The majority of workers still commute, and that hour to and from work is slowly killing you. Whether you're sitting in car driving through rush-hour traffic or riding the slightly more luxurious but equally as taxing train or subway, these long commutes are adding to your growing list of health problems. This is just one of the many reasons why working remotely has become a perk that many flock to.
"Commuting is a recipe for misery, associated with an increased risk for obesity, insomnia, stress, neck and back pain, high blood pressure and other stress-related ills like heart attacks and depression, and even divorce," David Heinemeier Hansson, the creator of Basecamp and the co-author of REMOTE: Office Not Required, writes for Fast Company.
Hansson notes that the workday starts with a long commute, followed by a slew of interruptions that get in the way of you actually being productive. These include meetings, phone calls and idle chats with coworkers. Before you've been able to get through your to-do list, you're back on your commute to head home, only to repeat it all the next day. In the meantime, many will dream about an extravagant retirement full of all the world's luxuries -- a retirement that most never follow-through with. However, as Hansson notes, it's not the actual work people want to runaway from, it's the circumstances surrounding work that make the whole thing so unattractive.
That's why working remotely has become such an attractive option.
"It's the new luxury, and the definition is this: Freedom, time, and space. Freedom from that dreaded commute, from that productivity grinder of the traditional office, from being chained to the one city in which your employer happens to be located. Time to spend with friends and loved ones, to do what you really want outside work hours. Space to live and breathe," Hansson writes.
The freedoms that come with remote working are endless. Not to mention that these same freedoms serve as motivation that makes people want to work. People can choose where they live, having the luxury of picking a city that suits their lifestyle. Some might even choose to live in a suburb or a small town. After all, we now have the Internet to connect us, which takes away the need to live in or near a city. People can choose to work from home, a coffee shop, a co-working space or a combination of all three.
What are you favorite aspects about working remotely?
