Working by the pool?

When you read about remote work, there might be a picture of someone sitting by the pool with a laptop—or something equally dumb. The Covid-19 outbreak might change that, and a few other stereotypes.

Here I am. Working remotely by the pool.

I bet a few people had that poolside image in their heads when I relocated to the US five years ago. Perhaps that's why I lost a few of my European clients in the process. They just didn't want to pay me to sit by the pool all day. Just so you know, I don’t actually have a pool and it’s too hot in Texas to work outdoors anyways.

One of my clients in Finland said that teamwork doesn't happen over the phone. Another one said that I was going to be too far away. How far is “too far” anyways? Now that most of us have been working from home, you can ask yourself if it really matters where people are, or if you’ve been able to do team work “over the phone”. I’m also curious if in your Zoom calls you’ve seen any people by swimming pools.

The naysayers

The Corona virus must be particularly hard for the hover-clients and hover-bosses. If they can’t see or smell you working they assume you’re not, you lazy bum. They like to hold the wheel and prefer the stick shift. In their world, losing control will lead to financial ruin, moral decay, or both.

The class conscious elitists and the passionate even-stevens are more confused by this situation. Generally, they don’t like to pay anyone who works even close to a pool if they have to sit at an office. Now they’re at home too so I guess it’s temporarily ok.

Unfortunately, this Covid crash course in remote working might not convert this crowd just yet. Too many abnormalities like the looming recession and kids at home are distorting the experience.

The yaysayers

When I moved across the Atlantic, many clients stayed with me and new ones kept coming in, regardless of distance. Who were these people? Age, education, industry, size of business or tech-savviness didn’t really tell you either way. But all of them saw distance either as irrelevant, or as an advantage.

This crowd was also capable of trusting people to run with it, and trusting themselves to find people that can run. These people pretty much landed on their feet when the Covid hit, at least when it comes to working in a fully remote environment.

Mastering the remote

Now during Covid—like it or not—we’re all remote. Even if you’re not captain self-discipline, you can still learn to master your time. Even I did. The common pitfall at home is work spreading into your every waking hour. Relentlessly defending your off-duty time is key. The quality of your work will suffer if you don’t. Boundaries will also help to keep focus when working.

Eventually, you’ll spend less time doing the same work, or even better work. Not forgetting all the time and money you already saved by not sitting in your car nor reacting to every walk-by at the office. Just bear in mind that a lot of people prefer a nine-to-five schedule even at home. Be considerate and flexible if you choose to work more sporadically.

When you get to choose your environment and shuffle your daily structure to fit your blood type, it can really put your head in a good place. A place where your best works comes from.

Missing face to face?

I often hear people say how face to face interaction is important to them. That they would go crazy if they’d have to work from home, and now Covid is doing just that. Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate the live experience when meeting people for work. However, we all might come out of this a bit more critical. Seeing when face-to-face is beneficial and when it’s just someone’s personal preference. Seeing how much of it is just Broadway in suits.