Remote Workers Can't Stop Working

“Is there a decent way to handle bore out at work? Most of my team have families where as I am the single dude, so working from home for me is a different experience. I do not want to raise red flags to the (lack of) work load. So far the only solution I have found, which has motivated the hell out of me, is to use downtime at work to upskill and gain certs. Then in 6 - 8 months look to move on. Also yes I could probably take some of the workload off a "stressed" member of the team, BUT”

“I just pulled off a full week vacation in which I went COMPLETELY offline, and I'm so happy and proud. I'm public sector so I know it's not QUITE as big a deal, but I'm newly management on a small capital design team and we manage construction and contracts on our properties which can get very intense. It's especially intense from spring-fall because it's exterior construction AND when we need to bid out future projects. I adore my job and team but needed a BREAK, and pla”

“2 days wfh a week but I use it more like 16 hours. I’m required to be in office on Tuesdays but other than that I can do whatever I want. I usually leave at noon and finish at home. Manager says as long as the work gets done and nobody complains she doesn’t care. The big downer is a 3:30 meeting on Friday afternoons. I’m usually over hours by Friday and would rather leave earlier instead of starting later. [re: How “lax” is your companies hybrid or remote environment?]”

“This is really common with after-hours work. When it's done well, nobody thinks about it. The timing and text-not-email points above are spot on, so I'll add a different angle: the person who signed the contract often isn't the one who notices the work. For schools, the business manager or a teacher who's in early sees it every day, and for strata it's often a committee member who lives in the building. They tend to be far happier to write a few lines than a busy facility man”

“This is how I've always treated it and why I've never been worried about return to office. Next week I'm traveling for 3 days for work, so the two days I work I'm going to be putting in a ton of extra hours to set up for my travel. The week after I'm going to take a couple of short days to avoid burnout and take off the last day of the month. Sometimes that means I've got to work late because I've got a call in Korea or work early because I've got to talk to folks”

“Mine is 8:30am - 5pm 5 days a week. No one is checking to see if we are at our desk. That desk can be anywhere, I spent a month in Greece last year. We have to get our work done and not have the business complain about us not getting things done. [re: How “lax” is your companies hybrid or remote environment?]”

“Really lax. I login at 9, check a few emails, work until 11, Take a break from 11-1, then go to lunch, and work from 2-4pm. I try not to work over 4-5 hrs a day, I’m a robotics engineer making $130K yearly for context. [re: How “lax” is your companies hybrid or remote environment?]”

“Working fully remotely 4 10 hour days, my manager is pretty flexible though, I try to be available during our business hours, but flex when appointments arise, mostly it's about getting the work done and deadlines met. [re: How “lax” is your companies hybrid or remote environment?]”

“I worked remote for 10 years and it was really challenging for about a year to adapt and adjust to in person work again but it has definitely been good for me in my own personal growth. Getting out and having to learn to deal with people and personalities and in person conflict force my to adapt and get stronger. It's definitely a challenge but personal growth is rarely easy. I've cried and complained but dealt with it. It's like growing up again. In another way. Definitely take care”

“My problem is I work from home 40 hours a week and my wife and kids view me as a stay at home dad that is available at the drop of a hat [re: This week I resigned after 28 years]”

“So you are using this Hubstaff on your personal computer? Or are you doing all this 'extra' activity on a work computer? I am not sure what you are hired to do or paid to do, but it sounds like you are doing a lot of other things that you don't want your payer to know about. [re: I kept forgetting to stop Hubstaff, so I built a free, open-source app to see what it captures]”

“Those of you that are fully remote or hybrid, how many hours a day are you actually putting in when not in the office? submitted by /u/Adventurous-Soil6103 [link] [comments]”

“I got a new job in July and really lucked out! I have been working from home for the last nine years or so minus a six month stint earlier this year doing sales that was partially remote, but we don’t have PTO and or vacation allotment, but we are considered a work environment that encourages you to cover your responsibilities with teammates when you want to takeoff and as long as you set your out of office and you have your responsibilities covered by someone else who will speak up for you then”

“My first remote job was pretty lax. We could start any time between 5am and 9am and it was pretty flexible if I needed to take a half day or something for an appointment or if I wasn’t feeling well. We could pretty much work to make up those hours and it was nice. My new job is also remote but much more rigid. I am 8-5 and it’s a PTO first policy so they want us to use that instead of making up time. It pays much better though lol so worth the trade off. [re: How “lax” is your companies hybrid o”

“lol I used to coffee badge. I don’t even bother doing that anymore. [re: How “lax” is your companies hybrid or remote environment?]”

