Remote work is great until it's not

Aug 31 min read

Been working from home for two years now and honestly I thought this would be the perfect setup. I could do my job and see the kids during lunch, be there for the important stuff. Reality is my boss expects me to answer emails at 9pm and my kids don't understand that daddy working at the kitchen table means I'm not actually available to play. Just got yelled at for missing my daughter's school event because I was stuck in meetings all afternoon. The commute sucked but at least there was a boundary. How do you guys create separation when your office is literally your home?

6 comments117 views

Comments(6)

CChris M.Regular3w ago

I feel this. The line between work and home just gets blurry when it's all in the same space. And your family doesn't understand that just because you're home doesn't mean you're available. Tough setup to manage.

GGarrett M.New Dad3w ago

Same boat here man. Two years in and I'm starting to miss actual human interaction at an office. The isolation thing is real even if you don't expect it to be.

LLucas M.RegularAug 3

Yeah the blur between work life and home life is ROUGH. My couch turned into my office and now my kids think that's where dad lives during business hours. And the 'let me just finish this one thing' at 6pm never actually happens.

SSteveRegular3w ago

Remote work was great until I had three kids bouncing off the walls during Zoom calls. Now I'm that guy muting frantically in the background. How old are your kids?

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VVincentRegular3w ago

Two years in and I'm still struggling with it. The flexibility is amazing until your kid needs something and you're on an important call. Or you finish 'work' at 7pm but your brain is still in work mode.

BBrian M.Regular3w ago

The best thing that helped me was setting an actual 'leaving work' ritual. Like closing the laptop, moving to a different room, changing my shirt. Sounds dumb but my brain actually recognizes we're switching modes now.