I have been remote for 3 years now. I was never under any delusion that my company could not see what was happening on my work laptop, but 2 months ago leadership made us download and start using new software that records our screens and gives us productivity scores based on mouse movement and keyboard strokes.

At first I figured it wouldnt be an issue because I was moving forward in my role, actually got a decent raise earlier this year during annual reviews and have no negative marks against me, i was on track to move into a senior role in the next year or so.

But now I keep getting told that my productivity score is poor, and its effecting my morale. I get my tasks done and I’m near my laptop all day its not like im taking naps or playing golf but I used to go for runs with my work Cell in case ai got a call, I’d get some chores done around the house or start prepping dinner/lunch in between work tasks and now Im so paranoid of this Productivity Score I get stressed making coffee during my breaks or going to the bathroom.

I have brought up the paranoia with my boss but she keeps saying “lets just get the scores up” and the more I try and argue against the tracking the more I look like Im being to defensive. At this point i think I hope they just fire me which is scary. i don’t want to be on a PIP but The alternative is recording everything I do to make sure i can combat a poor productivity score with call logs and evidence but at that point why don’t I just wear a body cam and submit that to my boss daily for review.

Wondering if anyone is in a similar situation or has experienced anything like this with remote work, or maybe I am just being super dramatic I know Im paid to work it just feels way less free/easy going now.

I’ve recently been thinking about moving to a low income Asian country (ex. Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, etc) and remotely working in the United States.

Does anyone have any experience with this? If so, please share your opinions (pros/cons) and if you regret it? Are you living the easy life? Or is it basically the same as your native country?

I’ve been working at the same remote company for almost five years. Good salary, 401K match, insurance, lots of PTO, etc. Recently my small company got acquired by a gigantic one and I wake up every day in fear of being by laid off. I work mostly in accounting/HR and fear my skillset is becoming obsolete with AI in the picture.

I want to stay 100% remote as it has served my lifestyle well, I live in a somewhat remote area so hybrids aren’t really an option.

Any advice on where to look for some new opportunities? I know there’s lots of scams out there and that the job market is trash but any insight is greatly appreciated.

Have been working from office from last 3-4 years and this is the first time I have started working remote. It’s been 5-6 weeks now.. Somedays it feels super nice that I don’t need to getup early get ready go to office face the traffic etc..

But Somedays I feel like I am staying in a same space 24*7

Fellow remote workers please help me with what do you guys do. TIA

Hi, I'm looking for a remote role that isn't high pressure but can get away with working like 20 hours a week. Maybe something project based. Does something like that exist where it's really flexible and you just need to submit something? I'm in a high pressure tech job and I have 15+ years of experience. Is there any job that pays well but since I have tons of experience I'd pick a 'lower level' and get the job done in 1/2 of the time and still get the insurance benefits?

Curious if anyone here has something like that. If you make 6 figs remote AND work <30 hours a week can you please share:

1. what do you do?

2. what's your comp

3. How many hours you work?

4. What did you do before taking this role?

5. Does it pay insurance?

I've been working remotely for 6 years, and I genuinely am more productive away from my work office with coworkers. But what I've found is that using my personal home office for work has resulted in me mentally associating my home office with work. I just don't want to be in there when not working, even when that's also the space for my hobbies. I've basically sacrificed a space in my home for work.

In my current apartment, the room I use for working is small, but I'm moving house soon, and I'm not sure if I want to continue to equally ruin my new hobby room in the new house with work feelings. Also, by using it as a home office, it will exclude the rest of the family from using the space.

There are some coworking spaces near my new house, 10 minutes walk away, and my employer will cover the costs for me. (At the moment, they cover my home internet bill). I think I can get a private room there under the company budget.

My primary concern is that a couple nights per week I have late meetings due to timezones, so I would still probably take those meetings at home. That, and the need to lug my laptop back and forth.

Would you take a "free" home office a 10 minute walk away from home?

FYI - I have 2 small children so some nights and most weekends are booked

I do Marketing analytics( attribution, reporting, performance analysis, and MMM)... that side of marketing...

