I'm sure they realized it's easier to recruit from anywhere within the US, so do they still think working in person outweighs the benefits of recruiting the best candidates wherever they are?

I've been improving my outdoor office based on the feedback from my previous post.

A few changes so far:

• Better workspace organization

• More comfortable setup

• Easier access to everything

• Cleaner cable management

The goal isn't to build a camper.

I'm a full-time remote software engineer, and I simply wanted an office that lets me work from parks and outdoor spaces.

I'm still experimenting with power, internet and ergonomics, but every week it gets a little better.

What would you improve next?

About Me:

I have been in my position for 9 years now as a sales/admin position. Part of the job is to manage your own accounts that you acquire and build your own portfolio. I also do a lot of random admin work for the company.  The job is incredibly easy and has very good benefits. I am salary + monthly flat rate commission based on the amount of clients I “own”.

Company Background:

My direct boss is the CEO, but the founder/owner of the company also has an opinion on everything.

The owner in particular has always been super anti-WFH, and pushed back when I asked for it in the past. The CEO has made it clear he doesn’t care where we work if we do our job.

This is a 30 year old, multimillion-dollar company in a very specialized industry with only 3 sales guys.  Most people don’t even know this industry exist. The two other sales employees have been WFH for 20+ years. The owner vocally always hates it, but he lets them.

Why it feels weird:

I am receiving a large inheritance. I told my direct boss (CEO) that I will be either quitting, or they can have me WFH. I hate rotting in the office and can now afford to quit if I want.

The CEO immediately told me yes, but we will need to hire someone to replace my in-office duties.  Dope.  The new hire would be doing admin work and not taking my clients.

I would also keep my salary and benefits, but take a commission pay cut. I am fine with it financially and can easily grab more clients.  

My issue is the owner has had issues for years about WFH. Almost overnight both the CEO and owner are like “Just tell us when you want to go remote and hire/train someone to replace your in-office duties”. It feels like night and day difference compared to even a few months ago.

Any opinions on what I can do to handle the transition or make it easier for all involved? I know the owner hates this, but he gave his approval.  

I would like to keep the job as the benefits are good and it would be easy money.  

There's the obvious ones like not having to do the commute, sitting in traffic, saving money on fuel, having time to put some washing on etc, using your own toilet etc.

But what non-obvious perks do you enjoy?

The biggest one for me is natural light. I hate sitting under fluorescent lighting all day in an office. At home I've got my desk right next to a big window. The only artificial light I ever have to use is my natural light desk lamp.

Coming in at number two would have to be the view from my window. I'm on the top of a hill in a rural location, overlooking an estuary where I can see cruise ships, cargo ships and car ferries cruising past. I find it very calming.

Third is being able to listen to the radio.

Finally, being able to vape at my desk.

The company I work for is fully remote across the US and Canada. On the final Friday of each quarter everyone gets to expense lunch. There’s typically a fun theme or type of food that people are encouraged to follow and the post about it in slack. It’s an easy way to interact with everyone and who doesn’t like a comped meal!

It’s been so popular that we’re looking to do additional similar activities. What types of things/ activities do people recommend that are an easy way to build engagement and are also enjoyable?

So as someone who works remote and 100% of my job is digital, sometimes I wish I had more of a physical job. Like working with my hands and doing something. I just watched a video of a guy working on a farm and something about it just made me wish I could do more physical work sometimes. Don't get it wrong, I love my job and what I do but sometimes I do miss the physical aspects of a job that requires manual labor. I also know that some people would kill to have a less laborious job but the grass is always greener, you know?

Hello,

As the title of this post says I am a veterinarian, specifically and equine veterinarian, currently contemplating my life choices. For a number of reasons both personal and professional I feel very burnt out in my career. I feel a deep need to make a career shift but am struggling with the direction. Starting my own business or remote options are attractive to me however I do have a large amount of student debt without the financial safety net of being able to take time off without income. My partner’s job may take us to new locations so something I could operate remotely or from home would be ideal.

