One of the most amazing things in the history of technology must be the ability of working remotely. Take a moment and consider what the ramifications of this step in employment progress. To anyone who has worked a regular office job for any length of time, the enticement of being able to work from home is quite alluring. However, having some moderate experience with this phenomenon myself, I realize that beneath the shiny facade, all is not ponies and rainbows.

For those that are not aware, let me first quickly share my experience with you. Having worked on various freelance and contract projects for about three years, I began my professional career as a lead web developer in the educational realm where I never even considered working remotely as an option. Simply adjusting to the life of the desk dweller was enough to keep me busy for the three years I was there.

Next, my journey led me to my current employer – but not in my current capacity. I was hired as a “Platform Engineer”, which is really a fancy way of saying I was responsible for whatever was thrown my way from DB design to front end GUI implementation. Working in yet another cubicle jungle for the course of 14 months had a tole on me, and due to some family situations, I began considering some job opportunities that had been presented to me.

Still heedless of the very real possibility of full time remote work, I approached my company with the intent of moving across the country to accept a position with another organization – not really a better role, just a better family situation. I quickly learned that, having proven myself over the previous year, they were not keen on the idea of letting me go that easily. To make a long story short, I now find myself seated in my basement office at home on the west coast working happily with my team on the east coast. Full time. Full time benefits. Full time employee.

At this point in my story, I immediately get a range of responses from expressed excitement to outright jealousy, but I’d like to take a moment and discuss the nature of the home office and the realization that not everything is quite as smooth as it may seem. Reaching the 1.5 year mark of my current work situation has seen me through the honeymoon phase and into a more realistic understanding that there really are extreme pros and cons in working from home. As you read on, remember that we are not considering self employment, but rather working remotely as part of a team for a collective, singular employer.

Lest those of you reading this get the wrong impression, let me state I am no less thrilled or grateful for the opportunity to work remotely than when I first began. On the contrary, with my current family situation: a wife with three small children and a fourth on the way, I could hardly think of a better situation in which I could be. However, now that the stars have had time to clear from my eyes, I can take a much more realistic evaluation of my current situation and cite both positive and negative things with which I deal on a weekly – and sometimes daily – basis.

Let’s begin with the positive, since they are both the most obvious and, in my case, the most prevalent. Perhaps the most obvious, and also one of the most positive, is that of commute (or lack thereof). Making the transition from driving 40+ minutes one way to the office every day to a 20 minute trip downstairs (including shower) is quite obviously an advantage. Rather than having to rouse myself from slumber long before I have to be at the office, make myself at least somewhat presentable and then make the drive, I can part ways with my blissful slumber mere minutes before having to be available to take a call from the office. In fact, on the rare morning – like today – when I still oversleep my alarm, I can make a record 2 minute commute simply taking time to wash my face and brush my teeth. Besides, pajamas are much more comfortable to spend the day in, aren’t they?

In addition to the attire and absence of commute, though, the schedule is unbeatable. As a father of small children, time with them is at a premium. Employment with an east coast office affords me the ability to rewind my entire daily schedule three hours and spend that much more time with them every evening. Rather than leaving the house before they rise and getting home to eat dinner shortly before they are off to bed, I now begin my day hours before they are stirring. As such, my work day typically concludes around the 3-4 o’clock hour: just shortly after they are up from their afternoon nap. This leaves me the bulk of the afternoon and evening to spend quality time with my family – a definite plus.

What could be more positive than having catered meals every day? Rather than having sack lunches or finding grub at work every day, I am treated to my wife bringing me breakfast and lunch nearly every day. Seldom does a day go by when my wife isn’t bringing me fresh eggs and bacon or biscuits and gravy for breakfast – followed by a fresh salad, sandwich or soup for lunch. That’s enough to spoil the best of us.

But, from the standpoint of work, perhaps the best pro for my current work status is that of productivity. While not an accurate depiction for every developer, being able to bury myself in a cave and code or design 80% of my week has proven to be an incredible boost to my personal productivity. Not only do I enjoy my alone time during work hours, but I thrive on it. Yes, there are still distractions – though very different than that of the office, but it is much easier to close my office door than to try and find some way to block out unwanted visitors from my cubicle. In either case, my iPod has remained a very close friend indeed.

While this is not a comprehensive list, it gives you plenty of insight into why I am so grateful for my current situation; however, I would be remiss to not at least mention some of the challenges of working remotely as well. The funny part to me, though, is that many of the positives are also the same things that pose challenges as well. For instance, the scheduling mentioned above, though incredibly helpful on a daily basis, can provide significant challenges during crisis times. If we have an early morning where the team is required to be in by 7am, my 3:30 wake-up call is not welcomed.

A much more obvious challenge, though, is that of communication. Even with all the technologies and tools at my disposal, it is difficult to overcome the truth of the comment “out of sight: out of mind” at times. Simply having the resources by which to communicate and getting people to use those tools are two entirely different things. When I am not actually present in the office, there are a number of communiques of which I am left out, and I am constantly having to refresh my contacts with a reminder that I am still very much desirous of updates. In addition to this, communication can be challenging without any face to face time. No matter how quality and frequent the communication between team members, there is something to be said about the personal nature of a face to face encounter. This is one attribute that I still struggle to overcome.

Along with the topic of communication, my personal work ethic requires more of me when I am working remotely. I know that this would most definitely not be the same issue for all developers, but having been raised to give more than that which is required of me, I feel the need to work above and beyond in order to avoid any possible question of my dedication. I am fully aware that, when the time comes for evaluation, those who are out of sight are often the easiest to forget, so I have to work hard at making my work have a very distinct presence in the office in my stead. As long as my name is still brought up on a regular basis for the good work I am doing, or if I’m able to keep myself needed, I can rest more securely in my position. Obviously, this can be challenging at times, since I find myself working many, many long days in order to keep my best foot forward.

The final area I wanted to touch on was that of collaboration. While we do collaborate on a daily basis, along with communication, there is something to be said about being in the same locale as other devs from time to time. While my wife is more than willing to lend an ear any time I wish to discuss technical requirements or coding standards, the blank look very quickly reminds me of the collaboration I’m missing. To have a friend or coworker with whom you can collaborate on a daily basis, bounce ideas off of and even request coding or design critique from is a deficit not quickly overcome. Of course, in my case, I am more than willing to live with these deficits in lieu of having the benefits mentioned before.

Though perhaps not for everyone, remote employment is definitely something that has benefited both me and my family. After some serious consideration, I believe I have developed what would be my ideal scenario – the best of both worlds, if you will. If I were able to work at home three days per week and have the office interaction those other two days, I would keep the benefit of improved productivity and performance while granting myself those technical ears with whom I so dearly love to collaborate. Even having a commute for those two days would possibly be worth the added benefit of an office presence. Now, with that comment, I will also add that, this would obviously only work for a local position, not coast to coast!