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[Randolph Freelander]

I work from home 3 days, in office 2 days. I am an application developer at one of those banks that if it tipped over would take the world economy with it.

Yes, I wanted to work from home, it's part of the reason I accepted a full time role with the company after being a contractor for a couple of years. In fact, I wouldn't mind working from home all 5 days instead of just 3. My productivity in either setting is generally the same, but as far as people can become a distraction, I don't have that issue at home.

 

[BasilZero]

what do you do?
I work as a IT admin, in terms of the topic, I only work from home when I am "forced" to such as weather, or being sick, etc.

What's your career path?
Information Technology/System Admin

Did you want to work from home?
Always thought it was nice to work from home until.....

Do you like it?
I love my job but...in terms of staying home to do work - after going through a week of Hurricane Harvey, nope. Very uncomfortable, felt disorganized and I couldnt do half of the stuff I wanted to due to being distracted , etc.

Do you find that you're more or less productive than you are in an office setting?
Less productive at home when it comes to work duties, more productive at office for sure when it comes to work.

 

[CreepingFear]

While reading through this thread, I realized quite a few GAFers have the privilege of working from home. So I'm asking them, and anyone else who works from home (either every day, or just a few days out of the week/month), what do you do? What's your career path? Did you want to work from home? Do you like it? Do you find that you're more or less productive than you are in an office setting?

I work at home one day a week. Right now, I'm actually getting some over time from home while watching American Horror Story on my computer. I work in IT. I wish I could work from home everyday. I fucking love it. I answer calls and take care of tickets just as I would if I were in the office, only I get to do it in my underwear and look at porn at home.

 

[Acrylic7]

Procrastinate

Ahem, but forreals, for a year now Ive been working from home as a freelance game artist and illustrator. The freedom has allowed me to work on Streamline, Steambirds Alliance, i saw her standing there, Indivisible and other cool freelance gigs

Heres my website, for those who care

I'm a bit conflicted about it. Im thankful for my clients and work hard but in a perfect setting there are dream companies and projects Id rather be working on. Ive been working in games for over ten years and this is the first time Ive been in this situation, so it can be pretty intimidating.

The good:
-Go on vacation anytime! You dont get paid for that, but still, haha
-Make your own schedule
-You can live anywhere! Did you know that living in Paris can be really affordable under an American salary?
-Being able to be open about your projects and ambitions, like I can openly talk about how Im building a portfolio for Blizzard without fear of getting fired
-You work on a lot of projects, get to ship more games and make more connections

The double edged:
-When it rains it pours ... and viceversa. Some months youll have 3 projects and bring plenty of money, others you dont have any and rent money is hard to come by

The bad:
-Paying for insurance, especially in California
-Lack of a set schedule creates bad habits like browsing GAF a little too often and stretching the day too far (feels like I work all day)
-Pay for software out of pocket
-Constant need for hustling, almost an inability to turn down projects. I dont enjoy having to be in survival mode all the time
-You can become a bit of a hermit and spend toooo much time at home, social life has taken a hit for sure since Im not around 30+ people at a studio

If you ever have the chance to try it, give it a shot but its not for everyone

This is what I want to do but I dont take it seriously enough. Its just so hard to work my crappy 8-11 hour job then come home and practice my art.
At the end of the day I'm mentally, physically, and spiritually spent.

 

[Raging Spaniard]

This is what I want to do but I dont take it seriously enough. Its just so hard to work my crappy 8-11 hour job then come home and practice my art.
At the end of the day I'm mentally, physically, and spiritually spent.

Well Ive been lucky that Ive always been working and never had a non art job so after a few years you have enough contacts to provide some steady work.

 

[nabe_shogun]

what do you do?
Web development intern

What's your career path?
software developer. I'm still in school though so who knows.

Did you want to work from home?
No, but I don't really mind too much

Do you like it?
I like that I can choose my own hours

Do you find that you're more or less productive than you are in an office setting?
Less Productive because I'm easily distracted, and when I'm at home alone there's not really a consequence for slacking off.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

I work from home every day. I’m a freelance writer who covers outdoor and adventure travel. Just signed the contract for my first book today.

 

[lastplayed]

Been working from home as a Web Content Editor for 3 years now.

It's a small company and we were made homeless after the 2011 earthquakes so rented out a townhouse but in 2014 the boss decided to slash overheads and become a "virtual" company.

All our work is cloud based so the transition was pretty easy. I do like it overall, I can sleep in a bit more and get odd jobs around the house done. I do miss office banter, and I live alone so I can go a day or two without seeing anyone. But we have daily chats on Skype at least.