“Most remote work in the classic sense is 8/9-5 with meetings and stand ups etc and is not flexible or different at all. There’s a lot of people I see on these subs who speak of themselves as doing remote work who travel for their job or are out in the field and it’s not synchronized Then there are freelances who work remote and participate here that have almost no structure required by the client most of the time I would assume if you’re interested and applying to a a remote job it’s the first [”

“Hello, I am currently a remote position, and go into the office every so often. I have two cats that are my life and I want to be home with them, or showing them the world (in tiny bite sized pieces), and NOT in a 9-5 in the office all the time. I have not sat for the exams...yet. I want to be a corporate lawyer, but will likely wait a while for that, also president, and will pursue a CPA first. What does your salary look like, and do you consider yourself a benchmark? Being a role model matters”

“(This didn't fit into any of the flair categories perfectly) I worked a remote job for three years and ended up really hating it. I know it's a lot of people's dream, and I get why, but I didn't feel like it was for me. I hated all the sitting, having my work life and home life exist in the same space, and feeling disconnected from real people yet also feeling like I had to be connected on some level most of the time. Because of this, I ended up leaving and pursuing other (much l”

“I’m currently working a remote position 40 hours a week with good pay, great benefits, it’s an easy job that is pretty stress free, and a fair amount of flexibility. I do however have to log 8 hours on the computer every day, it’s not project based where I can leave when the work is done. I have three kids in kindergarten and daycare and am considering switching to a part time contractor position (hybrid role 20 hours a week) to have more time with the kids. I’m really nervous to give up the goo”

“Recently switched to a telephone advice position 5 days a week 0900-1730 after returning from maternity leave. I had a traumatic birth and PPD, and even at 7 months, was not in an emotional space to go back to working 3x 12s, NOCS, at high-risk L&D unit I gave birth in. It was the choice I needed at the time for my nervous system and the routine has been so grounding. But now, I’m feeling more grounded and missing my work/passion AND the 40hrs per week is a such grind! I feel like I hardly e”

“Could be, though it sounds more like micromanagement than anything else [re: Does anybody else have a boss who requires you to be on call with them all day?]”

“The “make up the lost focus time after work” part is the real trap here, especialy for dev work. [re: Does anybody else have a boss who requires you to be on call with them all day?]”

“I landed what I thought was a dream remote job about two months ago. The pay was significantly better than my local market and the work itself is right up my alley. The catch was that the company is based on the opposite side of the globe, meaning a 7 hour time overlap difference. During the interview phase, HR assured me that they were super flexible and as long as I got my tasks done, the exact working hours didn't really matter. Well, that turned out to be a total lie. Within my second we”

“I get way more work done at the office, but I cannot argue a single thing you stated. There are a TON of people that do what you're stating here. I have the option to work remotely and do so when I have appointments and important errands to run, but I cannot never get in the groove I get while at the office. [re: Working "in office" in a corporate office is the least productive working environment.]”

“That’s the part that makes no sense. If people are expected to stay on a call all day, productivity is obviously going to take a hit. [re: Does anybody else have a boss who requires you to be on call with them all day?]”

“In my experience, up until recently my co workers and I were in a sweet spot. AI was completing our work in a few hours. We were chilling most of the day. Until recently that now we are being asked to deliver 140% of our original numbers. Businesses were never looking for AI(or any tech) to improve our output simply to reduce our hours. It’s so they can push more shit out in less time. [re: Why am I working more if AI was supposed to make coding easier?]”

“LOLOL - know the feeling, know the conversation. I had offices from Dubai to Auckland and I was in the middle - had to draw the bosses a wagon wheel to explain I had 18.5 hour shifts. [re: We're having sysadmins in our organization pass away at unsettling rates. These guys were all fairly young. Is anyone else having this happen? What gives?]”

