Work from Home question

[gumi]

Sorry for the post and run, but I have to go to work. However, I can really use some feedback.

To preface, I do not work from home. But, I am in a field where it is super common and I used to work from home (for many years). I loved it for obvious reasons. But, my last job did not have an enriching, collaborative environment. I didn't gain anything from physically being at the office, so it made sense to save myself a trip. However, it was very isolating and I got lonely.

My current is job has a very enriching, collaborative environment. I work with some of the smartest people I have met, perhaps some of the best in the field, and I've grown a lot since working there. I feel satisfied at the end of the day and enjoy going to work.

I have another job opportunity for a very exciting company. My mom worked for a company in the 80s that was acquired by Motorola and I always said that if I saw a potential opportunity like that, I would try to snag it.  It is more money, an interesting industry, and upper management is almost all women, which I think is empowering.  The only downside is that it is entirely virtual.  There are daily stand up meetings online, but it's not the same as being around other people all day.

On one side, I feel like I have stuff to learn at my current job. The thought of leaving my co-workers makes me sad.
On the other side, most of my co-workers (and myself) are contractors, and we can be let go very easily. In a few months, the environment can change, you never know. Plus, I am winding up a huge project, which was my favorite part of the job. That is not to say that a different new project won't come up.
Long term, there is more money and long-term opportunity with the new job. But, there will never be an office so I risk loneliness. I am also scared without being around others, my learning/growing will plateau (I can be wrong about this - I have no idea).

My husband wants me to take the new job because of the money. He nods his head when I discuss my concern of being isolated, but I can tell he does not truly understand since this is something that would not bother him at all.

Assuming your commute was not bad at all, under these circumstances, how would you feel?

If you do work from home, how do you cope with the isolation?

In my ideal world, I would do 50/50. The new job is okay with that...my current job, not so much

[dr.girlfriend]

How about joining a co-working space? Even if there's not a formal one in your area there may be meetups and stuff for people in similar circumstances, even if it's just people getting together for bagels once a week.

[konapoppy]

I would take the new job. Sounds like you have had a great experience and built a strong network at your current job, but there isn't a guarantee that any or all of that will continue.

At the new job, I would start building a network ASAP. Connect with people just to hear what is going on in their lives. Find time to check in once a month or so with the folks who you really connect with. Use Skype for Business or other chat software to stay in touch day to day.

[sfy]

I've been working from home for almost two years now. My H also WFH so that helps. Plus, I've worked from home before, and even SAH, so I didn't think it would ever bother me. A few months ago, I noticed that it is affecting me. I talk to my husband more than I ever did and not in a good way, like just babbling because he's my primary access to human interaction. I post more on the board than I did before. I talk more on the telephone. Before, when friends would ask me to go out, sometimes I would, sometimes I wouldn't, now I almost always say yes . It didn't help that DS left for school since I started WFH, so not only did I lose another person I was accustomed to talking to, I also gained more free time.

I think if it is a concern for you before even starting, you are more likely to be bothered by it, because I never thought it would be an issue, but I have been affected (don't get me wrong, I still never ever want to go back to being in an office lol). I think you just have to find ways to make sure you are getting more human interaction. I like Dr. G's idea.

[boiler717]

It's definitely isolating but I love it. Will you have the option to work from other locations or will you be tied to a home office? I have lots of neighbors who WFH and often work in cafes and coffee shops. I definitely get a good amount of people interaction.

[Deleted]

Lurker from SO here who started WFH two months ago. I've actually found that it's increased my interactions with my friends and family because I make more of a point to reach out and see them knowing I will be home during working hours. I'm also a it of an introvert so after work often times I felt exhausted by the interaction. My team has also quickly formed a relationship so we chit chat or collaborate via text or IM throughout the day. I'm not sure how flexible your schedule is, but I take some time most days to take a break by walking somewhere, usually to do errands, or take a work out class. Good luck!

[aurora]

I'm confused. When you say at the end of your post that the new job is OK with 50/50, does that mean that there is indeed an office space you could go to for up to 50% of the time? If so, then that sounds like the perfect situation.

If not, how often do opportunities arise in your field and local area? If neither job is perfect for you but you don't have a big reason to change, can you keep looking?

Finally, what impact would the additional $ have on your life? Since you're not talking much about that, I'm reading it as more of a "nice to have, sure" than a "would change our lives for the better" thing, which of course would change my answer.

[ECB]

I think that you need to take the $$ off the table and look at it only in terms of WFH/ not WFH. REALLY think about it. You've gotten some good ideas no how ot not make it as isolating. But you have to really think about it as objectively as possible and you need to not make it about the $$.

AND you need to tell your DH to back off on this. Having lived w/ a DH who crashed and burned at a very well paying job, I can not stress enough that money isn't everything. Having you making a lot of $$ but you'll be miserable is NOT what your DH wants. Trust. And HE needs to understand this.

