Dreamer’s World October 16 2015 - Working On My Own

I have worked with my current company for nearly 10 years. During that time, I have never worked in the same location as my supervisor, and there have been several throughout the years. Working remotely from the majority of the company doesn’t bother me in the way it has bothered some former coworkers. They missed the office politics and the water-cooler gossip. I don’t miss those things at all. I find that it never ends up well to get involved in things that don’t directly concern me.
There are certainly drawbacks to the situation. When I make proposals to the rest of the team, I am just a voice on the telephone. I have never met most of the people involved. I know that is some ways this puts me at a disadvantage, but I also know that I am trusted implicitly by the customer, with whom I work very closely and spend time with in person each week. The temptation to attempt to utilize my relationship with the customer is always present, but I have learned to keep from going in that direction because it will cause more heartache within the company and since I am isolated it would only cause trouble.
Therefore, I do not play the office politics game. I try to stay up to speed with what is going on, but that is the extent of my involvement. Ironically, I am asked often by some of the people whom I have never met to give my opinion on other people I have never met. Once again, I try to stay out of these things as much as possible.
I often wonder what it would be like to work in an office environment again and have to deal with all of the personality conflicts that inevitably take place. I am sure that I would stay out of that as much as possible. Since the situation with my company is not changing, that would be a huge consideration if I were to ever decide to look for another job. Thankfully, I am very happy with the work that I do, and I am very good at it. I see no reason to be looking elsewhere at this time.
I know that working on my own has both advantages and disadvantages, and I accept them. It does affect me in other ways that are probably obvious. I never have to worry about someone staring over my shoulder to keep track of me, I depend on the telephone and email far more than most people do since there is no office chat going on. I can listen to my music as I work without the worry of someone else thinking it is too loud, or not liking my choice of music. I can take small breaks throughout the day without fear of being observed at every opportunity, and I have a window office/room to work from so i can always see what the weather is like outside. I never have to worry about the traffic to and from work. I never have to deal with adverse winter weather and I can work days that I would normally have taken off in the past because the pressure is not as great.
Working from home and working on my own has made me more productive. I enjoy myself more and also enjoy the work more than I used to when I was the only person at an office and also responsible for the physical upkeep of the location. Now I can relax during the phone conference calls and not worry about ordering supplies for the office.
I wondered how I would like working from home. I have to say that I love it. I was concerned about whether or not I would enjoy it. I was afraid that I would lose focus being at home, but that fear was unfounded. I honestly would rather work from home now than go to an office.
As the weekend approaches, the afternoon will be quiet and peaceful as I work from home. I am looking forward to shutting the laptop down and relaxing with Hal after work. If we decide to go anywhere, that will be great, but it is not a necessity.
The day at work is nearly over with. I am ready for whatever the evening and the weekend has in store for us here. I am glad that I work from home now.