🛖 5 Benefits From Working From The Office · The Bunker #04

Let’s get started!

I have been working completely remotely for 3 years, until a few years ago I had to go to university in the mornings and work remotely in the afternoons.

The thing is that when I finished university, I had to continue with the job I had at the time, and it was all remote.

For the last 2 years, I have been working in a hybrid way, 4 days in the office and 1 at home, and I can happily say that it is the method that works best for me.

When I worked remotely, it is true that I had a lot of freedom to do things, because you don't have a boss who is constantly watching what you do, you don't have colleagues who make noise, you have your own setup, you sleep more and you make better use of your time, because you are already at home working.

Over time I realised that it was a very interesting lifestyle, but not very sustainable in the long term:

The thing is that working from home is fine, but working from home doesn't mean you have to be in your pyjamas, the first few days it's fine, but then it all becomes a bit of an uphill struggle.

Working from home, I realised that I had to dress as if I was going to work anyway, make my bed, do all those responsibilities I would do if I were in the office, set my watch, and so on. As I knew that working in my pyjamas wasn’t going to be sustainable for a short period of time, my body did not differentiate between working hours and resting at home. And this is the main reason why I like going to the office:

The power of disconnection and prioritisation of work and home.

It is very important that the space where you work and rest is separated, otherwise it can be very frustrating. Work in the same place where you rest? Your body doesn't adapt.

That's why working in the office gives me certain advantages that being at home doesn't quite convince me:

✱ · Teamwork

Although you are in contact with your team while working from home, being in the office brings you closer and is the best time to bond with your team.

It is simply much easier to bond with your colleagues. For me, the human feeling at work is very important, because you can see in your colleague's face if they have had a bad day, if they are angry and you can always support each other, but from home, you connect, do your work and leave.

For me it is very important to be able to see the faces of my colleagues, and to see that everyone is happy and motivated to keep going.

✱ · Time-Saving

Being in the office, when a colleague has a question they can ask you directly and it will be much easier to clarify their doubts than if you have to answer via Slack.

Even if you explain yourself very well, even if you share a screen and even if you are on a call, it is not the same to look your colleague in the face and explain correctly. In addition, you can always use whiteboards, papers and other physical resources to help you explain yourself better.

✱ · Effective meetings

In my experience, holding meetings from home works, but it's not the same feeling as when you're in person. At least in my experience, I have the feeling that when we look at people face to face, everything is much better understood.

✱ · Learnings & opportunities

Going to the office allows me to have incredibly talented people next to me who are willing to explain or show you a world you don't know about. Working hand in hand with developers has made me learn a lot.

On the other hand, I can say that 1 out of 3 clients I have come from lunchtime conversations. The other day, for example, I went to eat at a restaurant in Barcelona with the team, each of us telling stories and anecdotes about our lives, and from time to time conversations like "hey, my friend is an entrepreneur and wants to start a new shoe project, do you think Espinosa could help him with the website? I'll pass him your contact".

✱ · You are there

Being in the office allows you to show your colleagues that you are there, that you have a real commitment to them and that during the hours you are there you give your best. Especially in small companies, it is very important that there is a feeling of "togetherness" in the atmosphere, and this can only be determined by the human factor.

In conclusion, if this article is read by a designer who intends to be completely freelance and live his life outside and work from a thousand places, this article probably won't convince him.

To be honest, I won't be in the office for more than 5 years (or maybe, who knows), but in order to be able to fly freelance, you first need this experience of being in the office. And believe me, when you surround yourself with a good team, the hours fly by and when the day is over, you want the next one to come back.

Meeting the team at the coffee machine every morning and asking them "what's up man" is one of the best feelings I can experience.

Cheers, Jordi Espinosa.