Remote Work Arrogance

Remote workers think that they have found the cure to all diseases. And they (we) are quick to let you know about how remote work will solve all your problems.

This attitude tracks as arrogance and separates us from what we want: for more people to work remotely; for it to become more normal.

For the curious, they want to know when and how it works, and what benefits are real. Can you really have more time for your family without your work suffering? Can you really build a career this way? The last thing they want to hear is that the remote community is condescending, elitist, or somehow tied to a specific situation. Being honest about what it makes harder and easier helps more for those that are interested. You don't have to be a digital nomad or travel the world to work from where you wish, you don't have to be a freelancer or own your own small business to do it. You don't have to be an expert in your field to do it.

For the skeptical audience, many of the arrogant messages are simply ammunition to help them dismiss the practice as unprofessional. Let's say you post about how you can hang out by the pool and work for a few hours, but don't talk about how you only do this a few days a month or about how you do it to get sunshine because you are struggling with working too much and not going outdoors. Someone from a more traditional work environment couldn't take a video call from beside a pool without getting fired, so its hard for them to imagine a workplace that would allow it. Instead, talk about how your workplace transitioned and/or runs a results-oriented environment, and what happens if you were just tanning all day and not actually working. To implement remote work a company needs a way to track how much is getting done that does not rely on the traditional methods. Be honest with both sides.

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