple of hiccups when you start out. Howver, if you focus a bit and get a hang of what works for you, remote working seems to be most attractive, lucrative option available! All six of them have described the freedom with such glee, we guess remoe working is an option you must consider! Catch hold of a remote worker at WordCamp Pune (there are way more of them than the six here) and find out if it can interest you!
Joe, Sudar, Akshay and Harshad are all speakers at WordCamp Pune, Joshua is both a speaker and an organiser and Umesh is an organiser. See the list of speakers and of organisers for a more detailed introduction.
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