Welcome to the generation of remote work. And all thanks to this fantastic technology era we live in, which provides us with tools such as Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Slack, Zoom, and many others well-known. All thanks to companies migrating many of their services to the Cloud.
Did you know that The Netherlands is the European country pioneering the work-from-home culture as the first to pass legislation allowing employees to decide if they want to work remotely? Thanks to the Dutch parliament 🙌
Remote work has been around for a while now, but it has become a reality for most of us during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a tough time for us all. We had to adapt in many ways, including working from home full time.
I remember just before the pandemic, when visiting the Portuguese island of Madeira, I saw, at first sight, the Digital Nomads. It’s a term referring to people working across the globe remotely. Imagine you working from places you love. If you are a summer enthusiast, imagine being able to work from the beach 🌅 or at least a few meters from one. If you like cold places, like Sweden, or even Alaska, imagine you working from the coziness of your home. That, for some people, is a dream. It really is.
For you to have an idea, the list of Digital Nomad cities is extensive, and based on nomadlist.com (a company whose “mission is to accelerate the freedom of global movement enabled by remote work”), the top 5 cities for remote work are:
- Lisbon (Portugal)
- Canggu, Bali (Indonesia)
- Berlin (Germany)
- Porto (Portugal)
- Bangkok (Thailand)
Search online to find many other cities, including Madeira’s community, or fullremote.it, a platform for remote work in Italy 🚀
As we’re still talking about numbers, we’ve created an infographic banner highlighting some of the statics regarding WFH from 2018 until 2022.
Adding to these statistics, CNBC.com released a list of the top 10 fully remote companies to work remotely in 2022. We list them below.
- Hubstaff — Technology
- Swiftly — Technology
- Doist — Technology
- Ghost — Technology, publishing
- Frontastic — Technology
- Toptal—Recruiting, hiring
- Automattic — Technology
- FlexJobs — Recruiting, hiring
- Zapier — Technology
- Buffer — Social media, technology
Working from home has many benefits. It allows you to connect more with your family, friends, and neighbors. It also lets you do other activities here and there whenever you have some free time. You can work on your health, improve some needed skills or do your groceries. Just make sure to manage your time well.
Of course, as with everything, WFH (work-from-home) 🙃 has some drawbacks. One is losing the office connection with coworkers. Though, for that, and other things, we’ll give you some advice.
One vital learning when working from home is that you must be available and reachable most of the time, and it’s not because of being afraid of a boss thinking you’re not working. Being connected makes you feel part of the team, part of the challenges. It makes you feel like you belong. As a software developer myself, we have a term called “pair-programming.” It’s a form of collaboration where two developers team to work on a challenge. Though it doesn’t have to stop with software developers or two developers only, we can apply it to any team and invite more peers to the game.
What about Burnout while working from home? The Google’s DORA report from 2021 found a factor that has a significant effect on whether or not a team struggled with burnout as a result of working remotely. It is Culture. Teams with a generative team culture, composed of people who felt included and as if they belonged on team, were half as likely to experience burnout.
It’s up to you to maintain healthy habits. For example, if you work in your pyjama, your brain will think it’s time to bed. Building a healthy routine is vital, and one of the easiest things that you can do is ensure that you change out of your pyjama and into different clothes for working in.
As a side note, unfortunately, some people are ruining the WFH culture by installing software or using devices called “Mouse Jigglers.” A mouse jiggler is a mechanical device moving the computer mouse to prevent your slack/teams/skype from going in “away” status. DON’T BE THAT PERSON 🙅♂️
Another everyday activity when working from the office is the coffee/tea break with colleagues. Of course, when working from home, this is almost inconceivable. However, to fill the break-time online, you can invite your colleagues to multiplayer game platforms, such as skribbl.io, where you can play drawing and guessing games.
So when working from home, please, use tools like Microsoft Teams or Google Meet to jump into a call with your team. I do it all the time. And don’t forget to always keep your camera ON. It shows that you’re interested, engaged, and listening to others on the call.
Respect your team’s availability, and always ask if they can connect. By doing so, that lost connection between coworkers fades away, and you won’t feel alone anymore. Also, if you can, spend some time and money building a comfortable environment at home where you can work comfortably. It will be beneficial to your mood, productivity, and your back. Nowadays, many companies provide you with a budget for buying your desired gear. I work at IKEA, and they provided me with a decent chair. Of course, they also asked if I needed other equipment, but I had my office built already, so I was happy only with the HATTEFJÄLL.
We at techmeout.io understand the importance of working from home, so when creating your resume with us, you can let recruiters know your desire to work remotely, on-site, or in hybrid mode.
I enjoy the hybrid mode, so I go to the office a few days a week, and the other days I work from the comfort of my home. Sometimes I manage to go to Spain or somewhere else and work from there. It’s a dream 😎 and I love it. You will too!
And keep in mind to follow these five health practices:
- Create a comfortable working space
- Take regular breaks
- Have your camera ON in meetings
- Create time for chit-chat or play games with your colleagues
- Dress comfortably, not in your Pyjamas
- Keep hydrated
