Remote work, or "telework" in Japanese, is a pretty simple concept that's become exponentially more popular due to the current status of the world: working outside of the office. It includes but is not limited to working from home, as remote work can be done in a coffeeshop, on an airplane, in a different office, pretty much anywhere you have a laptop or computer. For the last month or so, of course, it's pretty much limited to working at home.
Remote projects can be really convenient: it's possible to wake up and immediately start working: no putting on fancy dress clothes, no hurrying to get out the door to beat traffic or to catch the bus or train on time, the lack of a morning commute is probably the best thing about it. There's no supervision, so it's a welcome relief not to have someone look over your shoulder, and the hours are more flexible: outside of a scheduled meeting or two that must be done at set times, there really isn't too many strict requirements as to when you can be in the office, when not to be in the office, etc., whatever time is wasted during my commute normally can be used to do whatever I want to do. Background sound can be whatever you want it to be: classical and coffeeshop mix for MJ, language learning podcasts for me. Temperature is set at your own preferred temperature, you don't share the bathroom/trash can/break room/water cooler/refrigerator/elevator with everyone else in the office, you share it with yourself, and even pre-coronavirus this was better for you health in terms of air quality and not contracting other people's diseases like flus, colds, etc. No risk of getting into accident on the way to work; less costs of eating out, transportation costs, etc. For me, the only reason why I wouldn't take remote work is because it pays less than normal projects: for some reason law firms and clients who pay law firms still prefer that employees work from an office setting. Some of this makes sense for confidentiality reasons: extremely sensitive matter must be safeguarded and not distributed widely to unsecure locations, and I've worked on projects that the client even issued everyone their own secure laptop to work on. But it's also this (I believe) outdated paradigm that working at the office is more professional and more productive- I don't think remote work diminishes productivity, but......
Unexpected problems with remote projects: distractions, feeling bored with always havng to be at home, having no IT guy around to help with computer issues, being tempted to lie down in bed while working and falling asleep on the job, there's no supervision so it's easy to relax standards, it's easy to slouch in one's chair and not have good posture, it's easy to dress like a slob and not feel professional (I do feel when I put on a dress shirt and wear pants that I feel more accomplished and responsible), not meeting one's friends at work. Time also seems to change when I'm working remotely: it's like entering a weird time portal where the day moves differently, life feels like it's passing you by as you lose contact with the outside world.
The Five People You meet while Working Remotely:
1) No one
2.) yourself
3.) Facebook friends after you feel desperate for any social interaction
4.) Your inner thoughts (some people apparently don't have an inner voice and others do, which is pretty strange to think about)
5.) Tiger King, the hottest thing on Netflix right now.
Remote work fits a certain personality type: cat people more than dog people. Dog people want to get out and see the world, and their job is to go run and get that ball on the grass. That's the dog person in me: my mind is programmed to go to work each day and get somewhere, have a destination. Cat people can be in their homes 24 hours a day, every day without needing to go outdoors at all; MJ is a cat person. Even living in an apartment with huge windows that lets the sun rush in and exposes sights of the outside world at all times of the day, MJ has no temptations, no desire to go out to that nature.......she actually might just close the curtains. When asked if she wanted to go outside at all after a week of being at home, MJ's only wish was to go out......to an art museum and stay inside that art museum the whole day.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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