I'm working remotely, which has its pros and cons. I sometimes consider moving to Nagoya, where my company is based, but I'm also relieved to live far away. This has its advantages and disadvantages, some of which are typical for remote workers and others that are specific to my company and me. I could discuss this extremely complex topic for eight hours. In Japanese, of course! For today, however, I'll focus on three points: concentration, exercise, and information.
1. Concentration
Some people claim that working from home allows for greater concentration because there are fewer distractions. That isn't the case for me, though. I don't mind people chatting around me as long as it's not too loud. Furthermore, I can concentrate better on my work when I feel others' presence around me. For example, I can't do strength training at home, but I can at the gym. Although I don't need to be watched and supervised, when I feel that others are doing their best around me, it influences my motivation. I occasionally have trouble focusing when working alone at home.
2. Exercise
Remote workers don't have to commute, so, generally speaking, they tend to walk less. However, this gives me a lot of down time, and I enjoy going to the gym. Additionally, I'm a restless person with ADHD, so I'm always standing, sitting, stretching, or wandering around the room when I get stuck in coding. I didn't do that around my coworkers when I worked in an office. I used to have a lot of back pain back then. Thankfully, I don't have it anymore.
3. Information
The most significant disadvantage of remote work, in my opinion, is having limited information. In-person communication gives you access to a vast amount of information. Clients' personality, preferences, and level of web knowledge are all key factors in determining which coding path is best, but I barely have the chance to see them. It's difficult for me to perceive how busy my coworkers are or when I should consult with my boss, for example. Coding tends to be considered inorganic work which isn't relevant with such a detailed information, but actually, it IS organic. Coding requires a succession of decisions, and it needs the detailed, firsthand information that can only be given in a physical workspace.
Nagoya is Japan's third largest city, after Tokyo and Osaka, and is a good place to live. However, if I were to relocate, it would be to the Tokyo region, rather than Nagoya. My sisters and son live in Tokyo, and I'd like to live close to them.
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better title: The Pros and Cons of Working Remotely
In my workplace we are allowed to work from home 50% of the time. I still go into the office most of the time for the reasons you give above. Plus, in the office we do jigsaws in our lunch hour and this is fun.
@t4up3 Oh, that sounds like a lot of fun! I think being able to do jigsaws would definitely motivate me to go to office!
I get to do a hybrid solution as well, 3 days in the office, 2 days at home. It's nice because you get the best of both worlds that way.
@Ersatzjello I'm the only one that works full-time from home in my company, and my coworkers do the same as you. Your comment made me want to move to Nagoya. However, I might select Tokyo. Anyway, thank you for your comment. I learned the phrase "get the best of both worlds", which is equivalent to いいとこ取り in Japanese.