I Hate My Boss Less Now That I Work Remote

You wake up, you hit the snooze button, you drag yourself out of bed, and face the mirror wishing you could do anything else but go to work because you hate your boss, right?

Well, you’re not the only one.

And the solution may be to start doing remote work (at least for a few days a week, instead of going into the office).

Here’s why.

Brief Note: Hate’s a strong term and I don’t think I hated my manager but remote work has made things easier for me. In particular, it changed the way we communicate, made us both think more about outputs than inputs and it stopped them from micromanaging me.

Here’s Why Remote Work Beats Going Back To The Office

My manager is not an evil demon that worked tirelessly to make my life miserable.

Sure, I know that there are plenty of bosses out there that do behave like this but they aren’t a credit hog or a bully, we just don’t always see eye-to-eye about the way we prefer to work.

So, when the ability to work remotely was offered as a trial, I thought long and hard before I accepted and got away from the people in the office to work from home.

Working from home was a revelation for me and I can see why many people think that remote workers are the future.

My Life Was No Longer Measured In Days A Week

My manager is a careerist. That means they love presenteeism. They want to see bums on seats throughout all office hours.

They see this as a reward for all their hard work climbing the ladder.

But if you want a dentist’s appointment on a Wednesday afternoon? That means getting the third degree about being out of the office.

Now that I’m working from home full-time I don’t have to ask – I can simply reschedule my own hours and go.

As long as I’m online for core hours, I am now measured in the work that I do, not the hours I spend on a seat in front of my manager.

Micromanagement Stopped Being An Issue

In my pre-pandemic world, the biggest frustration I had with my manager was the level of micromanagement they inflicted on me.

They couldn’t just give one person a job and then trust them to get on with it, they’d have to go back to them, again and again, to discuss things over and over.

This drives employees, like me, crazy.

Once you’re out of the office, micromanagement evaporates, it just can’t sustain without the employees being lined up in front of the managers for them to pounce on at will.

Communication In A Post-Pandemic World Is Different

I won’t lie there are days when I miss the casual chat at the water cooler but I would prefer to stick with the communication we have in our team now.

Employees and managers have to think more and communicate more clearly when most of it is done in a few lines on Slack or Skype or whatever communication tools your company uses for remote teams.

Company workers become different people outside of the company office and when they live in their own space.

I think this is a major benefit to management as it reduces the amount of crossed wires that workers in companies seem to be constantly trying to untangle.

My Advice To Anyone Who Hates Their Employers/Managers/Etc.

Don’t rush into working remotely or from home, it’s not all a bed of roses and it can feel like you’re in a new job when you get started.

The hybrid model of work maybe a better way to begin with some time spent at home and some in the office.

It helps to reduce the commute time and sets you up for a long-term transition to working outside of the traditional workplace.

You should also consider what it is in the current business that you hat – my issues with my manager were easy to resolve when I was off-site.

Yours may not be.

Think about the impact on colleagues, meetings, etc. before weighing up the benefits too – flexible jobs can have a harmful impact on others.

Final Thoughts

Should you really take your desk home to work at? Really it depends on the person that you are and the person your manager is.

If you can be as productive, keep earning money, and improve your work relationships? Go for it.

But if you think you’re really at the point where your employee-employer relationship is past saving? It might be better to find a new job, instead.