I read both this one and your previous article about remote working, something I'd really want to try soon. You mentioned your commute is 20 minutes so not bad at all (mine is about 55, still not terrible but almost 2 hours wasted every day).
But what about working in an office? To me, the main reason to go remote would be having my private office. Not that I don't like working with people, I'm always available for pair programming if a colleague needs help, I don't like spending days in meetings but do find useful to share ideas with the team regularly.. But boy, do I hate working in an open office with people answering their phones, talking loud, even if it is strict work related conversation. And what about me taking a phone call? I'm always afraid to bother my coworkers, so I try to keep my voice as quite as possibile, sometimes I just walk away and find a quite spot to talk, but I don't have my computer with me. To me open office is a productivity killer, as I said I haven't been fully remote yet, but when I get to work from home I'm way more productive.
Getting back to your article, sorry for the diversion, I can see why you left your remote job and money is quite important, so I may have made the same decision if I were you.
You're 100% right when you say staying remote isn't more important than loving your job and enjoy your life.
I'm a self-taught Front End & JS Dev and professional learner with accessibility expertise. I'm passionate about breaking down concepts into relatable concepts, making it more approachable.
To be fair, these are all things I still struggle with and I'm adjusting to. I currently am in an open office, but the company is so small that our office has only 3 people in it and we are usually coding heavily and not talking much unless it's pairing. Because our lead (the one who talks to the clients) is also a developer, he understands and usually takes calls or meetings outside the office.
I do have one or two days a week where I still work from home. For example, today I had a few errands during the day, so I am working from home to help with that.
In terms of people talking, I set a boundary with my boss last Friday. Someone came in and had a "quick chat" that turned into 20 minutes. I was quite irate because I have ADHD. I simply just put on my noise cancelling head phones, listened to my music and continued coding. I told him afterwards that I hope it didn't come across as rude, but it really impacts my ability to work when people have unplanned meetings in our office. He was really cool about it and also knew that if my headphones were on I was in the zone.
There are 10 people at the moment in my open space, a few minutes ago I was helping a colleague setting at his desk and I had an hard time hearing him... Now I'm back at my iMac with 3 people talking (work related stuff) just in front of me. Doesn't happen all the time, but still I find it really annoying.
I don't like listening to music while I work, if I love the song I find it distracting, as I'm enjoying it and paying less attention to what I'm trying to achieve. I don't feel like wearing noise cancelling headphones without sound, just to block noises. I tried, but felt weird.
For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse
We're a place where coders share, stay up-to-date and grow their careers.
I read both this one and your previous article about remote working, something I'd really want to try soon. You mentioned your commute is 20 minutes so not bad at all (mine is about 55, still not terrible but almost 2 hours wasted every day).
But what about working in an office? To me, the main reason to go remote would be having my private office. Not that I don't like working with people, I'm always available for pair programming if a colleague needs help, I don't like spending days in meetings but do find useful to share ideas with the team regularly.. But boy, do I hate working in an open office with people answering their phones, talking loud, even if it is strict work related conversation. And what about me taking a phone call? I'm always afraid to bother my coworkers, so I try to keep my voice as quite as possibile, sometimes I just walk away and find a quite spot to talk, but I don't have my computer with me. To me open office is a productivity killer, as I said I haven't been fully remote yet, but when I get to work from home I'm way more productive.
Getting back to your article, sorry for the diversion, I can see why you left your remote job and money is quite important, so I may have made the same decision if I were you.
You're 100% right when you say staying remote isn't more important than loving your job and enjoy your life.
To be fair, these are all things I still struggle with and I'm adjusting to. I currently am in an open office, but the company is so small that our office has only 3 people in it and we are usually coding heavily and not talking much unless it's pairing. Because our lead (the one who talks to the clients) is also a developer, he understands and usually takes calls or meetings outside the office.
I do have one or two days a week where I still work from home. For example, today I had a few errands during the day, so I am working from home to help with that.
In terms of people talking, I set a boundary with my boss last Friday. Someone came in and had a "quick chat" that turned into 20 minutes. I was quite irate because I have ADHD. I simply just put on my noise cancelling head phones, listened to my music and continued coding. I told him afterwards that I hope it didn't come across as rude, but it really impacts my ability to work when people have unplanned meetings in our office. He was really cool about it and also knew that if my headphones were on I was in the zone.
There are 10 people at the moment in my open space, a few minutes ago I was helping a colleague setting at his desk and I had an hard time hearing him... Now I'm back at my iMac with 3 people talking (work related stuff) just in front of me. Doesn't happen all the time, but still I find it really annoying.
I don't like listening to music while I work, if I love the song I find it distracting, as I'm enjoying it and paying less attention to what I'm trying to achieve. I don't feel like wearing noise cancelling headphones without sound, just to block noises. I tried, but felt weird.