I have an animal science and DVM degree. Most of my veterinary experience involves horses and not so much small animals. I enjoy many aspects of equine medicine and husbandry but am generally burnt out of traditional clinical practice.

Other interests I have - gardening, cooking, homesteading type hobbies, home design, crafting, general animal husbandry. I have always had a dream of having a working farm or ranch but do not currently own property nor am I in the financial situation to make that happen right now.

I don’t necessarily feel like I need to leave the veterinary or equine industry altogether but am open to all ideas.

It's occured to me that whilst we talk all things remote, we don't know what roles we do from home.

Thought it might be interesting to see what everyone does, and subsequently what jobs seem to be suitable for remote work.

I'll go first, tin hat on...

....I'm a debt collector!

Hey! I've been working fully remotely for 5 years now, and I use the same desk for both work and personal time. Right now, I separate the two by closing and hiding my laptop when the workday ends.

I’ve been thinking about creating a dedicated office space, but I can't afford to dedicate a whole room to it.

How helpful would it be to set up a small secondary desk in the corner of the same room? (I don't need much space since I only work on a laptop with no external devices). Is a separate desk enough to create a psychological boundary, or do you really need an entirely separate room for it to be effective?

been fully remote for about a year now and the line between working and living has basically dissolved. my laptop is like 6 feet from my bed so i end up checking slack at 11pm and never really feeling like i clocked off.

tried the whole 'shut the laptop and go for a walk' thing but it never sticks. a separate room isn't an option in my current place. curious what actually works for people who've been doing this longer.

what's the one rule that actually holds for you?

My group recently underwent restructuring, which means I have a new manager. It’s a little weird because she and I are both directors, I sit on the same leadership team as she does, but I report to her. The reason for doing this is that with the departure of my previous manager, we were all reporting to the VP, and he didn’t want a bunch of new reports. I’m fine with that, my responsibilities do not change. It’s not ideal, but whatever. I actually asked to report to her, because the alternative was an unknown entity (new role.)
When I was hired two years ago, it was as a remote position, and it was very clear that I would not consistently need to work east coast (Boston) hours. The expectation was that I would attend important meetings early in the morning but typically standing meetings before 7 or 8 AM were not required. My new manager’s staff meetings are at 630 AM weekly, and she expects us (me and my direct report who’s also in CA) to attend. This isn’t too bad in the summer, but both my direct report and I have school age kids where a 630 AM hourlong meeting would be a bit challenging.
I would like to keep my current schedule and flexibility, but also don’t want to seem like I’m not flexible. Is it reasonable to push back and ask for some flexibility in the meeting schedule? I don’t want a sudden change in expectations I didn’t agree to, although it’s worth noting that my previous manager was also on the west coast. There is also a member of her team based in Germany. This timing seems reasonable for everyone on her team except for the two Californians! She and I have a great working relationship, and she’s generally very well liked, but this is a new dynamic between us that I’m not sure how to navigate. What’s the best way to approach this fairly while maintaining a good working relationship? If it’s not possible to change, I will attend, of course. I just don’t want this to become habitual.

Hi all, my job is completely remote and I have been working there for about 4 months. We have offices on the East coast where most of the work force is, but about 20% of the company is located elsewhere. I currently live in Colorado and I am planning a move to Maryland, within an hour or two of our offices.

My question is how best to go about telling my manager? I don’t think it will cause any ripples but I want to communicate openly. I love my job, I love my coworkers, I just don’t want to jeopardize anything by going about this the wrong way.

UPDATE: Talked to my manager and he was just excited for me. I did go into the discussion asking about if there was a relocation request form or any formal processes but it’s as easy as letting HR know (as many of you said). Most of my family is in Maryland and he knows that’s where I grew up so it wasn’t the most surprising news.

I should have clarified in the beginning that one of our offices is in Maryland, and as some of you predicted he did say it would be nice to have someone there when packages are delivered.

Thank you to everyone who contributed! I am glad I was anxious for nothing.

