38 Awesome Things About Remote Working

The #Coronavirus has forced many companies to require their employees to work at home. Some companies are ahead of the curve. Others scramble. It's a lesson that all companies need processes and policies for #RemoteWorking. Other situations like natural disasters can force self-quarantine.

Understandably, some struggle with the sudden switch to becoming remote workers. Here are 38 reasons why it's awesome.

1. Flexibility. Workout when you want, not trying to get there at a too-early hour or late when your body won't budge.

2. Dress code: Whatever you want!

3. Get the mail and packages before they're stolen.

4. Choose your own lighting. Hugely helpful for people with light sensitivity and migraines.

5. Control the noise level. A must for those with tinnitus or hyperacusis. Even deafness. I can't stand working with my hearing aids off but had to turn them off when coworkers were on speakerphone.

6. Stress-free doctor's appointments. I felt like it was a production to go to the doctor, go to work early, stay late, etc. I go when I need to go without guilt. Work gets done.

7. More productive. No cubicle drive-by conversations taking up your time.

8. More efficient meetings. Rarely pulled into a meeting with #RemoteWork. Attend few meetings compared to when I worked in an office.

9. Food and drink. No old food in the fridge. No temptations of lunches, endless snacks, candy jars, birthdays.

10. Get sick far fewer times than when in an office #NuffSaid

11. Happier especially if you have furry mascots who appreciate not being left home alone.

12. OCD and germaphobes have less of a battle at home than in an office.

13. Fewer communication problems. I'm deaf and rarely use a phone or videoconference. Remote working has worked for me for 15 years.

14. Never panicked about work because of #Covid19. Already a full-time remote worker.

15. Social isolation? Not a problem. I look forward to chatting with #RemoteChat buddies every week. I go to Orangetheory (Not now.) first thing in the morning and get my social fix

16. Desk set up efficiently. Dual monitors, ergonomic, and comfy. Not stuck with assigned office furniture like my spouse whose knees hit the desk and the standing desk is too short.

17. Office space my way. No cubicle half-walls. Four walls. Two doors.

18. Temperature. My office is small enough that a fan or portable heater keeps me comfy. I've had to wear a coat and gloves while working in an office.

19. Better breaks: Dog walks, block walks, throw in laundry, run the dishwasher, help a neighbor.

20. Access to everything. TV for news. (Sometimes the Internet freaks because everyone is trying to get the same news.)

21. Don't feel well? Can nap and get back to work. Work in bed. And NOT infect others!

22. Medical issues: no worrying about it in the privacy and comfort of own home.

23. Parenting: Pick up my kids as needed. They could come straight home after school. When a kid got sick a school, I could go pick 'em up without any hoopla and get back to work once they were settled in. With kids out of school longer than expected, parents don't have to scramble for daycare.

24. Family. My dad (z"l) had a stroke in 2007. Remote working allowed me to go to Fort Worth (an hour away) and be with him at the hospital. He died later that year. 25. Start work happy. No stressful commute to get my day off to a lousy start.

26. Holidays. With no commute, I could start work early and get off early for a holiday starting that evening.

27. No politics. This could be more of a freelancer than a company thing. But politics is nonexistent since I started remote working.

28. Live where I want. No commute. No high cost of living cities. #LovePlano

29. More time to do favorite things and non-work activities. Removing commute from the equation makes that possible.

30. Travel and can still work. I went to Knowbility's #AccessU in Austin and worked from there.

31. It's so cool when you finally meet coworkers in person as I met one in person in 2019. We've worked together since 2001!

32. You can work with people all over the world. I've worked with folks in Japan, China. Belarus, UK, Canada, Thailand.

33. Add furry family members. We would've never had Itzy or Carrie if I couldn't work from home. Neither do well alone for long.

34. Take a break your way. If you need to nap. You can! No killing yourself napping in your car.

35. Work the hours that work best for you. (You may have to be flexible for meetings.) Some are night owls. Some are early birds (Me).

36. Accessibility challenges. You work in an environment that fits you instead of trying to make it fit.

37. Environment impact. My 2008 car has 50,000 miles.

38. Happier. The only time things got rough is when the workload wasn't enough. That's a freelancing thing, not a remote working thing.

What would you add to the list?