This decision has to be made based on the other factors at play here.

[msmerymac]

It REALLY depends on your personality. The more of an extrovert you are, the more lonely you might be.

I work from home full time due to telecommuting because of moving for my husband's job. The rest of my coworkers, with the exception of a couple, work out of a main office 3000 miles away. I do miss the conversation and you do probably miss out on some organic brain storming and the like. But with everyone working remotely, you won't be missing anything, and I imagine everyone will be really good at communicating via email, phone and messenger, or whatever is most popular in this office culture.

I also use a coworking space one day a week. I'm at mine right now! At the very least, it gives you the experience of commuting and you can take yourself to lunch, but it also allows access to being around others, happy hours and networking events.

[dr.girlfriend]

Sept 4, 2015 9:26:17 GMT -5 aurora said:

I'm confused. When you say at the end of your post that the new job is OK with 50/50, does that mean that there is indeed an office space you could go to for up to 50% of the time? If so, then that sounds like the perfect situation.

If not, how often do opportunities arise in your field and local area? If neither job is perfect for you but you don't have a big reason to change, can you keep looking?

Finally, what impact would the additional $ have on your life? Since you're not talking much about that, I'm reading it as more of a "nice to have, sure" than a "would change our lives for the better" thing, which of course would change my answer.

I *think* she just got this backward...that her current job is okay with 50/50, but new job will be 100% WFH. I guess we'll see when she comes back, though. :-)

[brooke77]

I was in a somewhat similar position as you. I was offered a role that would be a great career advancement for me but was 100% WFH. The majority of the office was in TX, my nearest colleague would be in ME and I am in MA. I very much enjoy and thrive in a collaborative, healthy environment and voiced my concerns about 100% WFH and was told there would be the opportunity for monthly meetings with my colleague in ME, but in the end I didn't think it would be the right fit for me personally.

However, it really depends on your field. I am in a field where I gain so much by talking to my coworkers about difficult cases, new legislation, or just our bad days =) A 50/50 arrangement would be my ideal.

Are you actively searching for a new job? Maybe 100% virtual isn't best, but another opportunity is?

[Deleted]

Take the new job and join a Coworking space. We have lots of remote employees at mine.

Good luck.

[monsterz]

I frequently travel to events or to HQ so I don't feel isolated. I have worked from home on and off for the last 10 years, and enjoy it. I do plan social events during the week so I do get out of the house and speak with others. WFH is definitely not for everybody. In my current role I do a lot of writing independently so it is perfect, previously I had a role where I did a great deal of meetings and that was much harder.

[anna7602]

Sept 4, 2015 8:55:11 GMT -5 sfy said:

I've been working from home for almost two years now. My H also WFH so that helps. Plus, I've worked from home before, and even SAH, so I didn't think it would ever bother me. A few months ago, I noticed that it is affecting me. I talk to my husband more than I ever did and not in a good way, like just babbling because he's my primary access to human interaction. I post more on the board than I did before.  

This is my biggest setback with WAH. The internet is this deep, awful rabbit hole for me because it is often my sole connection to the outside world. My H works long hours and often comes home after I am in bed for the night. I spend a lot of my non-working time with a pre-verbal toddler. My post count should indicate the embarrassing amount of time I spend online.  

I try to make lunch or coffee plans with friends, but sometimes child care falls through and I'm trying to make up for lost work time on other days. Luckily, I live in a very neighborly neighborhood, so I often see people I know out and about when I run to the grocery store or the coffee shop or to pick up my older child from school, or else I'd feel even more isolated. 

However, I tried going back to office life two years ago and the insane amount of time wasted in meetings upon meetings was appalling to me. For a while, it made me appreciate my ability to just do my own thing at home and not be pulled into something else by a co-worker or expected to attend a meeting that had nothing to do with my own work. But I'm back to feeling a little lonely now. However, logically, I know that I have no desire to commute into an office or manage the logistics of childcare/school holidays with a set office schedule. The pay in my field wouldn't be radically better with an office job. And no one is offering me an awesome office-based opportunity at the moment anyway. 

ETA: I forgot to saying that I have been exclusively WAH since 2009, with a brief sejour back into office life in the fall of 2013. 

[drloretta]

I have been 100% WFH since December. I have noticed I'm a little more chatty with DH and our babysitters, but I don't feel isolated. I think it helps that I have a very positive, collaborative team, and I travel once a quarter

[y4m]

I've worked at home and felt isolated, and I've worked at home and not felt isolated (come to think of it, I've also worked in an office and felt isolated).

The difference comes down to culture much more than it comes down to whether you are physically present with people or not.

Especially if the whole company is remote, it is very possible to have a great an collaborative culture with the right tools and the right will to make it happen. If you think the work and people will be exciting, I'd jump at that WAH opportunity.

[Deleted]

WFH is the bomb. I didn't read the entire post though

Hope this helps