Remote Workers Can't Stop Working
Remote employees are experiencing a loss of structure and control over their work lives. The flexibility initially perceived as a benefit has led to difficulty disconnecting, decreased productivity, and negative impacts on physical and mental well-being. The lack of visible boundaries creates new challenges around availability and expectations.
SOURCES (60)
“My job is fully remote and pays ~$30K/year, which goes a long way where I live in the Philippines. I've also never had issues taking time off. The problem is the management. I basically run the Comms department all by myself (website, email, social media,…”
“Ninety seconds is nothing. That's the pitch I give myself. The problem is I never know which ninety seconds, so I can't go to dinner without my laptop, I can't sleep before the night run finishes, and I check the logs like other people check their phone. The agent didn't take my work, it took my ability to be away from it. I'm building a way out of this for myself and I'm curious whether it's a me problem, so honest question, when your agents run, are you actually off”
“Looking for advice from other working moms who have gone back to work after maternity leave, especially those working remotely in tech or corporate jobs. I’ve been on maternity leave for about 5.5 months and am getting ready to return. I work from home in tech support and I’m still pumping, plus I’m obviously still waking multiple times a night with the baby. Before I went on leave, my job was already pretty demanding. I’m expected to be available on call 24/7 for 1 to 2 weeks each month, and on”
“It is temporary, but there is no definite end as far as I can tell. Thats my issue when he tells me its temporary... You are right, He greatly desires to move up and doesnt want to do anything that shows the company he's unwilling. I just think this is above and beyond any reasonable expectations for work.”
“Yeah it kind of is relationship advice im aware. But I really wanted perspective from other remote workers which is why I posted here”
“Man, I am just hitting a massive wall right now and honestly needed to vent to people who actually get it. I’ve been working remotely as a data solutions architect for about three years, and the WFH honeymoon phase has officially worn off. What used to feel like ultimate freedom just feels straight-up isolating lately. I feel completely stagnant. My whole day is basically logging on, reviewing pipeline designs or data models in a quiet room by myself, and meeting teams to provide guidance and lo”
“Doing WFH in a call center. Talking to people for 8 hours a day on the phone but feel so lonely and lack of connection with my co-workers who are all busy doing the same thing. Sadly most better WFH positions are not entry level they are low pay and save the company money on internet and seating”
“That 3h commute savings will amount to about 55 working days (8h), more than enough to compensate for the PTO lost”
“Advice appreciated! I'm possibly starting a new full-time job which will require me to work until 6:30. I have grad classes which run from 6:30 - 8:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays. The Monday one is flexible (if I'm late / can't come, since I'm advanced and technically don't have to attend--but I plan to), and I'm not sure yet about the Wednesday one. I'm in a tough spot with life, so even though the job isn't ideal, I'm working with what I can get. I carpool wit”
“I try to work from other parts of the house to change the environment. For me the hardest part is feeling sometimes imprisoned at home when there's good weather outside for example. For that, my running training helps a lot when going to the park and getting some fresh air, or just going for a walk outside. I also try to do many activities that I enjoy aside from work and socialize. To be honest, WFH can be a blessing if you get to keep your mental health and a good life balance, but otherwi”
“There’s no secret here lol. I like having a roof over my head. Worked in warehouses and in person corporate roles prior to remote, it’s a cakewalk by comparison.”
“You need an office. Trust me, been working from home on my own business since 2019. My mental health had seriously tanked before I started leaving the house and going to the office.”
“i think the separate office is probably the biggest thing you can do here. having a space that you only use for work makes it easier to mentally switch in and out of work mode. getting dressed, packing lunch and even doing a short walk before and after work could help too. basically recreate the parts of the commute that gave you that separation without actually commuting.”
“Alright working mama’s, help me with this dilemma. Right now I work 4 days in office, an hour commute each way (8 hours total a week, 2 hours per day). I like my job, I don’t loveeee my job. It’s high stress and the commute makes it 10x worse. Like many, my mentality changed a lot after having my first (2yo) and I’ve just found out I’m pregnant with my second (only 6 weeks along so very early). Additional context, I am not the breadwinner of the family and not chasing my career. I like to work s”
“Completely. For example the feeling of having a zoom call compared to an in person meeting is completely different. It almost seems it drains energy, and in person it's much more leveled in that regard.”
