I’ve been working remotely for nearly 13 years. I’ve seen, experienced, and heard so much. That said, so many people are currently experiencing remote work under conditions in which none of us have been through.
Let’s discuss present day and beyond.
No experience is irrelevant right now. No experience is to small or insignificant. We’re all in this together!
Probably mostly inspiring serendipitous chats with talented and smart people, and the opportunities that come from them. (Network, feedback, ideas)
Always feels so good to join a coworking day somewhere and hear people’s thoughts and ideas, and to have mine heard and challenged. So fun to help others too - gives me so much energy.
Makes me feel alive and contempt with the day 
I think a couple big ones that are relevant/specific to the current situation and which come to mind immediately;
It’s a pandemic! This is not at all normal. Don’t expect to be at full productivity, regardless of any teething pains or anything related to working remotely. Everyone is distracted, on edge, worried about a bunch of things.
Internet connection might be a bit less reliable than usual. Residential internet service is not used to handling this much day-time use. I’ve already noticed a minor deterioration in mine, and am expecting more. Hopefully it holds up.
Companies trying to adapt quickly – a lot of people are being thrust into remote work situations where their company is not ready for it. Just because you’ve got a laptop and an internet connection, doesn’t mean you have access to all the right things you need, that your company’s processes are set up to handle remote work, etc etc. There’s a lot to work through still
People are just not used to it – I work with over 1000 people who are used to working remotely, and we hire other people who are either used to it, or who demonstrate during the hiring process that they can work in that environment. That’s not the case for all the people who have been told to go home from their office, so they’re going to need to adapt. Some people will have a very very hard time in this new context.
Makes total sense. I’ve come to value these types of interactions immensely. I’m thinking a lot about how to facilitate some of that magic when in-person is hard or not an option. Excited for what that can look like and hoping to be a valuable part of it.
Are there things you’re trying now and can recommend or share?
Excellent points. I especially like #1 as things are NOT normal. Even for us fully remote teams it’s not business as usual. We all need to have some grace for ourselves and others. I know I’m on edge, worried, and my brain is working on overload trying to connect with people and help.
I agree. Definitely NOT normal. I work for an all remote consultancy. Our #covid-19 slack channel is on fire, and everyone’s sharing their anxieties. It’s having an impact. It’s not really changing how we work because we’re used to it, but the remote-friendly client I’m working with is having adjustment pains even though they’re pretty prepared.