Work From Home. It’s Good for You.

Your alarm clock rings. But instead of rushing to catch the bus or crawl in traffic, you instead have a full breakfast, work out, then sit down to work on your laptop with your favorite mug of coffee. During your lunch break, you throw in a load of laundry, then go for a walk. You log off at 4 p.m. to cook dinner, then finish your last hour of work on the couch before heading to bed.

For many people with remote jobs, this flexibility is what drew them to tech. In addition to increased autonomy, working from home also offers some significant physical and mental health benefits.

It’s true that remote work has been getting conflicting headlines since the start of the pandemic. Headlines abound about how working from home is less healthy than you think or how working from home is less healthy than working from the office. Some news outlets have warned of isolation and burnout, while others found that productivity and job satisfaction increased. What’s the real story? Is working from home healthy? If you’re hesitant to make the switch, read on to learn more about the benefits of remote work, and hear directly from TripleTen grads about their experience.

What does a remote workday look like?

The computer and IT sector remains the best industry for finding remote jobs: currently, 72% of tech employers_{Can I Count On a Remote Job After Graduation?} have their staff working outside the office. Some companies offer fully remote roles in which you never have to step foot in an office. You may be required to attend meetings virtually between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., but you can set your own schedule, so long as you meet deadlines. Many companies are also moving towards hybrid work, asking employees to come to the office only two or three days a week.

For one front-end engineer, Dom Vidovic_{What Is It Like to Be a Remote Software Engineer?}, working from home allows time for self care, meals and workouts to balance out his workday: “I wake up in the morning, do some reading, meditate, and then work. During the day I usually go out, then come back and work again from 6 or 7-ish p.m. till I go to sleep.” Working remotely even makes it possible for him to travel and work from locations around the world.

Physical benefits of remote work

Remote work can improve your physical well-being in a number of ways, including getting more sleep and reducing overall stress. And the work can be done sitting down. This was a huge perk for AC Slamet_{A Producer Switches to Tech to Find Time for Life: AC Slamet’s TripleTen Story}, who used to work 15-hour days as a producer, much of it on his feet: “The toll it took on me health-wise… it can be a very stressful job and obviously physically taxing because of the long hours.” He recalls that sometimes he wouldn’t sleep for days. All that changed once he completed a TripleTen bootcamp and found work as a data analyst. He now works predictable 8-hour days in his home office.

There are also some less obvious – but just as valuable – physical benefits of remote work. These include:

• Having more time to work out.
• Sleeping later, since you don’t have to commute. 
• Cooking and eating healthier food (and saving money!) instead of buying fast food or restaurant lunches.
• Catching fewer respiratory illnesses, being able to rest when you are sick, or easily going to a doctor’s appointment.

Mental health benefits of remote work

The autonomy that comes with remote work offers significant mental health benefits, as well. There’s no stressful commute, no minor irritations from sharing space with coworkers, and less office politics to deal with. Because you’re in charge of your day, you can choose to take breaks when you need them. And you have more flexibility to spend time with loved ones, whether attending family events or caring for children.

Before his current job, AC could never predict what he’d have to compromise on: 

“Working for long hours like that, you tend to miss a lot of important life things. You sometimes have to miss birthdays. You miss anniversaries. You miss people’s graduations. It’s tough.” Now, he has weekends off, and during the week he has time to do chores, walk the dogs, and spend time with his partner.

Things to consider before working remotely

If you’re used to bantering with colleagues, or catching up on company news through spontaneous chats in the break room, working from home can feel like a big shift. You have to be much more intentional about connecting with coworkers to avoid feeling isolated. You also have to invest in setting up a comfortable work space (tech companies often offer a stipend for things like ergonomic chairs or noise-canceling headphones). Finally, working from home requires self-discipline and focus.

But for many people, all these concessions are worth it. Julian Hernandez_{What Is It Like to Be a Remote Software Engineer?}, a web developer at Meta Interactive, has even passed up on more lucrative jobs in order to keep his flexible schedule. “I value it so much,” he says. “And I accept the fact that I may have missed out on opportunities career-wise to have more time for my other life goals.”

Our pitch to you

Our part-time bootcamp can help you land a more flexible and rewarding career. TripleTen’s Career Outcomes show that the majority (71%) of our graduates have landed a job in a fully remote team. Find out more about our bootcamp and stay in-the-know about launching a great tech career by signing up for our newsletter below.