cmc/cleberg.net

  1#+date:        [2022-02-10 Thu 00:00:00]
  2#+title:       Leaving the Office
  3#+description: My honest thoughts on leaving the office and working remotely.
  4#+slug:        leaving-the-office
  5#+filetags:    :personal:
  6
  7* The Working World is Changing
  8
  9There has been a trend for the past few years of companies slowly realizing that
 10the pandemic is not just a temporary state that will go away eventually and let
 11everything return to the way it was before. In terms of business and employment,
 12this means that more and more jobs are being offered as permanently remote
 13roles.
 14
 15I had always dreamt of working from home but thought of it as a fantasy,
 16especially since I did not want to move over into the software development
 17field. However, I have found that almost all roles being sent to me via
 18recruiters are permanently remote (although most are limited to US citizens or
 19even region-locked for companies who only operate in select states).
 20
 21I decided to take a look back at my relatively short career so far and compare
 22the positive and negative effects of the different work environments I've been
 23in.
 24
 25* In-Person Offices
 26
 27** Retail Internship
 28
 29I started my first job as a management intern at a busy retail pharmacy, working
 30my 40-hour weeks on my feet. As these retail stores don't believe in resting or
 31sitting down, you can guarantee that you will spend entire shifts standing,
 32walking, or running around the store. Unfortunately, I worked at a time when our
 33store didn't have enough managers, so I spent the majority of my tenure at the
 34store running and breaking a sweat.
 35
 36Now, things aren't all bad in retail stores like this. It is definitely tiring
 37and inefficient to force employees to work constantly, or pretend to work if
 38there's nothing to do, and not allow anyone to sit down. However, if you are
 39able to operate a retail store with a limited crew and provide enough comfort
 40and support, I believe these jobs could be both comfortable and efficient.
 41
 42** Semi-Private Cubicles
 43
 44After about a year, I was able to find another internship - this time, it was in
 45my field of interest: internal auditing. This was for a life insurance company
 46that was well over 100 years old. The age of the company shows if you work
 47there, as most people in management are well into their 40s-60s with little to
 48no youthful leadership in the company. Likewise, they owned a large headquarters
 49in a nice area of town with plenty of space, parking, etc.
 50
 51One upside is that each person gets their own large L-shaped desk, formed into
 52cubicles that house 4 desks/employees. These "pods" of 4-person cubicles are
 53linked throughout each floor of the headquarters (except the sales people, who
 54had that open-floor concept going on). The walls of the cubicle were tall and
 55provided a lot of privacy and sound-proofing, except when I used the standing
 56desk feature (I'm over 6 feet tall, so probably not an issue for most people).
 57
 58I loved this environment, it allowed me to focus on my work with minimal
 59distractions, but also allowed easy access, so I could spin around in my chair
 60and chat with my friends without leaving my chair. This is the closest I've been
 61to a home office environment (which is my personal favorite, as I'll get to
 62later in this post).
 63
 64** Semi-Open Floor Concept
 65
 66When I shifted to my first full-time internal audit job out of college, I was
 67working at a company that was headquartered on a floor in a downtown high-rise
 68building. The company was only about 20 years old when I worked there and were
 69trying a lot of new things to attract young talent, one of which was a semi-open
 70floor concept for the office. My department worked just around the hallway
 71corner from the executive offices and used that "modern" layout young tech
 72companies started using in the 2000s/2010s.
 73
 74Each desk was brief, and you could look most coworkers in the face without
 75moving from your chair, I hated this so much. Directly to my left was the Chief
 76Audit Executive (our department's leading boss), and his desk was pointed so
 77that his face would stare straight at my desk all day. I spent more time
 78thinking about who was looking at me or checking on me than actually working.
 79
 80The other annoying part of the open concept they used was that the kitchen area
 81and pathways were too close to everyone's desks (since the desks were spread
 82out, to provide space or something), so noise and conversation would be constant
 83throughout the day while you try to work. For someone like me, who needs silence
 84to get work done, that was a non-starter.
 85
 86** Hotel Office Concept
 87
 88I currently work for a company remotely (for now) and travel to the office every
 89once in a while for events and to help coach the staff underneath me. The office
 90I visit uses the hotel desk concept, where you need to check in at a touch
 91screen when you enter the office and "rent" a desk for the day. The same goes
 92for offices and meeting rooms.
 93
 94These desks are flat-top only and do not have any walls at all. In addition,
 95they're stacked with one row of 4 desks facing another row of 4 desks. These
 96pairs of desk rows are repeated through the office.
