After listening to Scott Hanselman’s recent podcast on Building Remote First Teams, I realized that an often overlooked aspect of the remote worker’s job is that of the time spent working compared to the on-site coworkers. After working remotely for an extended period of time, it can be easy to consistently work longer than other workers and still feel like you aren’t doing enough.

Remote Worker Imposter Syndrome

The Imposter Syndrome is no stranger to most developers when it comes to work competency. It stems from thinking that you are not as skilled as those around you perceive you to be. Unfortunately, this feeling can become much worse when working remotely as those around you cannot see you struggling or see your accomplishments. When working adjacent to coworkers, they can see the work you put in and hear your outbursts of frustration when something isn’t working quite right. Without this extra communication, it can be easy to start thinking that you aren’t accomplishing as much as those around you, or doing it as quickly.

Fortunately, Remote Worker Imposter Syndrome can be solved easily by tracking and following performance metrics across your team. Seeing that others slow down when they hit tough issues or nasty bugs just as you do can re-instill the confidence that you are a productive member of the team. It is also important that these metrics must be looked at over time because everyone has their rough patches as well as their bursts of speed when hitting familiar territory.

Guilt Taking Breaks

Everyone takes breaks at work, from longer errands during lunch or doctor’s appointments, to small coffee or water fill-ups. It is easy to see these things happening in an office when a person is physically not at their desk, but much more difficult when the person is off-site. Coworkers may happen to try reaching you via instant messenger or email right as you step away and be confused at your long response time, especially if this happens a few (unlucky) times in a row. This can lead to guilt over taking longer breaks as you don’t want to appear to be slacking off, even when the reasons are legitimate and expected.

The solution to this guilt can be as simple as providing your status for others to see. Set your status in your work instant messenger or email program to reflect the time you step away and your coworkers won’t be left wondering where you are.

Working Extra

It becomes very easy to work extra when your work environment is specifically set up to be used at home. This can be especially true when your work schedule doesn’t quite overshadow your partner’s or you have an epiphany late at night and decide to spend a few minutes solving it. But those few extra minutes can easily turn into a half hour or more. Working remotely can give you the freedom to work flexible hours, but this shouldn’t mean working longer than expected. Set a schedule of working hours and stick to it to avoid impacting your personal life or getting burned out.

Conclusion

The takeaway from these often overlooked problems is to improve team communication and to realize remote workers are valuable members of the team, who are just as productive as those on-site, albeit with slightly different working habits. You have nothing extra to prove working remotely nor should you give up your flexibility.