 

[PersonAndStuff]

I assume you masturbate.

 

[SomTervo]

This is what I want to do but I dont take it seriously enough. Its just so hard to work my crappy 8-11 hour job then come home and practice my art.
At the end of the day I'm mentally, physically, and spiritually spent.

In my experience you reach a point where the exertion becomes a churning norm and you are ready to do something "new" with your time rather than mong out - at which point you start doing your work again and, weirdly, you find it GIVES you more energy rather than taking more of it away.

 

[Aske]

I work from home every day. I’m a freelance writer who covers outdoor and adventure travel. Just signed the contract for my first book today.

Congratulations, that's awesome!

 

[godhandiscen]

I assume you masturbate.

Yeah, this is a negative. Breaks ussually involve masturbation.

 

[Synth]

Gaffer I know just sleeps all fucking day then complains I'm not at home for a gaming session when I'm AT WORK.

It was a fucking Saturday!

 

[ElectricBanquet]

I don't myself, but my roommate works from home. He writes and edits articles for web sites. It's mostly for search engine optimization but sometimes it'll be things like product descriptions for online stores.

He's gotten to where he does a lot of his work from Arby's because he doesn't want to spend his entire day at home. He also is often late with his half of the bills, but I think that has more to do with him being bad at budgeting and controlling his spending rather than not making enough money.

 

[hipbabboom]

Browse GAF

yeah

 

[5taquitos]

Why is that?

When I had full control over my schedule, I procrastinated way too much. Nearly every week, I would find myself scrambling over the weekend to fill out my hours. So even though I had flexibility to do what I wanted during the week, it essentially meant I was working 6 or 7 days.

Working in an office keeps me focused, I have a set time in and out, and I make overtime frequently, something that wasn't allowed at my remote position. I socialize with coworkers instead of talking to my dog.

I started working out again, because the consistent work schedule allowed me to build personal schedules around it. It's much easier for me to wake up at the same time every day and go running, instead of waking up whenever and saying I'd run after work or something.

When I worked from home, I was a contract employee. That meant I had to stay on top of my tax withholding, something that nearly fucked me several times because I'm terrible with money.

My boss buys my team food when we have to work late. I get congratulated for good work, something that doesn't have as big of an impact when it comes over IM. I help out my co-workers because they're sitting nearby, and they help me.

Also, and this is more position-related than anything, the benefits of my current position are way better than the essentially nonexistent benefits of my remote position.

 

[Osahi]

I am an editor for a gaming magazine and a screenwriter. A juggle between the two on a 40/60 basis usually.

I get up between 8 and 8.30, and am at my desk at 9. Usually I only get productive around 10ish tough, unless I have a deadline looming.

I love working from home as it spares a commute and I generally am more productive when I'm alone. It also means I can easily walk around, make notes on a whiteboard, or just go for an hour of relaxing without crippling social control. I am a 'burst' writer, who can't work in long stretches, but does many shorter ones in a day.

It has it's caveats too. Doing groceries, cooking and some household tasks are more easily distributed to me 'as I am at home anyway'. On days you don't feel like working (which as a writer is often), you don't have any control forcing you to work. I've lost many possible productive afternoons to this, lol. Also, as there isn't really a line between home and work (I do have a home office), you tend to work in weekends too.

 

[Charles Brandon]

I am a director of a company that provides tax consultancy services. Work from home three days a week.

 

[GCX]

I'm a UX designer. I have an office to go to but when I feel like it I work from home. About 2 days a week usually.

I'd probably go crazy if I only worked at home.

 

[Sgt. Kabukiman]

I'm a writer / translator and yes, working from home was a very deliberate choice. I used to be a hotel manager and bartender but as I got older I just became more asocial and unwilling to put up with other people's shit. I didn't want that kind of stress in my life. I'm very happy now even though it was a struggle at first.

My career path is to find more long term asignments and make more money, lol, but I'm doing okay right now. Once I move to a more affordable place (I'm living in the most expensive city in my country) I'll be able to live more comfortably.

Regarding productivity, it's the biggest challenge for me. It requires a lot of self-discipline. I had to implement a very rigorous daily schedule for myself that I follow religiously otherwise nothing gets done. And I force myself to be up at 7am every morning except on saturdays no matter what.

 

[Big Nikus]

What do you do?

I write books about videogame series. Well, I wrote one, and just started the second one. I have two more in the works after that (one will be on a TV series).

What's your career path?

