Rant: I thought my old college buddy was wrong about the whole 'work from home' thing

We were arguing over beers in Chicago, and he said his productivity went up after his company went remote. I was sure he was just slacking off. Then my own office shut down for a week last month for repairs, and I had to work from my kitchen table. I actually finished two reports a day early without the usual office chatter. Has anyone else been totally surprised by a change they fought against at first?

4 comments

4 Comments

sage_green20d ago

Used to think remote work was just an excuse to be lazy. Then I tried it and got way more done without the office noise. Hall.joel is right, the best changes do surprise you.

hall.joel20d agoMost Upvoted

Totally surprised" is how most good changes start.

ellioth3720d ago

Remember that story about the guy who invented Post-It notes? He was trying to make a super strong glue and failed. That weak glue was a total surprise that changed everything. Same with penicillin growing on a moldy dish. Seems like the best stuff comes from accidents we didn't plan for. Makes you wonder how many good ideas we kill off because they look like mistakes at first.

knight.dylan20d ago

Honestly that's a cool story, but it feels like we're mixing up two different things. The post-it note guy was trying to solve a problem and found a different answer. Deciding to work from home is more like choosing a new tool you already knew about. It's not really a surprise accident, just a change in how you do the work.