About four years have passed since I switched to a career centered on remote work.
Because I switched to being an engineer with no prior experience, there were times when I struggled to learn the job.
Even so, by changing my working environment, the way I feel exhausted from work has changed significantly compared to before.
Previously, the arrival of a weekday itself was depressing.
I was exhausted by the long commute and working while interacting with people at the office, and by the time work ended, I was drained both mentally and physically.
Now, however, I rarely feel heavy-hearted just because it’s a weekday.
I am now able to work calmly at home, and I feel that remote work is a working style that suits me.
However, I have one anxiety.
As long as I am a company employee, whether I can continue remote work depends on company policy.
If it becomes necessary to go into the office, it might be difficult to continue working as I do now.
That is why, even though I am satisfied with my current way of working, my anxiety about the future does not disappear.
It wasn’t just the commute; being at the workplace itself was a burden
Before changing jobs, I worked at a large company.
After joining, my workplace was over an hour away one way from my home.
After a transfer, it became a two-hour commute one way.
The commute alone was tough, but that wasn’t the only burden for me.
There were many day trips to distant locations, and I would sometimes leave home early in the morning and return late at night.
Moreover, I was with company people even while traveling.
I had no time to be alone and relax, and the tension continued even during non-work hours.
The workplace also always had a busy atmosphere.
Everyone around me was capable of handling their work, and there were no colleagues close to my age.
It seemed like no new employees had joined for years, and I felt that those around me were also confused about how to teach me.
Everyone seemed to have their hands full with their own work, so I couldn’t ask questions easily even if I didn’t understand something.
I am not good at talking to people.
Because I would shrink away from calling out to people who looked busy, I tried to make a list of questions myself before asking so I could be as concise as possible.
Even so, that didn’t mean I could do the work immediately.
Everyone else was proceeding with their work as if it were natural, while I alone couldn’t do anything.
Feeling that way, there were times when I felt like I was isolated in the workplace.
Furthermore, the office was large, and there were many people from other departments.
In an environment where I could always hear phones ringing and people talking, I felt exhausted just by being at my desk.
Since new employees were assigned to answer phones, I couldn’t leave my seat even during lunch breaks.
Even when I wanted to rest a little, I was conscious of people’s eyes, and I couldn’t really relax at the workplace.
During the day on weekdays, I had almost no appetite.
I would just drink jelly drinks or eat a little Calorie Mate.
Before I took a leave of absence, I had lost over 5kg compared to when I joined the company.
At the time, I was trying hard to somehow manage the work.
Looking back now, I think the tension continued the whole time, both during the commute and while at the workplace.
Even if I could leave at the scheduled time, a long commute was waiting for me.
By the time I got home on a crowded train, I was exhausted both mentally and physically.
For me, it wasn’t just the job content, but the commute, the workplace environment, and the way of interacting with people themselves were a huge burdenI think.
One month after changing jobs. The way I felt exhausted from work changed significantly
Since I switched to being an engineer with no experience, the work wasn’t easy from the start.
I had never touched programming until I changed jobs, and I hardly understood IT terminology.
I lacked technical knowledge, and I struggled to learn the job.
When I first changed jobs, there were frequent web meetings to learn the work.
There were also administrative procedures for the company, and I would sometimes get tired when meetings continued.
Even so, I felt it was clearly different from before.
The biggest thing was the burden of communication with people.
Previously, I was self-conscious about calling out to busy people to ask questions.
Just gauging the other person’s mood and thinking about what and how to ask was exhausting.
On the other hand, with remote work, I can ask questions via chat.
Since I can think about the text before sending it, I can organize the main points and convey them at my own timing.
There were times when I needed to talk directly in web meetings, but it was much easier than talking face-to-face with someone in the same place.
I can also proceed while looking up technical things I don’t understand on the internet.
Of course, I need to ask questions about things I don’t understand even after looking them up.
Still, being able to ask after looking it up myself suited me.
And above all, what surprised me was the way I felt exhausted after work.
Before changing jobs, I was exhausted both mentally and physically even if I finished work at the scheduled time.
However, after changing jobs, even though I struggled to learn the work, I didn’t feel as exhausted as before.
About a month after starting remote work, even though there was the difficulty of learning the job, I felt that « this way of working suits me. »
By being able to work at home, I think I was able to reduce the burden of commuting and face-to-face communication, apart from the struggle of learning the job.
Looking back now, I feel that if I had started working as an inexperienced engineer with the same office-based work as before, it would have been difficult to continue.
Not only did the job content change, but the place of work and the way of interacting with people changed.
That difference was very significant for me.
For me, there were almost no disadvantages to remote work
It’s been about four years since I started remote work, but in my case, I feel almost no disadvantages to the way of working itself.
Of course, there are times when work gets busy.
I get tired if I have work with a near deadline or if meetings continue.
However, I think that is unavoidable as long as I am working, rather than because it is remote work.
On the other hand, being able to work at home has major advantages for me.
For example, it is easy to take breaks at my own timing during work.
Previously, even if I wanted to rest a little at the office, I was conscious of the eyes of those around me and couldn’t settle down.
