Transcriber: Eunice Tan Reviewer: Tanya Cushman
I've come here to tell you that working from home works.
It's a reality,
and it's here to stay.
You can do it.
Now, I'm not suggesting that you have to go start a small business
or become the next internet superstar.
You can have a fulfilling, successful career
with large thriving companies,
right there in your home or on the road.
It really doesn't matter where you live or go.
Do you have doubts?
Well, hear me out.
I've been doing this for quite a while now,
and honestly, I couldn't be happier as an employee, a husband, or a dad.
Hey, I'm Jay Hayes.
I've been working six years fully remote,
with another couple years partially remote.
In that time,
I've seen remote work done really well ...
and not so well.
My first job out of college
was with a pretty big company in Rocket City - Huntsville, Alabama.
And while I was there,
I actually ended up getting an apartment that was right next door.
So I would get up in the morning
and either walk or ride my bike through a small clearing
to get to the office.
I couldn't have been any closer.
You know, this is probably why eventually I decided not to put up with the commute.
(Laughter)
I had it really good.
Then life happened, as it does.
I proposed to my beautiful wife,
and we decided to move to Florence, Alabama.
So we packed up my little apartment
and moved our life 70 miles away from my job.
My commute -
it went from two minutes
to two hours.
I loved the company.
I loved my job - I felt like I was growing.
And I decided to stick it out.
Now, thankfully, I work in the tech industry.
And if there's any industry that's right for remote work,
it's this one.
You know, I spend a lot of time working quietly on the computer.
But another part of my work is communication,
and there is an endless list of communication tools out there,
ready to help you get things done.
New ones come out all the time.
But don't fret if this sounds really hard.
I mean, honestly, it is really hard.
But there is already a wealth of great companies out there
that have this baked right into their culture.
You know, remote work creates an opportunity
to work with these amazing places that you may not know even exist.
And it's a really amazing opportunity.
You know, I remember when I was first starting after college,
getting into my career,
I felt this pull -
I felt this distinct pull -
as if I needed to leave
in order to achieve my hopes and dreams.
And, honestly, that was exactly the advice that I was given.
You know, that pull can also cause
some of our most talented people in our community
to pack up and leave town.
And really, we want those people to stay here
and contribute to our local community.
You know, remote work -
it levels the playing field.
I'm pretty young,
and I've had the opportunity to work with some amazing companies.
I've worked with people who are the best of the best in their industries.
And all of this without having to, you know,
pack up and relocate my family all over the country.
In fact,
in a way,
my salary is funneling money
from these big economies, these bigger cities,
right back into our own local economy.
You're welcome.
(Laughter)
So after a couple years of doing the remote thing,
you know, I realized pretty quickly that this commute -
it just wasn't going to scale for the life I wanted to live.
My wife and I had started a small business.
And we decided to move on.
The company I was with at the time -
they actually allowed me to work just a couple of days from home every week.
But funny enough, the project that I was on
was actually with a team that was located in Washington, D.C.
So I would make that commute - still three days a week, two hours -
to get on the phone and work remote.
(Laughs)
In hindsight, it seems kind of ridiculous that that's what I had to do.
But I don't blame them.
You know, they didn't know any better.
But it still - it just - I don't know.
It had a negative effect on me; it felt pretty crummy.
In fact, some days, I would go to the office,
and my coworkers - they would poke fun at me.
Could you imagine, right?
They would say things like,
"Oh Jay, nice of you to show up today.
And look!
You're wearing pants!"
Haha - yes, I'm wearing pants.
Yeah, I knew that they didn't really mean anything negative by it,
but it still had this nasty effect on me.
I later read the book "Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It,"
by Cali Ressler.
She coined a term for this.
She calls it "sludge" - those words.
And she uses a word that kind of paints this picture of something nasty and sticky
because that's exactly how those words made me feel.
Ugh, it was awful.
One of the biggest benefits of remote work is the freedom that it gives you.
It puts you in control.
It doesn't matter how overbearing your boss or your coworkers can be.
Ultimately,
they can't be standing in your home,
looking over your shoulders, putting pressure on you.
The worst-case scenario is, you know,
maybe they're on the phone or the computer,
and you can turn those things off.
This is a powerful boundary
that puts you in control of how you work
and how you control your time and your attention.
And it's a really important boundary that you have to maintain
in order to stay productive.
