Are you looking further afield when job hunting now?

[NotAGolf]

A couple of people I know have started new jobs recently and have it in their contract that their place of work is their home, i.e 100% remote working.

I'm all for working remotely, meaning I can apply to jobs all over the country, not just those within commutable distances. BUT, I'd been concerned that if working from home becomes less desirable for companies in 6-18 months (for whatever reason), then they'd start getting people back in the office again.

Even if you have it written in your contract that you don't need to go to the office, I'd still be a bit concerned that I'd become the office outcast and start missing out on important chats/meetings because I'm the only one working remotely.

I'm currently interviewing for a new role (local), but if it doesn't work out, I'm not sure whether I should start looking further afield. Thoughts?

 

[DanTheMan]

If the covid 19 pandemic happened 2-3 years ago when I was job hunting and house hinting, I would have absolutely taken the opportunity move further away from a city and look further afield for work.

I imagine a lot of it depends on how far afield you're thinking. Do you mean so far away that it would be once in a blue moon that you would meet other colleagues face to face or do would it be once or twice a month that you would meet them? If it's mainly a remote job, you'll probably find most people live miles away from the office and you won't be the only one.

It depends on your life outside of work too. I've got a wife and young child so I'm not spontaneously travelling for hours and staying overnight for nights out or office meetings. My wife's brother on the other hand is early 30s and single. Most of his team are based in Asia and the USA and he has no qualms about flying to those places for weeks at a time when needed.

 

[Andreworex]

I have a friend that just sold up in the city where her employers office and her partners employer is based and moved to the coast of North Wales in a lovely cottage, this is from the midlands.

I think this is great at the moment with working from home, casual walks on the beach etc but once covid is over and demand is back in the economy, these people are going to be managed out due to just being miles away from the office and out of touch of the day to day in the business or never home as they have to drive miles to the nearest city/major town for employment, which is a little less "living the dream"...

Maybe I'm cynical...

 

[Hades]

I have a friend that just sold up in the city where her employers office and her partners employer is based and moved to the coast of North Wales in a lovely cottage, this is from the midlands.

I think this is great at the moment with working from home, casual walks on the beach etc but once covid is over and demand is back in the economy, these people are going to be managed out due to just being miles away from the office and out of touch of the day to day in the business or never home as they have to drive miles to the nearest city/major town for employment, which is a little less "living the dream"...

Maybe I'm cynical...

Perhaps some people will be managed out when "normal" work returns. But I would imagine most people moving further away have taken that into account. If I were able to move further away I absolutely would do even if it meant having to find a new job in a year or two. I think many people would like to and have been given a taste of what a better work/life balance could look like. I also think that companies are going to have to allow more flexible working when recruiting people in the future. If I were to move jobs then flexible/remote working would be just as important as salary.

 

[Gray2233]

I'll never work in an office again, remote working for me from now on and if that becomes an issue with my current employer I'll move on. I don't live to work and I don't work to make friends, I have a life outside of the day to day grind and frankly I'd happily take a pay cut in a different job if it meant I could cut out the commute and enjoy a slower pace of life.

Regardless I can see there being a shift in general anyway, at least with more forward thinking companies. Most 'office' workers can function just fine from home, I've experienced no issues with productivity and the same stands true for others I'm in contact with. Why pay for a gigantic resource sucking office space when it's simply not necessary? More people working from home means less overheads for most business, they can function with smaller premises and employ from a wider group of people. Then there's the benefits of fewer people on the roads, less pollution and traffic congestion, I honestly can't see any downsides with the current state of technology.

 

[Judgeneo]

Yup.
I moved jobs in December, fully expecting to be working from home several days a week post-covid. If I'm only going to be in the office 2-3 days a week, I don't mind a longer commute for those days, and took a position that I wouldn't have considered pre-pandemic

 

[Haggisman]

I have a friend that just sold up in the city where her employers office and her partners employer is based and moved to the coast of North Wales in a lovely cottage, this is from the midlands.

I think this is great at the moment with working from home, casual walks on the beach etc but once covid is over and demand is back in the economy, these people are going to be managed out due to just being miles away from the office and out of touch of the day to day in the business or never home as they have to drive miles to the nearest city/major town for employment, which is a little less "living the dream"...

Maybe I'm cynical...

Planning to do exactly this in a few years when our current mortgage deal ends and things have settled down a bit

I guess it depends on what your job is (and how sociable you are). I'm a developer, so 90% of my usual work day in the office involves head down concentrating & noise cancelling headphones, interspersed with the odd standup/scrum/meeting. Arguably, remote working creates a better environment for this, saves the company money on office space/facilities, and means I can be more flexible (which benefits both me and the company) as I'm not constrained by childcare requirements. E.g. while in the office I would need to finish & leave at 4.30 on the dot to get home and pick my son up from after-school club, these days I can pick him up from school at 3.20, get back home and carry on working for a few hours, and if there's something urgent going on can even get a few hours in later after he's gone to bed.

 

[Cooler running]

A couple of people I know have started new jobs recently and have it in their contract that their place of work is their home, i.e 100% remote working.

Remote working is great when you've already made yourself indispensable. The main issue with going into fully remote roles is that, just like you're thinking now, everyone around the country (and potentially overseas contractors) can apply.
Getting the high end remote working jobs can land you competing with people who have some insane qualifications. The other day I was turned down for a role where, despite being very well suited, they decided to go with a high flying guy with 10 years work experience and a PHD from Cambridge. Was pretty miffed given my lowly Bachelors degree. Point being that working locally is a good way to get embedded in a company, you can always suggest remote working when you have the respect and clout within the company to lead people around.

 

[doran1801]

i took a 6 figure job 100 mile each way commute. just before covid, been to the office 5 times since last march.

 

[Nasher]

I'm looking at a complete career change eventually. Training first though.

Just getting fed up of IT

 

[dowie]

Sort of - it's not like I'm looking for work in Birmingham, Manchester etc.. though. Generally, for office based work, I'll stick to London or thereabouts. I'd consider moving out of the UK though - possibly Switzerland.

I'd also consider remote work either partially or fully - Covid has certainly changed things there.

 

[Kautya]

I have been looking at jobs that are further away, although not all companies are highlighting the remote location bit in their adverts anymore and as such I am worried if I take a role which is remote now and would then be expected to commute daily when restrictions are lifted.

 

[HangTime]

I think this is increasingly becoming a factor, I've recently been job hunting and it's a subject most employers are happy to discuss. Employers that aren't flexible on location (where it is feasible to be) will find they struggle to attract and retain talent due to competition from more agile rivals. They will miss also opportunities to exploit cheaper labour due to insisting on people living in commuter distance to the main employment hubs, for example you might have someone living in the North who would do a job remotely with occasional travel for say £50k but have to pay someone e.g. £70k if you wanted them in central London regularly.

The big issue I think is the ambiguity, some roles will be pitched as 'remote for now' with 'we think we'll reopen the office around month X, and we're looking at options for working patterns, it will probably be something like x days a week in the office'. One consideration is due to ticket pricing structures, something like 2-3 days a week in the office isn't really much of a financial saving vs 4-5 days in the office. I think the more forward thinking organisation are looking more at patterns where workers are largely remote but have focus periods like 3 days a month where you go in for specific purposes.

But that's teetering off topic a bit, in summary I'd say I'm not personally looking further afield but I've binned the idea of moving closer to London or a pied-a-terre to reduce commuting time.