“Yup. Another major thing taken for granted by the WFH crowd is the power of human connection. Are all office interactions and relationships pleasant? Of course not. But humans are social beings. Simply getting out and being with people, even in limited doses, is vital to us. I’ve never seen a study on it but I guarantee if there was a study done it would show that depression rates and divorce rates are higher amongst those with extended WFH experience than those without”
“Agree. I think it’s hard to switch off and very very easy to overwork. Getting a PT and starting a gym routine really helped me mentally just by forcing me to get out 3x a week and to step away from my emails and MacBook.”
“What helped me most was making shutdown time a hard rule. Laptop closed, work notifications off, then I physically leave the house for a walk or gym session. That little fake commute gives my brain a clean break. I also stopped eating lunch at my desk, which sounds minor but made WFH feel way less like living at work.”
“Either you feel lonely or miss nothing but you surely have more time to do lot of things”
“I've been freelancing from home for a while now and one thing I didn't really expect was how easy it is for my entire day to be revolved around my work. There isnt really a clear end to the day. Even after finishing what I planned i might notice an unfinished task or remember something i want to change. Since my laptop is right there, it's very easy to just sit down again and work on it. I used to think this was a good thing because i was getting more done. I mean, it feels productiv”
“I'd try going for a walk or heading to the gym after work. Just getting out of the house for a bit can help you disconnect from work.”
“I'll preface all this by saying that I think this is, like, my second post ever on Reddit, so if I'm committing some faux-pas, let me know. I've read the rules and think - in my opinion - that I'm following. I'm (36 M) working in an IT job making roughly 100k CAD a year - this is relevant because this the amount of salary that I'll be using as a baseline. I'm fine earning slightly less as a starting point, but it would also need to ramp up quickly - like 6 months to t”
“I used to put on comfy business casual clothes in the morning then take a walk to “have a commute”. If you can spend time outside during lunch, do it. At the end of the day lock your office door and change into your comfort clothing. Enjoy the absence of a real commute and the money you save on gas, etc. My productivity increased and my pto decreased.”
Lot of advantages but we miss the vibe of working with colleagues
“I didn’t realize this was even a question. I have everything setup in the basement. I roll out of bed and go downstairs. I work until lunch and then go back down and work until 5pm or until I’m at a stopping point.”
“I’ve worked remotely since 2012 and have run various businesses across multiple time zones. We do operate some physical offices now, but even so, I still work from home most of the time. For me, the biggest thing is creating actual separation between “home” and “work,” rather than just trying to be more disciplined. If you have the spare room, I think turning that into a permanent office and shutting the door at the end of the day is probably one of the best things you can do. Even if someone do”
“Agree with everything! Make your workspace a workspace and have designated work items (the coaster is a great example). I can’t even unplug my laptop and sit on the couch, bc it’s a slippery slope. I’d just like to add… be sure you get outside or move your body. Walks/runs/ etc… I always made a point to take my lunch at orange theory or audiobook time while I walked my dogs.”
“I do dress for work every day and try to stay in the office room til lunch and tgen to end of workday. My hub calls the kitchen "the breakroom". (He's retired.)”
“Thank you for actually reading and giving a thoughtful answer! I’ve read about many people having 2 different jobs as you described, doing something BEFORE or AFTER their J1 full time shift. And I agree with everything you’ve said: the anxiety of juggling 2 or 3 different roles at the same time worrying about having meetings scheduled at the same time would just be too much lol. I’m not sure how this post became a discussion about “time theft” because that was not my question at all - I was more”
“My spouse calls me Mrs Redundancy. Everything I do has redundancy and DR built in. Dual ISP at home, copies of passports when traveling. Local backups of OneDrive and Google Drive to Synology. You get the idea.”
“I’m a mom who works from home, my schedule alternates every week: one week I work 6 AM–2 PM, and the next week I work 2 PM–10 PM. I have a son who’s in kindergarten from 8:30 AM to 4 PM. I have more free time, and I’m around the house more. But lately I’ve been wondering if working from home is actually the best thing for me. I feel like I’m always somehow connected to housework and chores. There’s no real separation between “work” and “home,” and sometimes the days start to feel a litt”
“When I worked in an office full time I never took breaks. I don’t smoke. I am not texting on my phone. I just come in and do my work and I would always get things done hours early on Friday and jump in on other tasks. Rarely called out. I didn’t even take lunch breaks. I would eat and work at my desk. I had to take an important scheduled phone call with my school about enrollment. I let my boss know about a week ahead of time. I reminded her the day before and morning of. I picked a time that wo”
“I love WFH but I have found body doubling with my partner (who works alone 95% of the time but not at home) makes for a wonderful day. We just have a FaceTime going and work for a while then break to chat as we like. It helps both of us stay a little more focused. I am prone to getting up to do a quick task as a brain break and getting distracted for too long if work gets a little too tedious. Having him nearby makes it easier to stay put.”
