[yodsanklai]

I work remotely.

I've noticed that one thing that make me work harder than in an office, is that I feel that I need to earn the trust that my employer gives me. In an office, sometimes I feel that just being there is enough to justify my salary, even if I'm just chatting with colleagues or browsing the web. I discipline myself better when I work remotely.

Another thing that makes a difference for me: I suffer from back pain when sitting in a chair for too long. At my place, I can lie down if needed.

On the downside, I suffer from being far from where decisions are taken, and I sometimes miss important information.

[BurningFrog]

> On the downside, I suffer from being far from where decisions are taken

And your employer suffers from your lack of input in those decisions.

[tick_tock_tick]

That may or may not have consequences for them but almost always will hurt the employee's career.

[JDiculous]

Yea, I've also noticed that I'm actually way more responsive working remotely because I overcompensate to signal that I'm available and working (or at least not slacking off). The fact that I'm in a totally opposite timezone makes me further want to ensure the high degree of trust. I'll immediately respond to Slack messages I get even at 2am if I still happen to be awake.

Meanwhile when I was working in an office, I felt that Slack messages were often a distraction that pulled me out of my flow state. I felt that if it were really that important or urgent (it rarely is), then they'd just come to my desk and tap me on the shoulder.

[ricc]

Looks like "working harder to compensate for not being there" is a common theme among us remote workers.

By the way, regarding:

> I suffer from back pain when sitting in a chair for too long. At my place, I can lie down if needed.

I suggest wearing a smartwatch that will notify you when you have been inactive for at least an hour. Try to do a couple minutes of stretches or bodyweight exercises when you get the notification. I see the opportunity to be able to squeeze in tiny amounts of exercise as another benefit of working remotely.

[fwsgonzo]

This was exactly my experience too, but I would gladly do remote again still. No chance of "advancement" within the company though for remotes.

[silviot]

My personal experience with lying down to work is that it feels good in the short term, but causes problems in the long term (increased pain).

I have no data to back this claim, but I can provide this single data point.

I completely agree with both your other points about trust/discipline and important decisions though.

[thisisnico]

I believe there are many studies, even posted here that lying down < Sitting < Standing < Walking. Lying down for long periods of time is worse for you. (sleeping excluded). Less activity with the body = worse for the body.

[fimdomeio]

One good way to make sure you're not straining any part of the body too much is to have multiple confortable positions that you can change from along the day.

[derefr]

The ultimate good-for-you background activity would probably be some movement equivalent to climbing a tree (pumps your whole lymphatic system; suspected of being a causal factor of the health of people in “Blue zones”, as said zones all contain a lot of orchard workers; something our bodies probably expect us to do a lot of, given our evolutionary roots; etc.)

I’m not sure how you could combine it with typing, though!

[ghostbrainalpha]

This is good info in this comment but it makes me very sad.

I now hate my standing desk and want a climbing desk.

[garettmd]

I worked at a place that had a treadmill desk. Takes some practice to use it...