I am legally established as an independent contractor (B2B invoicing) working fully remotely.. have C2 english with fluent accent. I don't live in the US but all was good for me..

Clients used to approach me for projects lasting 6 to 9 months.. that stopped

so I started looking for full time remote jobs ( 2 months now) based in the US but I cannot seem to hear back

I never did outbound or cold reach and most clients used to reach out to me.

I feel frustrated and I can't seem to find the issue..

i customize CVs .. look into companies... selectively apply to jobs... money is reasonable considering i am off shore... I opt for contractor jobs...

what else could be wrong?? any tips???

I have been working out of the country during the summer for 6 years with no issue until I accidentally called my boss with my second sim card. He put two and two together and told me to return before I get caught and to ask for permission next time. The next time I asked for permission HR denied it and said it's against company policy.

I know that getting caught now would be putting my job at risk. If I install a VPN and get a second phone for my other sim card is there any way they can find out?

Preface to say that I’ve researched this topic, but I see lots of mixed reviews on products.

Do any of you have a standing desk converter that you really like and lasts a few years? My current desk is the perfect height for sitting (and it’s non-adjustable), so I’d love a converter that sits pretty flat, around the height of the current desk, and is easy to move up and down.

Once I get it, I plan to pair it with a walking pad

Please share the link/where you got the product. I’m in the southeast US for reference

Hi everyone! I'm really glad I found this sub.

The remote work location issue has been an ongoing battle for me for a long time. I am someone who has an absolutely massive desire to travel and live abroad. I'm 32, and I started my career at 23 teaching English abroad in South America (not specifying the country for privacy purposes). I taught at a university there for 3 years.

When COVID hit, I wasn't able to get my work visa renewed, and I ended up looking for full-time work. I got a job at a startup that didn't understand the legal implications of having employees work from abroad—I also did not understand anything about these issues. So I was able to work fully remote from abroad for years while being a W2 employee for this company and paying taxes in my home state. (I used my parents' address, which I still consider my permanent US address.)

I got laid off from that job almost two years ago. I started my own small business that is completely online and will allow me to work from anywhere, but it's not paying all my bills yet. I started applying for full-time jobs, and I am anticipating a job offer coming this week. The company is also a startup, but they're a bit more advanced than my last company, so I anticipate they will be up-to-date on labor laws.

I've been living with my parents in the US for almost 2 years now and have been doing long distance with my partner of many years who lives outside of the US for that entire time. Literally I haven't seen my partner in 16 months. I do not have a lease I'm locked into or many belongings. I have intentionally not tied myself down anywhere, so I can pack up and live from abroad at any moment if I want to. Obviously, at this point, I'm pretty desperate to be able to go back to being in-person with my partner, or even just move to another country outside of the US. I'm open to anywhere.

What bothers me about the (outdated, in my opinion) labor laws is that I'm going to be doing the exact same work from a laptop, whether I'm sitting on my parents' couch in my home state or in an apartment by myself in Japan or the UK or Argentina, for example. I will obviously pay all my US taxes, and I'm happy to pay taxes to the country I'm in as well.

I know that this company is going to extend me a W2 offer. Do you think I should consider asking this company if they would bring me on as an independent contractor instead? So I can work and live abroad? Or do you think that this looks bad to an employer? Obviously I do not want to hurt my chances of getting this job in any way, shape, or form. After being unemployed for so long, I'm unbelievably desperate for an income.

I could also sign the W2 contract, prove to them that I'm a star employee for a few months, and then ask a few months down the line once we've built rapport if they would be willing to switch my contract over.

Should I just accept the W2 contract and work from abroad anyway and not tell them? Has anyone had any luck working from abroad on a W2 contract? How risky is it?

Side note: Do W2 contracts typically have an allotted amount of time you can work from abroad or outside your state? When my last company was acquired, the contract laid out that you had something like 60 days to work from anywhere. Also curious if that might be outlined in the contract.

The idea of getting this new job, and then still being stuck working from my parents' couch away from my partner, or even just having to work from somewhere in my home state, is crushing my soul. I'm young, I'm a hard worker, I'm extremely ambitious, and I want to be out in the world. I really don't see why I can't do my work from a café in Ireland for three months if I wanted to.

