Working Remotely
Background
I worked remotely for a US-based company for over four years. The company was headquartered in New York, but we had employees from all over the world, including Russia, South America, Vietnam, Costa Rica, and many other places.
Because of that, remote work was the default way the company operated. We had to learn how to collaborate across different countries, cultures, and time zones, while still working effectively as one team. Over time, I came to appreciate many of the benefits of remote work, but I also experienced some of the drawbacks that were not obvious at first.
Pros
No commute!
I think this might be one of the best things about remote working. Not having to wake up early just to spend an hour on a train is definitely a blessing. The amount of time saved adds up really quickly. Instead of spending two hours a day travelling to and from work, I would use that time to sleep in, or if I wasn't feeling lazy, get a quick morning workout in.
The other benefit was that I could sometimes work the full day in my PJs without any judgement!
Better communication
Being in different time zones really forces you to communicate effectively and coherently.
Since people aren't online at the same time, the other person might only see your message several hours later, so a simple check + confirmation might take an entire day. Instead, I learnt to provide as much context as possible upfront. A good message explains the problem, any relevant links or screenshots, and exactly what I need from the other person.
We were also generally respectful of each other's off-work time, so any questions or calls had to be efficient. If we asked someone to join a meeting outside of their usual working hours, we had to make sure there was a good reason for it. This actually help cut down on unnecessary meetings.
A remote environment also encouraged better documentation. Tickets had to be well documented, PRs had to be descriptive and include important information. And because of this, we had a solid paper trail of decision making and design choices if we ever had to look back.
Varied culture
One of my favourite parts of working in an international team was getting to meet people from so many different cultures and walks of life. On the social side, this meant learning about different cultures, holidays, foods, social norms, and even the small differences in how people communicate. Even conversations about the weather could turn into comparisons between snowing wintertime versus the always hot and humid Singapore.
From a work perspective, that diversity was equally valuable. Different backgrounds often meant different ways of thinking about or approaching a problem. Working with people who approached problems differently forced me to explain my reasoning more clearly and also made me more open to alternative solutions, making me a better collaborator and a more adaptable engineer.
Cons
Work and personal time meld
One of the biggest drawbacks was the lack of clearly defined working hours. Because the company was headquartered in New York, meetings were usually held during US working hours. In Singapore, this often translated to meetings between 10pm and 12am. While this was manageable, it could be draining at times.
It made it harder to completely switch off. Even if I was not actively working (and not on-call either), I might still be thinking about a meeting later that evening or checking messages from teammates who had just started their day.
Remote working gives you a lot of flexibility, but that flexibility can sometimes work both ways. Without clear boundaries, it becomes very easy for work to slowly spread across the entire day.I eventually learnt that setting boundaries and being intentional about when I was available was extremely important.
Some of the small tips I picked up:
- Set your working hours on your work calendar/slack
- In a company where everyone is in different timezones, this reduces the mental load of others having to convert between times to know when you are available
- It's okay to take time back
- On days when night meetings run late, I used to feel pressured about waking up the same time the next day to get to work. This meant getting only 4-5 hours of sleep, which in turn only made me feel more tired and less productive. I learnt that it's okay to take some of that time back to sleep in and be well rested before starting work.
- Set fixed meeting days
- With fixed days of meetings outside working hours, it becomes a lot easier to plan a schedule around it, and mentally anticipate the work ahead of time.
No watercooler talk
There is also a social aspect of working in an office that is difficult to replace completely. Video calls, Slack messages, and virtual team activities definitely help, but they do not always create the same sense of connection as spending time with colleagues in person.
"Watercooler talk" happens when you interact naturally in a physical space. You might have lunch together, grab a drink during a break, overhear an interesting conversation, or even chat a bit before a meeting begins.
In a remote environment, "watercooler talk" is completely removed. Most conversations become intentional. You have to message someone directly or schedule a call, which means there are fewer opportunities for those casual interactions that help people get to know each other.
This can be especially difficult for newer employees. Building relationships and understanding how the team works can take more effort when most interactions happen through scheduled calls.
A startup I worked for previously introduced the idea of scheduled hangouts. Once a month, you'd get paired up with another coworker to grab lunch together. I'll admit, it was awkward at first, but if the whole company is onboard, it becomes a really good tool to get to know people you would never talk to naturally - like people from other departments, leads from other teams, even the CEO. In a fully remote company, this could maybe be a hangout video call where both sides get their own coffee/tea break.
Overall
After more than four years of working remotely, I would still say that I personally enjoy it.
The lack of commute, flexibility, and opportunity to work with people from all over the world are huge advantages. At the same time, remote work requires a lot more discipline than it might initially seem. You have to be deliberate about communication, boundaries, and social interaction because many of the things that happen naturally in an office have to be recreated intentionally.
For me, remote working works best when there is a strong culture of trust. As long as people communicate well, respect each other's time, and take ownership of their work, being thousands of kilometres apart is not a big deal.