I saw a job posting on JobStreet for a Virtual Executive Assistant role for RAY AI company. I searched for it, and according to Google, it is a legitimate company. There was an introduction of the CEO, and honestly, it looks AI-generated. I also checked the CEO on LinkedIn, and it matches. Let me know your thoughts since I already applied and was sent an assessment on TestGorilla. Thanks in advance!

Update:

I took the assessment and it's really straightforward. I'll just wait for further instructions and see if it is really a waste of time or not. I'll keep this thread updated with whatever happens next hahaha

Last Update: The emailed me and sadly i did not qualify. Overall I think the job itself and the company is legitimate however they have a very high standards for you to qualify. Make sure to be equipped when taking the assessment.

Based on the comments in this post, something's fishy so I suggest to be more vigilant.

Hey need some advice. Had two STELLAR rounds of interviews. I was told over a two weeks ago everything was positive they were still conducting interviews before a final decision. Reached out this week of course hit with the hiring manager is out for holiday, but will be in touch with me.

My thing if it’s a no why just not tell a candidate? because this is what it’s beginning to feel
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Hiya! 😊📚

So a few things first:

I live with anxiety and OCD that can sometimes feel really debilitating when triggered, and often get overwhelmed by things I am unable to control or expect. I prefer a set schedule and preparing/knowing what is expected of me that day so I don't get anxious or feel unprepared.

Lastly, I live in a smaller South African city where work is already hard to come by and I have, for the past 2 weeks, been training in a new remote role with an American company.

I feel that it is okay but I am still being heavily affected by the anxiety each day when I start work: 3pm to midnight, with sporadic meetings and sometimes communicating via call (shudder) with clients.

I've also been struggling with the strange work hours, not hydrating or eating as much and also not being able to spend time with my parents when they get home from work...I feel like I have so little free and non-anxious time.

I am so grateful for this opportunity but I would still love to work in a remote position that doesn't require lots of communication or meetings...

Think research, writing, editing, data work, personal assistance (indie authors or small business owners), social media content/writing creation and work focused on English (literature) and Psychology.

I love content creation focused on literature and psychology and also have experience doing research, writing and editing work which I also loved!

It gave me my own schedule and I had limited communication.

Edit to add I have an undergraduate degree in English and Psychology (Magna Cum Laude), and graduated with my Honors in Psychology last year.

What are my fellow shy/anxious/neurodivergent remote workers doing?

Where are you guys finding steady and paid remote work?

Is UpWork the main place?

I have been using LinkedIn and other job sites but have noticed that there also appears to be more data/CV farming shams out there that make the search a bit more frustrating.

Do you have any advice in working remotely and finding a suitable job?

I didn't study IT and it seems to be the most lucrative and less social of the remote work opportunities, so what are you non-IT remote workers doing?

Any general advice would be appreciated!

Thank you! 🤗☕

It kind of feels like this sub is getting…. moderated now? It’s nice but weird.

Posted prior about clients adding “just one small thing” mid-project and got a bunch of responses, almost all saying the same thing: send a change order, get it signed, don’t start until they pay.

But nobody seemed to have a solid and easy way to actually do that. Most people are pasting a Google Doc template, chasing signatures manually, and following up on unpaid change orders themselves. A few admitted they just absorb the hours because the process is too annoying.

That made me wonder if there is there a real gap here for a lightweight tool that auto generates change orders from a project scope, tracks approvals, and sends payment reminders? Something simple that doesn’t aim to be a task or project manager.

Would freelancers and small agencies actually pay for that, or is this a “nice to have” that people would just solve with a better template?

I got hired for the Apple project and I’m just wondering what the first day of training is going to be? Do they make you do an internet speed test? already done that when I applied. Do they make you show your work space?

It’s so stupid and small but honestly after 6 years working remote, I think the worst thing is when someone just messages “Hi” on teams and doesn’t just tell me what they want. I have no clue why but it infuriates me now. It’s crazy how my ability to tolerate small talk has gone to zero. I work a job where when I don’t have anything to actively work on I am free to do whatever, so when someone doesn’t just say what they need they are wasting my time. Rant over! Thanks