this post was submitted on 26 Sep 2025
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Remote workers unite! ... Separately!

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Work from home, field service, remote work - whatever you want to call it, if you don't "go in to an office" for your job, that's what this is about.

Rules

Be relevant to the interests and sensibilites of people who do remote work.

Don't be a dick.

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After 25 years in the industry as a software dev / manager and various other roles I decided it was time to just do the actual hands-on stuff that I enjoy. I became a consultant, with 100% remote being a requirement.

I've worked that way for soon three years now, and I've never been more productive whilst at the same time enjoying what I do than now.

I'm based in Sweden, where 100% remote is still somewhat unusual. Most workplaces embrace some form of hybrid but it still means 1-2 days at an office which limits the pool of workers to those living within reasonable commuting distance. For this to change we need to be able to show how things can work well without that office time, which I feel puts some pressure on us that are already fully remote.

Anyway; here's how I've handled it:

  1. Separate room and/or building for the home office. This is an absolute requirement - both for your focus when working but also to be able to "leave work".

  2. You cannot overspend on suitable office furniture. Get the best ergonomic chair, keyboard etc. You want to enjoy working.

  3. Overperform. Yeah, maybe not the most fun to hear but imagine being your employer. If things are less than perfect the person that's remote will be terminated before others. You're the one not having to go into the office, so evenings and weekends you might want to be the first one to raise your hand.

  4. Make yourself seen. Even though others might turn the cameras off when in a videoconf, you'll want to have yours on. The others need to "know you" as they know the other colleagues they see in the office.

  5. For the love of Brian - DON'T get any idiotic ideas about "more than one job" or trying to do things "on the side". You wanted remote working - don't screw it up.

  6. Be extremely transparent in your communication. Humans communicate much more via body language, tone of voice etc than just via text. Explain what you're working on, what your thoughts are, how you're thinking about approaching a problem etc. Not just for your colleagues, but for your manager as well. Write a weekly report even if unprompted. Remember, you don't want "wonder what they're doing?" thoughts popping up just because they can't see you.

Ask away.

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[โ€“] Pringles@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 hour ago

As someone who has been working from home for 6 years now, I can confirm point 4 is highly relevant. Your colleagues, managers, clients, vendors, etc. need to see you. I understand turning the camera off as I did that myself in the first years, but I started turning it on and it changes the way people treat you. You build up a much better rapport when they can see your face expression and hand movements.

I agree with all the points actually, but I wanted to emphasize the camera because so many people don't do that.

[โ€“] Triumph@fedia.io 1 points 6 hours ago

I'm glad to see you've mentioned some of the same things I did elsewhere. Makes me think that our judgment is sound. Thank you!