Casual Opinion of remote-distance work or school?

[clover]

In 2020 there was cause for a huge shift towards remote/online work through programs like Zoom and such. Workplaces and classrooms alike went digital, and I'm certain there's a decent chunk of this board that's had to deal with this. So, what is your opinion of/experience with:

• Classes online versus in-person classes.
• Workplaces online versus being at the office or whatever.
• Are there certain factors that make either more or less tolerable? Like being forced by school policy to always have your camera on, the commute, really nice offices/campuses, or regular lunches with coworkers, etc.?

I work somewhere where it's impossible to work remotely, so I only have experience with zoom classes which my school uses variably now depending on the class. I loathe taking tests online with programs like lockdown browser, so I infinitely more prefer to just go on-site to take classes, but online classes are variably tolerable.
I don't usually pay attention in lecture anyways, so I spend most of my time elsewhere on a laptop, but having to be stuck in my office chair because this school makes a big deal about having cameras always on is a pain.
Saving money by not having to drive to campus/get food there is nice, but as much as I hardly relate to my classmates, there's something to still be said about the value of social interactions in-person versus just being a face on a zoom call.
- So overall... ehh...?

 

[jnoj]

With regard to remote work, my entire corporate career has been done remotely, save for having to travel to specific client sites on occasion. My previous employer tried to have us come into the office a few times, and I hated it, so I stopped coming in and did my work from home, regardless. I was valuable enough that I could get away with shit like that. Now , with my current employer, the role is 100% remote with no expectation of me coming in unless there is a conversion or some big event, which has not happened yet. I enjoy it a lot. It offers a level of flexibility that really is unmatched. If I don't have something to do for work, I can clean up around the house and my room or work on my personal projects.

As for online classes, I was finishing up around the time covid forced a shut down, and my instructors essentially did all of their lectures they would have done in-person over a zoom call. It was like sitting in the lecture hall from the comfort of my office chair. There were some learning hurdles for them with how quizzes and homeworks were handled, but ultimately most of my learning was done outside of the classroom anyways, and the lectures were pretty much supplemental. It was great because they were recorded too, so if I missed something, I could go back and rewatch it.

I didn't have to mess with lockdown browsers, the instructors just expected we'd have our cameras on while we wrote our exams and we scanned in our papers and the teacher would grade them that way. I think the way schools have changed their methods regarding remote classes have been really privacy intrusive and detrimental to learning, from what I have witnessed in my girlfriend and brother finishing up their university classes these past years I've been out of university.

All in all, remote work and school can work for some, but I think students and professors take advantage of it too much and the quality of university education has gone WAY down because of it. Same with work, some people take advantage of it too much and don't get their work done. The way I see it, as long as your job is done at the end of the day and the work you're providing is of top quality, what's it matter how it's done or how long it takes as long as deadlines are met?

Thanks for reading.

 

[Bibr]

I'm gonna say remote is a big plus for studing and work.

Key word is: My time
I'm living like 1.5h away from my uni / workplace. And I'm not a big fan of spending 15h a week in transit. It's just a reality of living in a rural area and having to go to a big city for work / uni.
On privacy while being remote.
I'm gonna say it absolutely sucks (if your company is enforcing such things), but I noticed that many professors on uni switched to doing exams on computers anyway. So there's that annoying "browser lockdown" on site and remote. So no big difference on options to cheat there.

I do my best to match my work utilities (mouse / keyboard / set of monitors) so my office has no "comfort benefit" over my room and vice versa.

For me it's remote > office. But in 3 years in my field I barely had any remote work . God I wish I could spend those extra 3h a day on sleeping

 

[Khastle]

Tbh I hate the slow death of the office and the culture behind it. Yes, it can suck to be around your coworkers and yes you've got to commute there but it beats being locked indoors all day and not seeing anyone, unless you're going to gym or you're going out at the weekends you're gonna get some serious cabin fever quick. We are social creatures, we should be working together in person than hiding away behind the screens at home, I dunno I feel working remote is just two steps back than forward.