Ever since I read Mike Elgan’s article on The New Bedouins back in 2007, I’ve been fascinated by the idea of remote work. These days, remote work is commonplace and becoming more so but in 2007 it was an impossible dream for most of us. Still, remote work isn’t always easy for either the employer or employee.
Two recent posts look at the problems from both perspectives. In the first, Josh Comeau recounts his experiences as a remote worker. His experiences may seem atypical but as he says, the point of remote work is flexibility and that, therefore, every remote worker’s experience is different. He discusses the problems and benefits but says that the main difficulty is communication. Remote workers aren’t privy to the water cooler discussions and it’s easy for them to feel isolated.
In the second post, Cédric Fabianski talks about remote work from the employer’s point of view. He has several interesting conclusions—including that “remote-first” companies do best with remote workers—but his main conclusion is the same as Comeau’s: the most essential problem to solve with remote work is communication.
Fabianski talks about the strategies that his company, bearer, uses to keep remote workers and everyone else up to date on their team’s progress and everything else that’s happening in the company. It’s an interesting read and reinforces everything that Comeau says about the importance of keeping remote workers “in the loop.”
Both posts are interesting and informative. If you have any interest in remote work, you should definitely take a look.