State of Remote Work: A #BufferChat Recap
This week on #bufferchat our community chatted about the State of Remote Work, discussing what it’s like to be a remote worker in 2018. Read on to discover all of the awesome insights shared during the chat!
Catch our weekly Twitter chat, #bufferchat, at TWO times every Wednesday for valuable industry insights and to meet hundreds of other smart marketers and social media enthusiasts. Same topic, same place, just at different times – feel free to join whichever chat time works best for you!
4 pm AEDT (Sydney time)
9 am PT (San Francisco time)
This week’s stats:
Bufferchat #1 (4 pm AEDT): 30 participants; reach of 989,830
Bufferchat #2 (9 am PT): 96 participants; reach of 1,238,440
Q1: Where do you primarily work from? Do you have a secondary location?
From the community:
A1. Home office. Sometimes a bar stool. Amazingly productive place for me to get through reading materials or organize my thoughts. #bufferchat
— Daria Steigman (@dariasteigman) February 28, 2018
A1: A1: I work in an open-concept office in downtown Chicago. But since my job is in social media and I’m the only one on the team, I feel like I also work from the train, the gym, my bed, the couch… ? #BufferChat
— Jessie (@JessieDeschane) February 28, 2018
A1: I work from home.
Secondarily:
Beach
Coffee Shop
Car
Library
The Capital
and many more places, LOL.#bufferchat pic.twitter.com/OAHzVvK5LD
— Lori Anding? Smallbiz Social Media Expertise (@southbaysome) February 28, 2018
A1: I work primarily from a room at home. It’s nice to have comfort. Coffee shop, coworking space, friends’ places as secondary options if scheduling requires it. #bufferchat
— alex t (@caffodian) February 28, 2018
See all the great answers to question 1 here!
Q2: Do you work remotely 100% of the time? If not what percentage of your time is remote?
From the community:
A2: I typically do 2 to 3 days a week remote working. I call them WOOO days (Working Out Of Office) I heard that somewhere and I kind of love calling them that #bufferchat
— Warwick Brown (@warwickabrown) February 28, 2018
A2: 70% from home + 30% on the road = 100% remote! We do have in-person meetings once a quarter, which are always a blast. ? #bufferchat #remotework pic.twitter.com/W8fgwtMtpv
— Peter Schroeder ? (@peterschroederr) February 28, 2018
A2: 60% but with the desire to scale to 100. I like the general flexibility and control to plan my day. Plus, I avoid the dreaded commute. #bufferchat
— Lana Park (@lanaparkart) February 28, 2018
A2: I work remotely sometimes throughout the month. So many things happen at the office that it can be difficult to work remote. So I’d say 10-15%. #bufferchat
— Britton Lorentzen (@blorentz38) February 28, 2018
See all the great answers to question 2 here!
Q3: What percentage of your company is remote workers?
From the community:
A3: 100%. Though we make an effort to see each other a few times a year for some group work and team building. #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/qPV4i2BxA1
— Jules Kim (@julesykim) February 28, 2018
A3 Our work culture supports flexible locations, but we do have physical HQs. Less than 10% of the company is totally remote, but anyone can choose where they work. #BufferChat
— Ann Diab (@AnnDiab) February 28, 2018
A3: 100%… although I believe we do have a co-working office space on the west coast for some of the workers located nearby. Though not many people use it, it’s nice that they have that option when the couch/home office is feeling uninspiring! #bufferchat
— Angela Milinazzo (@angelamilz) February 28, 2018
A3: 100% just me for now. However, if I expand, I’m open to it being totally remote. #bufferchat
— Vicky Warren – Social Media Strategy Coach (@VickyWriting) February 28, 2018
See all the great answers to question 3 here!
Q4: What is the biggest benefit of working remotely?