I started as a videogame journalist in 2003, I was 18 and just finished highschool. I worked 90h a week for like 500 to 700 euros a month, sometimes for three magazines... For three years. It destroyed me and my interest in writing. I got a proposition from a publisher to write a book and turned it down a few years ago. I then went back to university for an english degree, met my girlfriend (now wife) there, and she encouraged me to start writing again. I had a huge confidence crisis for two years, on top of family problems, and I did nothing. Except being depressed at home. But my wife started to feel more and more miserable because of this, so I finally kicked my own ass, started a website to write a bit and try to get my mojo back. A few weeks later the same publisher from before contacted me again, years after the first proposition. I accepted the deal, worked for a whole year on the book, and it sold well and got great reviews. So, confidence restored.

Spoiler

The book was about Mass Effect.

Did you want to work from home?

Yeah I prefer that, I like people but I'm not the talkative type. Also, I'm an insomniac. School was hell, having to wake up at 7am for years when I finally managed to fall asleep at 4 or 5am... It didn't help my depression in my teenage years. Sleep deprivation is a bitch. Now I can sleep and work whenever I want.

Do you like it?

I... like it, but it's not all good. At least, it will be handy when I'll have kids, even though it'll be hard to work and take care of a baby. But my wife is happy about this

Do you find that you're more or less productive than you are in an office setting?

I don't really know, since I've never really worked in an office setting. I went to Paris from time to time to work from the publisher office, and it was cool, I had fun with my fellow broke game journalists and managed to get the work done faster, but I still prefer to be at home. Procrastination is my nemesis though. More specifically, GAF and freaking Overwatch. Last year I had to install an addon to block GAF, and I uninstalled Overwatch. Best decision ever.
I'll have to do it again before the next deadline.

 

[Soroc]

Storage and Networking Planning Engineer.

I also remotely deploy configuration for equipment integration into existing environments.

I have flexibility to work from home and from the office. Some weeks I primarily work from home and others I'll head into the office. I find I head into the office when I have less work to do and more time to socialize. If I have a lot of work or complex projects, I prefer to stay home as I'm much more focused.

I'm not sure if I could work from home 100% though as I do feel like I miss the pulse and the moment to moment happenings when you are outside the office and not face to face with your colleagues.

 

[The Greek Freak]

Id be rolling in dough if I lived in South Carolina, but Bat Area living expenses complicate my situation a fair bit. I also have to adapt to be more hustle oriented and be aggressive in finding new gigs, something that a studio job doesnt require.

Oh yeah fuck bay area rents especially if you're working online and not getting some 250k google job.

 

[Oscar]

I work from home at times.

Project manager for my family's construction company.

If we have a remote project out of state, all I do is make a call at 9am to make sure the workers aren't out of materials and know what the game plan is for the day. I make myself available to take any calls from them until 5pm so I can advise them on anything related to the project. Then on fridays I gather the data of what my crews have done and I email a ton of invoices.

 

[captive]

feel like i need to save my response in a txt file we get these threads so often.

what do you do? IT Consultant for Microsoft Products
What's your career path? College 4 year degree in CS -> Helpdesk -> SysAdmin -> Consultant
Did you want to work from home? Yes
Do you like it? Love it. Before i got to work from home i knew i didnt work 40 hours a week, a lot of people dont actually work 40 hours a week, yet we're forced to sit in an office for 40 hours a week. A lot of my projects are 3 to 6 week projects billed by 40 hours per week, its rare that i'm not done with 800 to 90% of the project in the first week week and a half.
Do you find that you're more or less productive than you are in an office setting? Far more productive. I never got anyone bothering me anymore. Plus im more productive in home life, I mow the lawn during the week, do yard work, clean, cook freeing up time on the weekend.

 

[Burgess_101]

This (freelance writer):

 

[JigglesBunny]

Technically I work from home. Writer, though “screenwriter” is the particular title I never liked using it, always felt pretentious. I do some freelance gigs on the side for some extra scratch.

That said, since I’m very much independent and doing a sort of ghost writing, I’m usually out in meetings or a “writers room.” Before it’s asked, no, I’ve not written anything you’ve seen.

I love the job, love the incredibly flexible hours so yes, love working from home. I get ample time for games, watching whatever film or show I want to dig into, spending time with my fiancé and friends whenever I want/need, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Pay is obviously always in flux depending on what project I’m on but my fiancé works full time, I helped with a family business until just this last year which allowed me to stockpile those funds and through some freelance gigs and uncredited jobs, I make more than enough that I would be able to sustain my lifestyle without many sacrifices.

 

[LegendofLex]

I don't telecommute all the time, but because I'm a writer for a tech company, days like today when I need to be home to supervise my water heater installation are much less inconvenient.

