Remote work is great. Workers gained so much flexibility & the lack of a daily commute saves tons of personal time.
But there is one area where remove work suffers - you lose many daily interactions with real people outside your home.
I recently joined a coworking space where everyone is quite social. It's shocking how much I missed the daily interactions - small pleasantries over coffee, invites to lunch. They make my day much more dynamic & memorable.
One awesome thing about my coworking space is I don't actually work with anyone there. So, the connections are purely social, then we all go back to our individual work worlds. I prefer this setup. The line between socializing & working was always thin in the office with coworkers.
My coworking space is walking distance (or a very quick bike ride) away. This means the daily commute hasn't been a grind. Instead, it's my nice morning walk/bike ride before work.
Since my job is remote still, I can choose each day where I work. Mostly, I choose the coworking space. But on a rainy day I might not want to walk. Or, after a doctor's appointment, I might work from a coffee shop.
I could imagine this model of a neighborhood-based social working group starting to take off. It certainly replaces many of the things I missed about working in an office, without the commute or requirement to come in every day.
I'm curious about work arrangements among my readers. Do you work from home? An office? Somewhere else?