What does remote work mean for the Remotive community in 2022?

Remote work changed my life.

I've been working remotely for years, even before the pandemic forced everyone to stay home. The office life and the daily commute were leaving me drained and anxious. As an introvert, social interactions always give me a bit of anxiety; now, I have much more control over how and when those interactions happen. Consequently, I enjoy them ten times more. They don't affect my productivity as they did before. Remote work gave me the flexibility I needed to be my best self.

But things are not the same as they were when I first started working remotely in early 2016. A few months ago, I began to think about how that seismic shift has affected others, particularly the folks in the Remotive Slack community.

I asked folks in our #general Slack channel to send us a video testimonial or a written quote about what remote work means to them in 2022. We received some wonderful submissions that we now want to share with the world.

Read on to find out what community members Tamara, Jon, James, Alison, and Rachel (Remotive's newsletter writer extraordinaire!) had to say.

Tamara is a junior data scientist who made the jump from being a physician (!!!) to starting from scratch in data science.

Remote work to me means being able to fully focus, deep dive into work and being able to control distractions. Personally, my middle-to-long-term goal is to live in nature, only a remote job would allow me to do that without hours of commute. I am just infinitely more efficient and happier working remotely. In my opinion, remote work is also an important step towards real inclusion and diversity, where it does not matter where you are located and the needs of everyone can be accommodated.
Tamara Janina Fingerlin
Switzerland

Jon joined the Remotive community in February 2020. He is a Product Design leader focused on helping designers grow.

Working in traditional office spaces it can be difficult to carve out focus time. [Working remotely] You can actually schedule a time when you're going to do the best kind of work that you can do.
Jon Daiello
Dayton, USA

James joined the community in 2020 and his greetings are a trademark that we've come to love and expect every day of the week.

Covid-19 has affected our ability to travel and spend time with family and friends near and far. These are also some of the benefits of remote work. Hopefully, traveling resumes safely, as I am still looking forward to doing just that along with spending time with family near and far, working remotely as well as the fulfillment of what seems to me to be a productivity paradox.
James Allen
Toronto, Canada

Rachel joined the Remotive team in 2021. She takes very good care of our blog and newsletter.

Remote work means freedom.
Rachel Rondon
Raleigh, USA

Alison is a Web Developer with many years of experience. She joined the Remotive community in November of 2019.

Remote work means fulfilling my dream of being there to get my son off the bus in the afternoon. Being the first friendly face to greet him after school and having a snack ready for him, like my mother did for me.
When I work from home I am able to feed myself healthy, home-cooked, fresh food. I’m able to spend a few minutes switching the laundry or loading the dishwasher.
Remote work means dedicated focus time, so I am more productive.
I have time for hobbies that are important to me when I no longer have to commute. I follow the sun’s patterns and notice wildlife in my neighborhood. I have more time for exercise which produces a more relaxed, calm version of me.

Alison West
Belchertown, USA

Now it's your turn, dear reader! We would love to know, what does remote work mean for you in 2022 and beyond? Let us know via Twitter or email.