“Just a personal preference of mine - I support the right for people to work from home so long as they can get their stuff done and be available (i.e. I can reach then and they'll get back to me within a reasonable time) submitted by /u/CaffeinatedCrackHead [link] [comments]”

“Very frequently you can tbh [re: Why is remote work despised by employers]”

“I recently transitioned from a 30 year career in government service to a sales management role. I travel 75-80% at unpredictable times. Sure, I can forecast conferences but visits with customers and key accounts are unscheduled. The problem is with my age. I’m 55 and need to schedule routine screenings, dental, and other healthcare appointments and I just have not been able to make it happen. I’m about a year and a half overdue for my colonoscopy. I have been putting off two crowns. Any advice o”

“For the past year plus I have been working fully remote. Not just from my home, but far far away from the buildings I'm actually working on and my largely non-remote working office. I work in preservation and I feel the inability to walk my construction sites and investigate my buildings starting to weigh on me. Even when I can get team members to grab pictures for me, I just feel blind and disconnected and progressively more demotivated and disinterested. It just feels like the buildings, s”

“I have great work-life balance and I work between 30-40 hours a week probably closer to 30 lol It's not the job itself, there is work to be done and always work to be done. I just finish at 5 and leave it for the next day. We're not saving lives here, I work to live not the other way around. [re: for those that work 40 hours a week, no fire drills - what do you do?]”

“Has anyone found an ideal flex schedule? My employer is super flexible but I haven’t figured out something that really works for our family. I work remotely and have to be on the computer for 8 hours a day. Where I’m struggling is when my elementary kids get home from school at 2:30 and I have an hour to an hour and a half left of work. Any thoughts appreciated! submitted by /u/CO_Mama_25 [link] [comments]”

“It depends on the job. I work remote because my job requires flexibility. Some mornings I'm up at 6:00 a.m. because I've got clients who need support in Europe and some weeks I'm on calls at 9:00 p.m. because I've got clients who need support in Korea. [re: A Remote Employee Refused 160 Webcam Photos a Day. Her Employer Fired Her]”

“You just need better boundaries. I’ve been in product for 10 years at 4 different companies. At every company there have been people working 50-60+ hrs per week while I work 30-40. [re: for those that work 40 hours a week, no fire drills - what do you do?]”

“You have to just act the way you want to live. Yes I did make this change successfully. I used to work 60-70+ hrs as a VP. Now I am still a VP and I have an incredibly hard and fast rule that my professional life happens between 830-530, max. I just don't break my rule. Other people can deal with it. I did change jobs but have not taken a pay cut. I simply walked into the new role and acted that way. People adapted. I'm very clear with my C suite about why I work the way I do, and they r”

“if you work at a place that actively noticed you using an unauthorized sync tool, my gut says you’re best off just maintaining strict separation of work and personal lives. A few years back I used an iPad/keyboard setup at my desk all the time for a similar purpose. My excuse was that it was just what i preferred for personal task management and organization. At the end of the day (in a more formal i.t. environment) it was a good feeling to know that there was literally nothing personal of mine”

“I’m signed in to my personal stuff on my work laptop, yes I know people don’t like that but whatever. But I’d recommend just taking a voice memo/video of the idea and then coming back to it when you’re at home. [re: Sending notes from work to personal vault?]”

“Cute is the right word, the litte office layout makes it feel less like staring into a Zoom void. [re: Virtual co-working]”

“In March I left a rigid in office industry job for a public accounting advisory position- fully remote and unlimited PTO. I love working from home- avoiding the hassle of traveling downtown and letting my boss know every time I leave the building has been really nice. I also have been able to use a lot of days off. However, I am really hating my new job. It is such a mess- horrible communication- the longer a person has been at the company the less likely you are to get a response to a message.”

“I work 530am-530pm 2 days one week and 5 days the next. But that's still not enough. Management came up with a really smart cost saving strategy where they reduce head count on each shift by around 30%-35% and just have the rest of us come in on overtime. This saves them a lot since it's less benefits and insurances they have to pay for. We don't see any of those savings though but I'm happy knowing the CEOs and share holders are looking for the most value. My problem is though I”

“I had a coworker who just appeared offline the whole day - always wanted to try that lol [re: Can we talk about the toxic culture of needing to look Active on Slack/Teams 24/7?]”

“Run [re: Does anybody else have a boss who requires you to be on call with them all day?]”

“I should also say I log the 3rd highest hours in the business YTD - but the perception of the dot means when I work from my other room on my iPad Pro I would appear away made me anxious. [re: Can we talk about the toxic culture of needing to look Active on Slack/Teams 24/7?]”

