Mavenology.

In a culture where working remotely is booming, it makes sense that it’s perked your interest. Who wouldn’t want to work from home? Roll out of bed, power up your laptop and answer emails, all while in pajamas…sounds like a dream! Especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, where it feels like almost everyone has the opportunity to work remotely, it can feel like the ultimate goal. While flexibility to work from home when needed is a lovely perk, are you sure you’re ready to go remote full-time? Let’s dig a little deeper…

Communication Complications

Let’s be honest, communication can be hard enough. Now add emails, calls, and texts on top of that with no chance to have any face-to-face interaction. I know there’s Skype and Zoom, but I’m talking about real face-to-face, human interaction. Without the opportunity to sync up in-person with your Executive, things can easily get lost in translation – especially if your Executive is an over/under-communicator. With an over-communicator, it will be more difficult to weed out the unnecessary information; with an under-communicator, since you’re not onsite, it will be harder to fill in the gaps.  

Out of the Loop

A huge part of being a great Executive Assistant is being able to anticipate your Executive’s needs. Unfortunately, when working remotely, it’s challenging to keep a pulse on ever-changing priorities, and therefore it’s much easier to fall out of the loop. When you are a remote employee, it can feel like your role is much more transactional. It’s harder to provide strategic support without being in the office to collaborate with your Executive and the rest of your team.  

Lack of Social Stimulation

Speaking of teams, who doesn’t love some good ol’ office banter? When you work from home, you miss out on those workplace relationships and just being around people in general. Yes, it’s totally acceptable to talk to your dog, but does it really count as a conversation? When you’re not in the office, you miss out on having all of those inside jokes with your colleagues and, dare I say, the office gossip!  

Distractions

Curve ball: there are actually fewer distractions when you work from home. You might think this is a good thing, right? Wrong. Distractions are mini “brain breaks” – they allow you to take a breather from your work and then re-approach it with a fresh perspective. Working in an office provides many opportunities for these much-needed “brain breaks,” whether you’re popping out for a coffee or collaborating with a coworker, which ultimately improves your quality of work.  

No Clear Boundaries

It’s much harder to set boundaries between work life and home life. When working remotely, you don’t have the luxury of hitting the light-switch in your brain that tells you to kick it into high gear, or to clock out for the lunch hour… it all just sort of blends together. Believe it or not, this can actually lead to burnout. Check out our blog post on combatting that!

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Enough said. When you work remotely, it’s difficult to be recognized for the work that you do, which ultimately means you’re slower to getting promoted, and you have less opportunity to grow in your role. Again – out of sight, out of mind.  

Are You Ready?

There are many advantages to working remotely and we’re all way too familiar with them, but there are other factors to take into consideration. Before you decide to pursue this specific dream job just because it’s remote, be sure to take some time to consider all the implications. Working remotely isn’t for everyone and that’s okay!

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Written by: Julia Francis