My #1 priority is not losing the job offer. I need money right now. (Would they think about rescinding the offer if I asked about the independent contractor contract?)

My #2 priority is being able to work from anywhere. I don't really care about benefits or how much money I make at this point in my life. Obviously I would love the benefits, but if I have to, I'll pay for my own insurance. Who cares. I just want to work from abroad or from wherever I want, without restrictions.

This has been something that has genuinely been weighing on me for years, and I feel like I have never found a group of people who truly understand the situation that I can discuss it with. I would be so grateful for anyone who is able to share their experience, wisdom, opinions, etc. Thank you so much in advance!

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Update: Thank you so much for all of the different perspectives! Each person's comment is helpful and helping me consider things I may not have considered before.

For additional context: This is a global company. Their HQ is in another country. I know they have an established office in one other additional country at least as well. I believe there may be 7-9 other countries where they have either employees or an office, but I'm not sure what their exact business operations are like in those countries. I just know there are at least two other countries where they have established offices, and they have people working from at least 5 different US states that I know of.

Does that mean it would be possible to work from those countries or states, where they have established offices or other employees? I'm curious if contracts are typically written in a way that locks you in to one state or allows for movement within their established locations.

For example: Let's say they have another employee in Illinois. Can I go work from Chicago for a month? Or say they have an office in Ireland (random example country for privacy). Can I go work from Ireland for 3 months?

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Lastly, and I commented this down below: Why are people so pro-company on this issue?

It's interesting to me that people aren't agreeing that it's kind of an outdated practice for the globalized world we live in. It's pretty obvious that company regulations simply haven't caught up with the times. We've seen exponential breakthroughs in technology over the past 10 years and a huge spike in remote work since COVID. In 10 years, work from anywhere could be standard practice.

The "no, you can't just do whatever you want" attitude feels a bit boomer-esque to me. Genuinely curious: Why is wanting... freedom... a bad thing?

As I stated, I am an extremely ambitious and hard-working individual. I have a master's degree. I own my own business. I am bilingual and have a lot of international experience—having studied, lived and worked from 3 different countries outside of the US, and have held esteemed positions in my community. Why is it a such a horrible thing to want to work from abroad and see the world in the evenings and on the weekends when I'm not working?

I’m 22 and pretty early into my career. I recently finished my degree in Operations Management and I’ve been working in insurance underwriting for a little over 3 months now.

My normal schedule is 4 days in the office and 1 day WFH. My company is also pretty flexible about working from home if I have a legitimate reason. If I’m sick, have an appointment, or something else comes up, I can usually work from home and nobody really questions it or makes a big deal about it.

I’ve had to work from home a little more than usual recently, and it’s honestly made me realize just how much I prefer it.
I know WFH definitely isn’t for everyone, but I feel like I’m the complete opposite of the people who say they go crazy being home all day. I love being able to wear comfortable clothes or pajamas, work in my own space, make my own food, not deal with the commute, and just be comfortable in general.

I still get my work done. If anything, I feel less mentally drained at the end of the day.

It’s kind of hard to explain, but when I work from home it feels like work takes up way less of my life even though I’m still working the exact same number of hours. I can close my laptop at the end of the day and I’m already home. No commute, no getting ready for the office, no feeling like my entire day revolved around going to work.

Long term I’ve been thinking about moving into data analytics, preferably still somewhere within the insurance industry since I’ll already have some experience in it. I’m basically starting from scratch on the analytics side and plan on learning things like Excel, SQL and Power BI over time.

Obviously I’m not expecting to jump into some great fully remote job tomorrow with barely any experience. I know I’m really early in my career.

But working from home has made me realize that being remote, or at least mostly remote, is something I’d genuinely like to work toward long term. Even something like 4 days WFH and 1 day in the office would be pretty much perfect for me.

For those of you who are fully remote now, was that something you intentionally worked toward as your career progressed? Did having a few years of experience make it noticeably easier to find remote opportunities?
Or did you mostly just happen to end up at a company or job that allowed it?

