Working Remotely

By: Maria Eduarda Tarre

This past Summer, I was an intern for Nickelodeon, most of my job was remote and I must say it was a fantastic experience. Pajamas all day long. Lunch with my sister. Shower in between meetings. Walks on the promenade during lunch break. This was all part of the experience.

I remember when COVID first hit, people were desperate about how they would do their jobs from home. “NO! How can we be as productive as in the office?” Working from home had been a privilege for senior leaderships who could enjoy one or two days a week of working from home every once in a while, but then, when it got dangerous to leave our houses to work, everybody had to share that same “privilege”. 

I say privilege because, for so many people, being able to wake up a little later, not having to commute, and being around for lunch and dinner with the family is indeed a privilege. In a society that prioritizes money and productivity above lots of things, such as family and mental health, being forced to stay at home at that time was a great opportunity to shift perspectives. 

The real problems arose when life got back to normal and people were asked to go back to their offices. The same question made at the beginning of the pandemic was again asked: “NO! How can we be as productive as at home?” People learned how to work from home and realized that they could do much more than when going to offices. Later on, they also realized it was much more than the productivity aspect. It was about being able to have the time to cook a fresh lunch or go for a walk in between meetings instead of grabbing a coffee and chatting with a teammate, it was about taking 15 minutes off to take the kids to school rather than spending two/three hours per day commuting. 

My experience working from home was a true delight. Going to the office was optional and I used to go once a week. My sister, who lives in Brazil, spent her summer here with me so working from home allowed me to sit down with her to have lunch and go for a walk in the morning with her instead of rushing to go to the office. 

One Friday afternoon, we decided to visit upstate New York to spend the weekend and I took my computer with me so I could work on our way there on the train. Whenever I had to go to the office it was great too, because I had had all the other days to myself. I was not tired from the one-hour commute or from waking up extremely early so I had the time to work out before heading to work. Working hybrid over the summer allowed me to enjoy my time as much as I could and I would not change it for anything, even if I were to receive a fatter paycheck. 

Back in March, I went to Vancouver, and at 3pm on a weekday, there were lots of people in the park, playing volleyball and taking their dogs for a walk and I asked my cousin, who lives there, “Don’t they have work to do? they should only be doing these things on the weekends.” However, working from home showed me exactly how that lifestyle was possible, because, at the end of the day, for a lot of jobs, it does not really matter the time that you are working, but that the work is done and with that, life comes in the way.

When I picture my future, I really hope to see myself working with that kind of flexibility, because I don’t want to spend an entire week waiting for a weekend so I can see my kids, so we can have meals together, or even so I can take an easy pace on the day. Working remotely is not really about how much more productive we are, it is about having a balanced lifestyle and being able to take advantage of each day we live.