 97
 98This means that when I go, I need to rent a random desk or try to remember the
 99unique identification (ID) numbers on desks I like. Once I rent it, I have to
100make sure no one sat down in that desk without renting it. Then, I can sit down
101and work, but will probably need to adjust the monitors so that I'm not staring
102in the face of the person across from me all day. Finally, I need to wear
103headphones as this environment does nothing to provide you with peace or quiet.
104
105Luckily, you can rent offices with doors that offer quiet and privacy, which can
106be very nice if you have a lot of meetings or webinars on a certain day.
107
108* Home Office
109
110Okay, now let's finally get to the home office concept. I have worked from home
111for a little over two years at this point, across three different
112jobs/employers. Over this time, I have experimented with a plethora of different
113organizational ideas, desks, and room layouts to find what works best for me.
114
115These things might not apply to you, and that's fine. Everyone has a different
116situation, and I really don't think you'll know what works until you try.
117
118** Tip #1
119
120Let's start with my top rule for a home office:
121
122#+begin_quote
123If you live with others, working in a shared space is not effective.
124#+end_quote
125
126It just does not work. If you have another person sleeping in your bedroom, it
127is difficult to manage your work schedule with their sleeping/work/school
128schedule. If they wake up after you need to start work, you might wake them up
129or have to suffer the agony of staring at bright screens in a dark room.
130
131In a similar vein, working from a location such as the living room likely won't
132work either. Distractions will come far more frequently: televisions, cooking,
133cleaning, deliveries, etc. If you're like me, you'll end up playing a game
134instead of actually doing any work.
135
136** Tip #2
137
138Okay, the second thing I've discovered that works for me:
139
140#+begin_quote
141Use the pomodoro method (or something similar) to balance work tasks
142with personal tasks.
143#+end_quote
144
145I use a very casual version of the pomodoro method where I will work for 1-2
146hours (usually set in strict intervals like 1, 1.5, 2 hours) and then will allow
147myself 30-60 minutes for personal tasks. This schedule works for me, since my
148work schedule really only comes to 3-6 hours of work per day.
149
150In this case, I'll work through my list of tasks for an hour or two and then
151give myself personal time to get drinks and food, wash dishes, put clothes in
152the washer, get the mail, etc. If you're in a convenient location, this usually
153gives time for things like getting groceries (as long as you're not a slow
154shopper).
155
156** Tip #3
157
158While I listed this one as number three, I don't think I'd accomplish anything
159without it:
160
161#+begin_quote
162Document everything: even things you didn't before - such as task lists
163and notes from casual calls or meetings.
164#+end_quote
165
166I've noticed that staying in an office gave me more constant reminders of
167outstanding tasks or facts I had learned in a conversation. Translating
168everything to a digital world has made me lose a bit of that focus (perhaps
169since I don't have visual reminders?).
170
171Keeping a running task list of all things I have to do - even potential tasks! -
172has helped me keep up without missing anything small. Likewise, keeping notes
173for ALL meetings and calls, no matter how casual/quick, has improved my
174retention immensely. Beyond helping my mental recollection, it has saved me
175numerous times when I need to do a keyword search for some topic that was
176discussed 6+ months ago.
177
178** Tip #4
179
180Okay, last one for now.
181
182#+begin_quote
183Keep your work area clean.
184#+end_quote
185
186This one is straightforward, but I know some people struggle with cleanliness or
187may not believe it makes a difference. Trust me, keeping your desk area clean
188and organized makes a huge difference, both mentally and emotionally.
189
190Just think about it, you walk into your home office and see a clean desk with a
191laptop, dock, monitors, keyboard, mouse, and a notepad with a pen on top.
192
193Now imagine the opposite, there's an office with the same equipment, but there
194are clothes hanging on the chair, empty drink bottles, candy wrappers and dirty
195plates. This can take both a mental and emotional toll by bringing constant
196disarray and stress into your working environment.
197
198Just keep things clean each day, and you won't need to do any big cleaning days
199to recover.
200
201* My Preferences
202
203I've talked about the different environments I've worked in and expressed some
204honest thoughts on pros or cons to each, but what do I prefer? Well, if you're
205reading along, you should be able to tell that I much prefer a home office above
206all else.
207
208Being able to control my own day and allot my time as needed has brought a
209calmness to my life and has allowed me to maximize each day. I feel far more
210effective and efficient in a home office than any other office, especially
211open-office layouts.
212
213If I do need to return to an office part-time in the future, I really hope the
214office will have privacy and quietness in order for me to get my work done.