I’m curious how other people got to the point where remote work became their normal setup, especially if you started your career in an office or hybrid environment like I am now.
I genuinely just really enjoy working from home. I feel more comfortable, less drained, and like I have a much better separation between work and the rest of my life even though I’m physically working in the same place.
Would love to hear how it worked out for other people.

I keep seeing students wonder whether they're starting too early or too late when it comes to internship applications.

Some start looking 6–9 months in advance, while others don't begin until a few weeks before they want to start. And depending on the company and the type of internship, the timelines can be completely different.

If you've already landed a remote internship, when did you actually start looking?

Did you start researching companies first, or were you already sending applications? And looking back, do you think you started at the right time?

If you started later than you planned, feel free to share how that worked out too. It might help someone who's currently wondering whether they should start applying now or wait.

Hey, I was thinking about getting some qualifications in l order to get a specific remote job. The idea of working remotely and having the freedom of living wherever I want, not needing to dress up for anyone, having more time for my hobbies and potentially higher wages than locals + returning with my family when needed seems really aligned with my life priorities. But I don't really know how the actual experience of working remotely after some time is. I'm thinking about loneliness, spending time outside and other mental hygiene matters, the difference between working in person... I know it varies from person to person. So how has your experience been? Anything to consider when taking up a remote job?

Hello, I’ve been looking intermittently for a remote job for the last couple of years. Currently, I’m working on a hybrid job, and I really like it, but I have to go to the office 1-2 times per week and it is in another city, and I’m getting sick of so much travel. I was wondering if there is a website or companies that mainly have remote jobs. I have almost 5 years of experience working as a Data Analyst/ Analytics Engineer. I don’t live currently in the USA, and didn’t study there, but I was born there. Would this make it more difficult for me to land a job for an American company, although I wouldn’t need visa sponsorship?

I've done coworking space at one of those long communal hot-desks for over half a year now. I always try to be mindful of hot-desking etiquette, keeping my workspace compact and not spilling over into the next persons area. Well, theres always time for exceptions, and the other day, thats where the exception comes in.

My setup is a laptop, a portable monitor on a stand, and a bunch of cables. I thought I kept to myself pretty good, but no, the other day the person sitting next to me had to awkwardly dodge a stiff video cable while putting their notebook down, and someone walking behind me nearly tripped on my power cord (to my defense tho, the plug is just designed to be there, but still, the cord is totally an additional hazard). I felt terrible. The whole point of a shared office is to "co-work" respectfully, not to take over the communal table. I try to find the corner desks whenever I can but theyre prime real estate and get occupied pretty early in the morning.

That was the moment I decided to simplify my setup. Less wires, and taking up less real estate.

I went all out with a leaner wireless layout. Now, I have my phone running Samsung DeX, a slim Bluetooth keyboard, and a 15.6-inch wireless portable monitor with a built-in battery. What that means is basically no cord clutter. The setup takes up less than half the space and it literally takes me seconds to pack my stuff to move to a meeting room or phone booth for calls/meetings. I get the dual-screen productivity I need without bothering the people around me.

How do you guys maintain a productive mobile setup while staying respectful of shared office spaces? Whats your hack?

Edit: Appreciate the responses and cable management tips! For those asking, I WFH sometimes but struggle to focus at home, so hot-desking helps me stay productive. I am using a Uperfect UFree V portable monitor for the wireless setup but love the idea of running cables down the table leg and using a desk mat as a boundary!

After having accepted new position for $20k more than current job for same job level, including clearing background and accepting start date, I gave my resignation. Within 24 hours they countered with promotion and $35k more but no real change in job except taking on more work. Current job is 2 days with 2-3hr commute and new job would be fully remote baring quarterly travel - and may drop to twice a year. The new job would have 8% bonus and 3.5-4% raise and counter offer would be 20% (but never get full amount - maybe 70-80%) with 2% raises. Should I consider the counter offer even though I told them before they did this that I didn’t want one? Also have been passed over for raise/promotion for last year and just went through annual compensation ( with no mention of salary increases).