As I’m applying for internships and jobs for post-graduation and as I was applying for internships in New York, some of my options are remote work, some in-person, and some hybrid. Before coming to New York, I only had remote internships, so I did not know what to expect from my in-person internship at CNN. The New York Times recently published an opinion piece titled “Remote Work Is Here to Stay. Lean In, Employers,” which discusses how remote work impacts relationships, innovation, and productivity. After having multiple remote and one in-person internship, I think the perfect way to work is a hybrid model, but not in the way many organizations are currently doing it. There should be specific days when employees come into the office and work from home because it can be confusing and challenging to figure out who is online versus in person. When some people are online and some in person, everyone has to be in remote meetings instead of in-person meetings. However, everyone’s needs are different, and you need to assess your needs to apply for positions that fit your needs and work style the best. To assist with that, I will outline both work modes’ pros and cons.
Remote Work CONS
- Sometimes it can feel like your work isn’t going anywhere. Most of my remote work has been individual work instead of collaborative work, so sometimes it feels that I submit my work into the abyss. A way to combat this from a manager’s perspective is to provide feedback often on what is submitted. From your perspective, you can send follow-up messages often for feedback or for an update on where your work is. It’s important to feel like your work is meaningful, so make sure it is!
- Some days you never leave the house. On days when I am strictly working from home and have no specific reason to leave my home, I will stay in my apartment all day. Not only is this bad for your mental health, but it is bad for your physical health to not have some sunshine or some sort of human interaction throughout the day. If you’re working from home permanently, please make sure you get outside at least once a day! As the kids say these days: touch some grass!
- Your workspace can’t always be separate from your living space. Experts recommend that you separate work from your bedroom to help with concentration, sleep, and relaxation. In Texas, I had a separate space in my parents’ house, but in my apartment, my bed was about five steps from my desk, which made it difficult to stay focused, especially on days when I was tired. In New York, my kitchen, bedroom, and workspace are all in the same area, so keeping my apartment clean and organized is much more important now. If you can, have a different space for your work.
Remote Work PROS
- Sometimes it can be the same work you are doing at the office, making remote work much better. For example, when I worked for The Daily Texan, we were in a hybrid format. When we were working from home, we would send a Slack message to the reporters when we started working on edits, send them another message when we were done with edits and ready to call them, and then call them to go through edits. The only difference between remote work and in-person work for this position is that I could talk to reporters face-to-face about their edits, but often the reporters weren’t in the office either. I felt like I was working remotely but from a different location. If this is the case for you, remote work might be a better option.
- You can work from anywhere as long as you have an internet connection. Unless your job requires your camera to be on or you know you have a meeting coming up that relies on your internet connection and attention, you can be anywhere. You can be anywhere as long as you get your work done.
- Sometimes you can work whenever you want. There will be meetings during the day that you need to attend, but if your job has minimal meetings and tracking about when you’re on, as long as your work is in by the deadline, you can become nocturnal if you want!
In-Person Work CONS
- The commute! I don’t care if you have to commute for 20 minutes or two hours a day; all commutes are all terrible. If you’re in New York, the subway is awful; if you’re in Austin, traffic is awful; if you’re in Los Angeles, traffic is even more awful; and if you’re anywhere else, I bet the commute is awful. There are bound to be hiccups in whatever method you use to commute, so the commute will never be a pro in my mind.
- The clothes. I can get the same work done in pajamas or in “business professional” or “business casual” clothing. I feel more productive when I get ready, but at the end of my getting ready routine, I wear a sweatshirt and shorts instead of a dress and a blazer when I’m working from home. Not even to mention the uncomfortable bra – I know everyone who wears a bra knows what I am talking about!
- Everyone can see what you are doing. Even though people can see whether you are online or not when you are working remotely, they can’t see your screen as you work. This is particularly a con if you are in a toxic workplace or have a micromanager manager because they will be more inclined to be snoopy. The reality is that most people are not meant to work for 8 hours straight, and no one actually does. There are always side conversations, people on their phones, or people stepping out of the office to do something else.
In-Person Work PROS
- The random side conversations and bonding you get with coworkers that you can’t get over a Zoom call or Slack. In a remote work environment, there is absolutely no way to connect with people virtually in the same way we connect with people online. You can walk up to someone’s desk and ask how their weekend was when you’re working in person, but it would be weird to send someone a Slack message asking how their weekend was. It’s little things like that that make in-person work worth it.
- You can more distinctly separate your work life from your home life. At my in-person internship, people leave when it’s their time to leave, and we have a system set up to pass along any information that the next person working on the project might need. It could be my workplace, but I hope this is how in-person work is for most people.
- Communication is much easier. Even though people still send unnecessary emails, it is helpful to have the option of sending an email or walking up to someone’s desk.
In an article published in the New York Times titled “Forget Free Coffee. What Matters Is if Workers Feel Returning Is Worth It,” the author states that “the responses [from the NYT survey] revealed that there was something helping with this major change: if workers believed that being at the office made sense, and if they could maintain some control over their time,” which accurately reflects the pros and cons I’ve stated. All in all, you need to assess your needs, decide what work environment will work best for you, and apply to the positions that fit those needs. Best of luck with job/internship hunting!