You know, like any skill,
consistently productive remote work
is one that improves with time and experience.
Like I said, I'm six years into this thing,
and I'm really still trying to figure out how work fits into life.
Let's talk about life for a moment.
I have been working from home for a while now,
and it's really tempting to allow your work to become your life.
And this is especially true for remote workers
because you're working right there in the house.
Life is going on around you,
and if you're not attempting,
you can lose the boundary between work and life
and, ultimately, lose yourself.
There's really nothing
that has been more powerful to help me emphasize that boundary
than working from home.
You know, I love my wife,
and I love that, on many days,
we're just a shout around the corner from one another.
It's a privilege that we get to work in close proximity,
and I believe that our relationship skills can be attributed to that proximity.
But regardless, you have to maintain a healthy boundary
in order to, you know, stay productive.
Never underestimate the power of getting out of the house.
You're in control, you know?
If you need to, go work from anywhere.
Go explore your city - find new places to work from.
In fact, I've recently taken up "walking meetings."
And the idea is
if I have a meeting that doesn't require my hands on the keyboard,
then I'll just get out of the house
and take my phone, listen in on the meeting,
grab a little bit of exercise along the way.
Speaking of exercise,
you have time now.
This is a huge benefit of remote work.
If you're not commuting, then you will have more time.
It's the math, you know?
Take advantage of this:
exercise, cook good meals,
spend more time with your family.
But remember that your health isn't limited to your body.
You also have a soul -
that's your mind, your will, and your emotions -
and it can get out of shape, just like your body can.
So find time for alignment, to exercise your soul.
And, oh yeah -
get dressed.
(Laughter)
This has got to be the most fun thing to make fun of
when it comes to remote workers.
And I've got to be honest -
the temptation's real, you know.
If you're not going to get out of the house, what's the point?
Why waste the time, right?
I will tell you:
it's because you will feel so much better about yourself.
It's just like exercise
or treating yourself to a small indulgence.
Finding the time to get dressed in the morning
will be a huge boost of your confidence and your energy.
It's well worth the time.
So, you know, as you begin settling in to this new lifestyle of working remote,
you'll probably want to start iterating on it.
You have a number of working hours.
How can you replace some of those working hours
with more living hours?
Never underestimate the power of changing environments.
You know, I've said it already, but get out of the house.
In fact, the author Mark Batterson of the book "The Circle Maker" -
he created a formula for this.
Wow, math - it's useful.
He says, "A change of pace plus a change of place
is equal to a change of perspective."
And I found that that is absolutely true.
I also recently took up bullet journaling,
and it's really changed how I keep a record of my day
and just know that I've been productive.
And the specifics of bullet journaling aside don't really matter.
The real value of it is at the end of the day,
you know that you've gotten something done.
It's really powerful to know that.
So, what do you think?
Are you ready to try working from anywhere?
Maybe your company is already on board with the idea.
That's great - give it a shot.
See what processes fit really well with the distributed team
and what you might have to tweak in order to make it work well.
Or maybe you're not interested in remote work.
Well, that's okay.
I would still encourage you to support the idea
because you may have colleagues
that could really benefit from the flexibility.
Consider a single parent
that has a hard time finding consistent childcare
or maybe someone with a physical disability
that makes it very difficult to leave their house.
Remote work can change their life.
So I would encourage you to support it.
It's not about being lazy.
No - it's the exact opposite.
Remote work is about working really hard on your terms.
It's about freedom.
Maybe the company you work for doesn't support remote work;
you're already on board.
Well, the challenge might be trying to convince them
that it's a good thing to do.
I would encourage you to do this.
You know, you can convince your companies to support the freedom.
You know, pass your manager a copy of the book "Why Work Sucks"
or try the "five whys" technique on them -
you know, ask, "Why do we have to attend meetings in person?"
You can really get to the root of the problem.
So how could remote work change your life, your career?
Could you be a better employee, a better spouse, a better parent?
This isn't about the life we're living only -
or this isn't about the work we're doing only;
it is about the life we're living.
Work will be a big part of it.
Unless you're really privileged, you're going to work.
So change your story
from work is life
to work is just a part of life.
It's the part that lets me live the life I want to live.
Thank you so much for your time and attention.
I hope that this has encouraged you.
I've found remote work has changed my life for the better - no question.
And there are days that are challenging,
but I have a hard time imagining work any other way.
It works.
Thank you.
(Applause)