Commentary: The price American industry may pay for remote work

[Sympthsical]

14. Same

I get absurd amounts done when I'm at home and left alone. I do have to interact via phone and conference calls/zoom, and that's fine. But as far as my concrete tasks, I typically sit at my desk in "work mode" by 8 or 9am and finish up all the concrete daily tasks by noon at the latest. After that, I'm doing homework for school while waiting for the phone to ring and checking e-mail every 15-20 mins just to make sure nothing needs immediate attention.

Replacing that with an hour+ long commute in crazy traffic, an eight-hour adventure where I'm actively not doing very much except wasting half the time, then a commute home in crazy traffic (all of this involving a bridge). Hard pass if it's not necessary. And the past few years have proven it's not necessary. I'm fortunate that my boss recognizes this. However, if someone above her gets a bug up their whumptus and demands us back, I'll probably quit (or angle for severance). I can make it two years on savings until school's done. Plus my partner's management in a major hospital system. We'd be fine.

It's not the in person, either. My next job will be in nursing, so that'll be more workplace oriented. It's just the huge waste of time. I cannot stand being inefficient/wasting my time. It makes me nuts when I'm forced to sit there and do nothing just for the look of it.