“My company went half-remote two years ago, and leadership just asked me to put a hard number on whether the remote half is actually working the hours we're paying for. We've been on Monitask for almost a year, logging time and activity per project. So I've got plenty of raw data: average active time, hours logged, apps used. What I don't have is any context. No industry averages, no peer comparisons. Just our own trend line. I dug through old threads: Hubstaff, Time Doctor, you n”
“In particular for those working full remote or hybrid: when work is done and you close your laptop, are you able to fully disconnect? I'm finding myself more and more scrolling Slack, email, etc., responding to messages that can definitely wait out of a weird sense of obligation (weird in the sense that no one is really asking me to do this but I feel like I need to). For those that are able to not think about work until the next day, how do you do it? I guess concretely I could delete Slack”
“I love working remote tbh but I do think you have to be a little intentional about the mental health side of it though, you can’t just stay in your house in pajamas for 5 days straight and expect to feel great lol. I try to still get dressed, go for walks, work from a cafe sometimes or make plans where I’ll actually see people. Otherwise I tend to feel a bit isolated if that makes sense. Also one thing I didn’t realize at first is that remote doesn’t always mean work from literally anywhere, lik”
“The gym after work is a great chance for me to be around others. I need to try working some portion of the day at the local library or coffee shop.”
“I always feel like I need people, until I then get around people. It’s nice to have the luxury of choosing when I want to be around others and am not forced to be around co-workers 8 hours a day 5 days a week.”
“Eating lunch on the couch and watching a show. Walking the dog on your break or in betweens. Eating home foods while at your desk.”
“Health, in general. Less anxiety from the constant running around. Home kitchen so I eat 100x better, and I use my lunch to exercise. I've lost weight and found my mind since working at home.”
“My mental health deteriorates not being around anyone for long periods of time and for days and days.”
“Being able to step away as needed for various things. Example, dropping off/picking up kids from school. I have IBS-D so using my own bathroom is nice.”
20 years is a long time wow. Have you considered co-working spaces?
“I hope it gets better for you! Would you be interested in talking more about your experience?”
“It separates my work life from my real life. Way too easy to blend them together. The 15 minute drive serves a purpose for me.”
“We were able to adopt a rescue dog with severe separation anxiety. If I wasn't working remote, I don't know if we'd have been able to keep him. 4 years later and Chacho is one of the best things that's every happened to us.”
“My commute is only 10 minutes. I have a private office I decorated including a rocking chair for people to sit in when they come chat with me. And I actually like most of my coworkers so chatting is welcome. One of my coworkers usually brings her dog to work and i love that dog. I like going to work because i like leaving work and not having work at home and i don’t have an office at home. And the company orders lunch for everyone on Fridays and we all eat together and I love free food. Some of”
“RN there is but I'm moving to a more remote place soon bc it's closer to my husband's office. So whatever luck I had so far is gone too :)) But I have some ideas I'd like to implement. If you don't mind, I'd love to share and hear your thoughts!”
lol. And work is your best alternative and not friends or hobbies?
“My firm is 200 meters aways from home. I'm still green so being on site is really helpful. My colleagues are nice. There is not much downside for me to go to the office, I'm one of the lucky few.”
“This is real and even if you just work 40s, you spend a lot of waking hours working. It’s generally a more pleasurable experience to be around other people. But even if you go into the office, you need a social life outside of work. It takes effort and consistency.”
“Sounds as if you’re an extrovert who recharges by being social. I don’t know where you live but maybe trying joining groups and becoming part of social communities through online platforms. I’m an extrovert who works at home and I have to take a walk everyday and make sure I get some outside time or cabin fever will set in. Having friends outside of work that are consistent and fun helps. Hobbies are one thing but communities where the real benefit is because you can actually interact more and s”
“Gosh no! I also hated the office politics and the meddling in people's lives. I have teams to chat to my coworkers. I like the peace working remote/from home provides. I don't have to be interrupted with a name conversations about Becky's new grandchild or Susan's latest marriage drama or David's recent home improvement snafu. I also don't have my manager stopping in 19 times a day to make sure I'm not on my phone and I'm actually working wherein they actually int”