Home is where the work is: How remote employees balance career with personal life

When Madeleine Low started working remotely for Western Governors University, she thought the absence of a daily commute would mean more time to spend with her family. But that wasn’t necessarily the case.

Whether she was sitting down with her husband to watch a movie or reading the morning news, she always found herself looking back at a computer screen.

“Finding the time to stop working can be really hard,” Low said. “Every time I pull up laptop, I am nitpicking on something else when I already put in my hours and just need to let it go.”

She’s not alone. Research suggests that remote workers face a unique challenge in balancing their professional and personal lifestyles. According to a study conducted at Northeastern University, working from home can put employees at a higher risk of experiencing conflict due to the integration of work and family roles.

Executives, however, don’t want employees to exhaust themselves.

“We’re not expecting people to work so hard that they burn out,” said Scott Olechowski, Chief Product Officer and Cofounder at Plex — a media server and software suit based in California. “We really value people’s quality contributions and if people start burning out, we lose that.”

As the manager of a predominantly remote workforce, Olechowski said the remote employees who are most successful at finding a balance in home and work life typically exhibit skills in discipline, communication and self-reflection.

Discipline. When it comes to working from home, having a self-starting attitude is key to ensuring that daily tasks are accomplished. Acting as her own boss, Low said she sets specific hours for herself in order to increase productivity and avoid slacking off throughout the day.

“If you worked in an office, you would have a set time that you are there,” Low said. “I have set work times where I know I will be working and where I can’t change just because my friends want to go do something or I need to run an errand.”

Additionally, remote employees don’t have the luxury of kicking their heels off after a long day. As such, differentiating between work and personal hours may require some creative thinking.

“We’ve got a guy in Australia who gets up every morning, changes into work clothes, works from his house all day and then changes back into house clothes at the end of the day,” Olechowski said. “For him, that really helps distinguish between being on for a certain period of time and delivering his best, as opposed to being on all of the time.”

When a remote employee lacks the inclination to self-govern, Olechowski said, extra communication with supervisors may be necessary to ensure effective time management.

Communication. As a primarily remote organization, Plex has a built-in structure where managers are trained to initiate communication with employees through annual online meetings. In a series of six month reviews, supervisors receive feedback and reports from their employees that are meant to ensure everyone is striking the right balance between their work and personal lives.

If employees feel overwhelmed by too much communication, they have the option to unplug from online interactive outlets.

“We use Slack as one of our main communication tools and you can turn off your notifications there after a certain hour,” Olechowski said. “We encourage people to do that if they feel like they are on all the time.”

But in a remote position, balancing work and family time can also require honesty with yourself, employees say.

Self-reflection. Surveys collected by Northeastern University revealed that remote employees often feel like they need to put in more hours than are actually necessary. According to the study, working remotely can blur the distinction between job responsibilities and home life, creating a tendency to overwork.

In order to avoid becoming preoccupied with unnecessary tasks, Low said she takes time to reflect on her day and how much effort she put into her daily job functions.

“It’s really easy to not be realistic or honest with yourself about how much you’re working,” Low said. “I would suggest to try to make yourself more aware as an employee and tell yourself, ‘Once I have accomplished my work for the day, I won’t hop into tomorrow’s to-do list.’”

In addition to working a full-time job, Low is also a freelancer for various clients and works in social media for real estate on the side. In order to ensure that she has time to spend with her family and friends, she prioritizes tasks and writes daily reminders.

“I have about a million sticky notes on my desktop background and they are color coordinated for the different things I need to do,” she said. “Sometimes it can be hard, but I wouldn’t change a thing about having this remote position.”

Editor's note: This was the first freelance piece I wrote with an organization outside of my campus newspaper. My editor at Authoreo assigned me to write an article in Jan. 2019 detailing remote employees and how they balance their personal and work lives. This task seemed daunting at first, as I had no sources at my disposable who had experience in remote work. However, through networking and using my talent of asking questions, I expanded my horizon and came into contact with new interviewees who helped to add context and emotion to the story.