From the community:
A4: Crafting my work around my life— and not of the other way around. #bufferchat
— Darren Buckner ?? (@darrenbuckner) February 28, 2018
A4: Everyone thrives in different environments! Working in a way that’s perfectly optimized for your personal productivity is a big one. For building a team, having access to a much larger talent pool than you would when hiring locally is a huge plus. – Fadeke #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/FGCncPAxbo
— Doist (@doist) February 28, 2018
A4: The biggest benefits of #remotework would definitely be choice and freedom. Choose your environment. Choose your inputs. Choose your distractions or lack of them. Be free to do your best work in the best way you can set up for yourself, empowered by your company. #BufferChat
— Kieran Moolchan (@kieranmoolchan) February 28, 2018
A4: For me, the ability to structure my work around the rest of my life: family, dogs, travel, hobbies. Of course part of that is having a boss who truly believes in flexibility! #bufferchat
— Qocreate (@qocreate) February 28, 2018
A4: Flexibility! I don’t have to feel guilty scheduling a dentist appt in the middle of the day or going for a walk to clear my head. Ultimately, my productivity is far higher when I can schedule my day around my needs. #bufferchat
— Anne Mercer (@Anne_E_Mercer) February 28, 2018
See all the great answers to question 4 here!
Q5: What is the biggest struggle of working remotely?
From the community:
A5: It can be harder to bounce ideas off others. Less spontaneity for discussions since you need to call your co-workers or have planned conference calls. #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/EAoIUvg6GQ
— Allison Miriani, CEDS (@AllisonMiriani) February 28, 2018
A5: Getting things done in a timely manner! There are sooo many ‘shiny’ activities to participate in, so many lonely friends, so many events, so many coffees that are not gonna drink themselves… #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/rTOunNbCvq
— Ferencz Csuszner (@csfrncz) February 28, 2018
A5: Remaining focussed on a task while the kids are playing next door. Speaking of it, I gotta leave. My expertise as Lego engineer is needed. #bufferchat
— Dan Kaufhold (@dan_kaufhold) February 28, 2018
A5: For me the freedom to eat while working has been a disadvantage. I gained so much weight because I always eat while working ? #bufferchat
— Natasheen Tan (@natasheentan) February 28, 2018
See all the great answers to question 5 here!
Q6: Do you have tips for disconnecting? How often do you fully disconnect and take a vacation?
From the community:
A6 i’m trying out a new method I learned recently:
shut phone off at 5pm and only turn it on at 8am. it’s a bumpy ride but Its helping ease that “always plugged in” tendency. IMO, it’s easier then turning on/ off notifications. #bufferchat
— Musolé Kambinda ? (@Musolek) February 28, 2018
A6: Cherish your weekends. You’ll start your week excited and rejuvinated vs over it and over worked. We don’t fully disconnect often but some time at a co-working retreat, or staying at a coliving house can do wonders for your energy towards work! Highly recommend. #bufferchat
— Workfrom (@workfrom) February 28, 2018
A6: I usually take a vacation in the winter where I disconnect from work. In the summer I tend to take long weekends for mini-vacations as well. Basically, if I leave the city for a personal holiday, my laptop stays home. #bufferchat
— Jordyn Wegner (@JordynEWegner) February 28, 2018
A6: Find a hobby. When you have something you enjoy doing, it’s easier to find time to disconnect and not become a workaholic. We encourage our team to take a break every once in a while, in the end this leads to a happier and more productive team. #bufferchat
— Hubstaff.com (@Hubstaff) February 28, 2018
A6: Create a “signing off” routine to mark the end of your working day. Once you’ve done this, you’re done. Be strict, no sneaky email checking.
I always fully disconnect at the weekend – I wouldn’t make it through the week otherwise!#bufferchat
— Felicity Wild (@flickwild) February 28, 2018
See all the great answers to question 6 here!
Thank you so much to our awesome community for sharing such great insights in this chat!
Do you have any comments or answers to these questions? Leave your thoughts in the comments! We’d love to hear from you!