[dmontero]

In my previous job in Germany I could work remotely as much as I wanted. I would usually work from Spain, since is where I come from.

It was close to ideal: having lunch in 30min and spending the other 30min at the pool or going for a short break to the beach (just 5min away).

However I discovered that when I spent more than 1 or 2 weeks working remotely in a row I would start feeling detached from my job. It became increasingly difficult to be motivated and concentrated in certain tasks.

In my current job employees can work remotely 1 day a week by default with possibility to extend it occasionally. I find this to work better for me personally. It allows me to be flexible and productive while working remotely and at the same time it keeps me engaged and connected with the challenges and goals at work.

[ChuckNorris89]

May I ask hod did you find remote work in Germany? I noticed in my time there German companies were highly conservative and didn't want to hear about their employees not being present in the office.

[dmontero]

I was working for a small startup. Since they did not have many developers, each of us were quite key to their product.

Knowing that, I could convince them to work remotely every now and then.

[mindjiver]

I work remotely from Germany but I have only worked for US based companies for this reason. There a handful of German companies being remote though, Giant Swarm for example.

[asterisk_]

How did the detachment manifest, if you don't mind sharing?

Did you try to find an effective way to combat the lack of motivation, or was it just a matter of returning back to the office?

[dmontero]

It manifested by having difficulties to work without interruptions. I got easily distracted with anything and found myself procrastinating more often.

That's rare on me, since I usually can work in a flow mode for long periods of time.

As it was discussed previously, procrastination seems like a way to manage emotions: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17878716

[asterisk_]

Interesting; the article resonates well. Thanks for taking the time to share.