There were times when I couldn’t leave my seat during breaks because of phone duty, and I couldn’t relax while at the workplace.
Now, I can take breaks at my own timing according to the work situation.
I sometimes drink coffee or finish small household chores.
Of course, I am not neglecting my work to do what I like.
I proceed with the work I need to do, and I rest at my own pace when I can. That flexibility suits me.
It is also different after work ends.
If I close my computer, work is over.
There is no long commute, and no need to ride a crowded train.
Even if I am tired from work, it is significant that I am not further drained by commuting afterward.
Also, with remote work, casual conversation with colleagues and face-to-face interaction tend to decrease.
Although this is generally cited as a disadvantage, it is not particularly a problem for me.
I have always liked spending time alone, and meeting or talking to people is more mentally exhausting.
With chat, I can think about the text before sending it, and web meetings are also easier than talking face-to-face.
It’s not that I don’t care about lack of exercise at all.
However, even when I was commuting, I didn’t go out much except for commuting, so I don’t feel that my life has changed drastically because of remote work.
Looking back like this, I think the advantages of remote work are not the same for everyone.
There must be people who find it easier to work by meeting and talking to people directly, and people who find value in interacting with colleagues at the workplace.
In my case, it was the opposite.
Being able to work without worrying about people’s eyes. Being able to rest at my own timing when necessary. Being able to proceed with work calmly alone.
I think it is because this environment suited my personality that I am able to work without feeling dissatisfied with remote work even now, four years later.
I prioritized an environment where I could work at home over annual income
When I changed jobs, what I prioritized above all else was being able to work at home.
The company size became smaller than before, and my annual income also decreased.
It would be a lie to say I wasn’t anxious about money.
Even so, at the time, I felt that it would be difficult to continue working if I didn’t change my working environment.
Long commute times and working while interacting with people at the workplace.
Being conscious of those around me and not being able to ask questions easily even if I didn’t understand something.
Considering those daily burdens, it was not realistic to continue working in the same environment.
That is why, when looking for a new job, I prioritized being able to work at home over company size, benefits, or annual income.
Regarding the job content, I didn’t have a strong obsession with doing a specific job.
I wanted to try it if it was a job where I could do remote work and have as little interaction with people as possible.
As a result, I ended up switching to being an engineer with no experience.
Of course, I don’t want to recommend a decrease in annual income to everyone.
The conditions that should be prioritized differ depending on the person, such as living expenses and family matters.
I myself didn’t have zero anxiety about my income decreasing.
However, for me at the time, rather than maintaining my annual income and treatment, finding an environment where I could continue working without strainwas more important.
Even now, about four years after changing jobs, I feel that prioritizing an environment that suited me at that time was not a mistake.
What I am still anxious about is that I cannot protect this way of working by myself
About four years since switching to remote work.
I am satisfied with my current way of working, and I feel it suits me.
However, it is not that my anxiety about the future has disappeared.
As long as I am a company employee, whether I can continue remote work is not something I can decide by myself.
Even if I can work at home now, if company policy changes, I might be asked to come into the office.
Depending on the department or the work I am in charge of, there is a possibility that coming into the office will become necessary.
Even if I have found a way of working that suits me, there is no guarantee that I can continue it forever.
And, I feel that it is difficult for me now to continue working in a way other than remote work.
I don’t want to return to a life of commuting for long hours like before or working while being conscious of those around me in a workplace with many people.
I think I am able to continue my current job precisely because it is an environment where I can work calmly alone at home.
That is why I am anxious that my current way of working could change due to a single company policy.
That is when I started thinking about having a source of income other than the company.
If I can earn enough income to live on my own even if I can no longer do remote work, I might be able to avoid forcing myself to return to office-based work.
For that purpose, I am working on a blog and note.
Since both can be done alone at home, I think it is a method that suits me now.
However, at this point, I have not earned enough income to live on even if I quit the company.
Even so, I want to continue my efforts, aiming to gradually break away from a state where I rely only on the company to support my life, so that I can continue my current way of working for as long as possible.
Summary: Finding a way of working that suits you and being able to continue it were different things
About four years since switching to remote work.
For me, an environment where I can work calmly alone at home suited me very well.
The burden of long commute times and interacting with people at the workplace decreased, and the way I felt exhausted after work changed significantly.
There was the difficulty of learning an inexperienced job, but changing my working environment was a major turning point for meI feel.
On the other hand, it is not certain that I can continue my current way of working in the future.
If company policy changes, there is a possibility that I will be asked to come into the office.
I feel that finding a way of working that suits you and being able to continue working in that environment for a long time are different problems.
What I felt through this experience is that when choosing a job, not only the job content and annual income, but also thinking about what kind of environment I can continue working in without strainis also important.
Commute time, how to interact with people, workplace atmosphere, ease of taking breaks.
I think what you feel is a burden differs depending on the person.
If you are currently tired of working or feel anxious about continuing to work at your current workplace, it might be good to think about the conditions you cannot compromise on for yourself once.
For me, that was being able to work calmly at home.
And now, I am thinking about how I can continue it for a long time.