“I did something close to this a while back, and the biggest surprise was how little I lost. Once I stopped pretending to work from 1-4, the morning stuff got done faster because I knew the clock was ticking. Parkinson's law is real. Work expands to fill the time you give it. The catch is that it only works if those morning hours are protected. No email, no chats, just the one or two things that actually move money or progress. If the 4 hours turn into 4 hours of busywork, you're just wor”

“this [re: Working remotely is starting to feel really isolating, how do you deal with it?]”

“Pajamas. I work remotely. [re: What are sysadmins wearing to work these days?]”

“Discord is probably your best bet here, theres a bunch of study/coworking servers with silent camera-on rooms that don’t kick you after an hour. [re: Virtual co-working]”

“I've been fully remote since 2015. I like not having to commute and mostly being able to run out if I need to, but: I work WAY more hours. Month-end not done, up until 4am for close. Try to grab a bite to eat, teams calls coming in. Non-stop back to back meetings and "quick" questions. Everyone is remote spread all across the US, but the company's base is in CA. To protect my time, I usually start my day around 9:30 ET because I know I'll end up working until 6 (or later) a”

“I’m a software engineer, and my boss recently started mandating that for some particular days, we stay on Google meet for the entire day, where we would have multiple discussions about retrospect, future work, etc. To me, this seems wildly inefficient, but I’m curious if other people have similar experiences. submitted by /u/jlouie88 [link] [comments]”

“Set yourself to Busy for a block of time. [re: Can we talk about the toxic culture of needing to look Active on Slack/Teams 24/7?]”

“I don’t. I don’t have an “always on” expectation from myself (it sounds like you do) or my employer. In an office; people stop in the break room on the way back from the bathroom to have a 10-minute discussion about March Madness or whatever every damn day. Also, people are recommending mouse jigglers, just be aware that if it is your COMPANY imposing expectations on you, than any competent IT department can and does detect the use of these things. [re: Can we talk about the toxic culture of nee”

“Anyone else have a remote job where you do little to nothing…like…ever. But, you don’t get paid incredibly well? I had a remote Account Management/BD role in the Gov Tech world for 6 years where I didn’t do much at all. I jumped onto a few team calls a week (max like 4 hours) and then was “expected” to use the rest of the time to prospect for new clients. My KPIs never required me to hit a revenue goal…my primary goals were to fill out “lead sheets” and schedule demos with our product demo exper”

“Remote work messed with how I think about time. I started tracking everything like it was work. How long the sourdough took. How many words per post. Which projects got saved on Pinterest. Same habits I use at my actual job, just applied to whatever I was doing on weekends. Now I'm wondering what all the tracking was for. The blog earns a bit, but nothing that moves the needle compared to my salary. Still, I keep refreshing the traffic numbers like they're going to tell me something new.”

“Agreed. I’ve worked from home since 2014 and would walk by my office (off my living room) on a Saturday morning and think I’ll send one quick email and 3 hours passed. When we moved, I moved my office to the basement and don’t have that habit anymore. [re: What are the downsides of a fully remote job?]”

“It can get a little isolating. You don’t need to be best buddies with your coworkers, but the fact of the matter is you are at work for 40+ hours a week. A job is much better when you’re at least work friends with people, and it’s hard to build those relationships remotely. The pay is also generally worse because people will take a pay cut to work remotely. You’re competing with the entire nation for your job, while in an in person role you’re competing with your metro. Like it or not, advanceme”

“I've been fully remote other than travel since 2018. The real downside to me is your boundaries get a little blurred. I work with teams across the globe so a lot of times I have 6 AM calls or 7 PM calls. Learning to put boundaries in place has honestly been the hardest part of my job. When I go into an office, I am way less efficient. Part of that is I have to travel and part of it is I haven't seen those people in a long time but mainly it's because there are a lot of distractions i”

“If you've got good people/processes in place, and you're at the point where the place is to run independently of you, your day only needs to be as long as you want it to be. Letting go of the day to day is the hardest point though. It's something I struggle with.. like you I find myself at times sitting there just to be there when I don't really need to be. [re: Do any of you only work 4 hours/day even though you're still in 'grind mode'?]”

“You just proved his point. This is why companies don’t like you working from home because you are not working the full 8 hours. What fucking job can you make a call then go feed a baby and get paid to do it? No job. She’s getting paid on maternity leave to do this exact shit. [re: Opinion: Spouses/Family one of the biggest WFH challenges.]”