I’ve been working remote since May 2014. I thought it would be good to publish my experience. For the most part everything has been positive. There are some negatives to address though. My situation, like most, is unique.

When my wife (girlfriend at the time) and I decided we wanted to move from Alberta to Ottawa, ON I thought I would need to look for a new job. I wasn’t happy about this because I do like my job at Tronia Systems Ltd.. I don’t remember if my Manager approached me with the idea of working remote, or if it was my idea. Either way we decided to at least give it a trial run.

I do have to thank the team at Tronia for running this remote experiment with me. If they hadn’t kept an open mind about it who knows where I’d be today. I’m happy with where I’m at, so gratitude is required.

The trial run has extended to over two and a half years. So I’d say the trial has been successful. I’ve been productive. I feel that I’ve provided the company equal, or better value working from home.

I’m the only employee at Tronia working remote. Everyone else works in our St. Albert, AB office. This can likely been seen as a negative but actually works ok. I stay in close communication with my team using email, Slack and Skype. I’ll admit that this doesn’t equal in-person communication and the nuance that that provides. I rarely feel out of the loop, but it does happen.

We all know how important communication is. Some communication cannot be done through email/chat app/video chat etc. Emotions are hard to transmit through a wire. If I’m flustered or frustrated it’s hard for me to complain electronically. Before my workmates could see my state. Now, it’s harder to convey what I’m feeling. I probably need to get better at this.

I’m also the only employee at Tronia who lives and works in a different Time Zone. I’m on Eastern Time and the office is on Mountain Time. There is always a two hour difference. Usually this means I start and end my day two hours before everyone else.

I think this is a positive. In the morning I get two hours uninterrupted. My morning hours are usually my most productive. So this is a good time for me to be working on my own.

The flip side is usually I have a whole pile of email waiting for me when I start in the morning. It’s not as if my overall workload has grown. It’s just that it’s shifted by a couple of hours. Split between two days.

Meetings can be another challenge. If there is an afternoon meeting called it’s possible that I will be extending my work day. I’d like to say I prepare ahead of time and start my day later. When I know there is going to be a late meeting. Yet I’m set in my routine, and rarely do this.

I mentioned routine. One of the things I feel has kept me successful working from home is my routine. I keep the same hours I used to in the office. I start at around 8:00 AM everyday. I have lunch at around the same time. I end my day at around the same time. I also prepare for my work day much the same as I used to. That includes a shower, healthy (mostly) breakfast, and getting dressed like a proper adult.

I never did fall into that work from home in your pajama’s cliché. Well, ok one time I did but I was under the weather and probably should have been resting anyway.

One of the huge advantages of working from home is that I don’t have to commute. I can’t overstate how much I love this. My commute before wasn’t too bad. It was a good distance but mostly clear highway. Not a great commute, but not the worst. I do not miss it at all. If I were to go back to the office I would do my best to move close. Walking distance if I could.

So, would I want to go back to the office? Sure. Would I rather stay working from home? Probably. What’s important to me is I am productive. Providing value to my employer and in turn to our customers (we have an awesome customer base).

One last thing…

This, I feel, cannot be understated.

Joe

See also