Re-reading the post by Jason Fried, “Remote Work is a Platform.” Got me thinking a lot about the last 134 days that I’ve been working from home; 134 days of being a remote worker for the first time.
“Remote work is another platform. It has its own unique flavor, advantages, and disadvantages.”
Jason Fried, “Remote Work is a Platform”
Remote work is secondary…
My own work experience is a singular experience. That experience is one of sitting in the same desk for almost 9 years, in the same corner, of the same building. So, when I would previously read articles about the benefits of remote work Pre-COVID, I was trying to fit those concepts into my current concept of work, which was that of the corporate office environment.
The office environment is a system supporting work in the office environment. The office is primary, and remote work is secondary; never truly accepted and merely tolerated.
Remote work is primary…
Within a week or two in March, remote work became primary.
And yet, the system to support an office environment remained. Desk phones, instant messaging, email, video meetings. All of these tools were being used to “replicate” the office.
But we can never truly replicate the office. Instead, those same tools could be used to supplement remote work.
Simulating in-person office work remotely does both approaches a disservice.
This is often what happens when change is abrupt. We bring what we know from one to the other. We apply what we’re familiar with to the unfamiliar. But, in time, we recognize that doesn’t work.
Jason Fried, “Remote Work is a Platform”
Remote work is a different system.
I think that’s the biggest lesson I’ve learned over the last 134 days. It’s not that remote work is better or worse, it’s different. And once you find your way, once you find how to fit in with the new system, it works.
I’ve gained a completely new perspective on work, remote or otherwise, and I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity to learn. I’m not throwing away my shot.