 

[otake]

I work from 100% of the time. Sales Engineer. I'm very productive. I do travel to other countries and states but it's 5 days out of the month or so.

I like it very much.

 

[GPsych]

I'm a supervising psychologist for a medium-sized school district (about 20,000 students). Although I technically don't work at home, I don't really have an office and since becoming the supervising psych, I am no longer based at a school. Generally, two to three days a week I do site visits with practitioners under my supervision and do assessments (I'm generally assigned legally challenging/litigious cases). However, much of my job involves report writing, data analysis, and record reviews which I can easily do at home. As space is at a premium and I get paid extra for mileage, my director prefers that I work from home when I can.

To be honest, I don't really like it. When I was based at a school there was always something exciting going on and I got to do SCIENCE! more often than all this bureaucratic nonsense. Plus, I miss my giant whiteboard and large office with a window. I'm also more productive at work generally but it's only been a month so maybe I can get into some better habits.

I also have this crazy anxiety that pops up suddenly when my phone rings and its a high level administrator calling me - it feels like I'm doing something wrong even though I'm not. I assume these feelings are just the result of 13 years of being more traditionally work-based.

 

[Lombax]

I create a 'TODO' list prior to the start of each day. I do not stop working until that list is cleared.
As to my job I write API automation for web service testing / security.

 

[Downhome]

We do eBay part time out of our home. I have a full time job, do eBay when I can, my wife stays home with our newborn and is going to convert to doing that at home a lot more as well.

 

[Friggz]

i work remotely everyday.

im a security engineer. I work for a company located in boston, but live in northern virginia.

Ive been down here for a about 8 months and can say it would be weird to go back into the office now. My office adopted the "open office" culture, and when i have to head back to HQ, its just miserable. People arent speaking and collaborating in a way management envisioned, so everything is quiet and open.

Working from home full time has also allowed me build a much better relationship with my kids as im now more available and can use my lunch hour to take them to the park or play games.

 

[Krakatoa]

If you work from home and you are wearing anything below your waist. You are doing it wrong.

I've been working at home for a year. At times it can be fun, at times you can feel distant, and at times you just want to get the hell out of your house (cabin fever).

 

[Servbot24]

Do the same thing as when i'm at work. Stare at software and call in to meetings.

 

[NewFresh]

So I'm asking them, and anyone else who works from home (either every day, or just a few days out of the week/month), what do you do?

Manage food safety related programs for a major grocery chain.

What's your career path?

Bachelors in Microbilogy -> Lab Tech -> Plant QA Supervisor -> Corporate program manager. Been out of school for 4 years.

Did you want to work from home?

Sometimes. It depends on if my daughter is being watched at my house or somewhere else. If we are taking her to daycare then I will work from home. If family is watching her at our place I will leave to a starbucks or store to do work.

Do you like it?

Love it.

Do you find that you're more or less productive than you are in an office setting?

Depends on the day really. I feel like I get more done in the office in terms of writing up long reports or emails. But at home I am more productive at answering smaller scale questions and managing issues.

 

[-NeoTB1-]

While reading through this thread, I realized quite a few GAFers have the privilege of working from home. So I'm asking them, and anyone else who works from home (either every day, or just a few days out of the week/month), what do you do? What's your career path? Did you want to work from home? Do you like it? Do you find that you're more or less productive than you are in an office setting?

I work from home as a data analyst for a very specialized tech company. I started out working in the office, but moved out of state and continued to work 100% remotely. Been doing it for 8 years now. I enjoy it, but looking to make a change since there is no more room for advancement.

You have to have a strong work ethic to do this. Fortunately, I'm able to tune out distractions and get things done. I do miss the person-to-person interactions, though. Seeing and talking to people over a webcam isn't really the same. My cat and dog have become my new office mates.

 

[Luschient]

Online marketing / eCommerce for a giant hospitality company.

Love working from home, would be really tough to go back to an office at this point. I do fuck off a lot but no more than I did in an office setting (talking to co-workers, breaks, etc.)

I found what works best for me is to bust ass in the morning and get as much done as possible because the later in the day it becomes, the more I'm messing around online/gaf.

 

[Fatalah]

I've been thinking about this topic a lot lately. Now that I have kids, having the option to work from home is a godsend. Still, coming into the office is where you make yourself known, and get to know people. 3 days I commute, 2 days I'm home.

Lately, I've noticed the folks who don't commute have more extracurricular activities planned in their lives. That sounds nice, I could use a hobby. There's no time when you commute and have young children. No time for anything!