Working Remotely Has Actually Made Me Unhappy

 I used to work at Disney World six years ago, and I swear they were the best months of my life.

I interned at a now-defunct restaurant that sat across from a now-defunct car show in Hollywood Studios. It was super hot back there — that’s all I remember.

Well, I also remember that I made so many great friends.

I’ve worked remotely for the last four years, and something’s been missing from my life. I missed that camaraderie you get when you see the same people every single day.

I work digitally with people, but it’s just not the same. Today I’ll talk about how, as the world’s descended into COVID purgatory, work is infinitely better when you spend it alongside other people.

The Japanese Have A Secret

I’m reading a book now called Ikigai: The Japanese Secret To A Long And Happy Life. It outlines the habits of those from the Japanese island of Okinawa, where ikigai has its origins. It’s said to be home to the largest population of centenarians in the world.

One of the surprising contributors to long life on the island comes from a strong sense of community. Feeling like you’re surrounded by great people and you’re taking care of each other.

I wonder if Americans feel less happy these days because so much of their focus is on work rather than people. I wonder if that’s a big reason why so many have felt depressed during the lockdown, too.

A recent study analyzing 1441 participants found that depression symptoms were three times higher during the COVID-19 lockdown than before the pandemic, up from 8.5 percent before COVID-19 to 27.8 percent during.

That’s quite a big jump.

There are many reasons why we’ve become more depressed while staying inside. The general outlook of the world, a looming election, a scary pandemic — these reasons likely accounted for most of the jump.

However, I daresay that little physical contact with other people probably had something to do with it, too.

That’s what I’ve felt while working remotely the past four years.

Remote Work Might Not Be All That Glamorous After All

I really love being around people. I particularly love being around people I already know.

Remote work has helped me take massive trips around the world and be around people I would’ve never gotten the chance to be around normally.

But I wonder if this has come at a cost. I wonder if seeing a solid group of 10–20 faces regularly is what I really need — not a revolving door of faces that are constantly changing.

I was the happiest while working at Disney World not because it’s the happiest place on earth, but because I worked with some really amazing people.

We joked. We worked hard. We played hard. And everything we’d been through made us closer. I deeply want that again. I don’t know how to get it, though, without finding a job myself.

I think the second doorway is to start some sort of business. Employ people, build a great company culture, and have some familiar faces to come see every single day.

I also used to go to jiu-jitsu practice a few months ago. I had a core group of 15 friends there, and when I came back from practice I always felt energized. Any way you can get in front of some familiar faces will help with the loneliness that comes with remote working.

I Used To Think Remote Work Was The Greatest Thing Ever

Working remotely had such an interesting ring to it five years ago. I didn’t know what I was giving up, though. I ended up forfeiting one of the major keys to long-term happiness: seeing familiar faces every day.

So keep this in mind the next time you want to seriously pursue working 100% remotely: You have to find your tribe, and endless galivanting around the globe isn’t always going to introduce you to them.

“A rolling stone gathers no moss.”

-Ben Franklin

Ben said it best — you can’t put down roots anywhere if you’re constantly moving along. At best you’ll make good acquaintances, but nothing more than that.

If you’re getting into remote work, you have to solve for X in this equation. And no, co-working spaces aren’t the X here.

You need to settle down somewhere. Only after two years of living in Manila have I sort of solved my own problem. Instead of constant movement, consider having a home base somewhere so you can see some familiar faces.

That’s my advice to you.

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