Are you working in a small team and considering working remotely? Here’s another reason you should try: It forces you to break out of your small-team-bubble.
Working remotely usually means you’re physically separated from the rest of your team. You’re alone. To not become miserable, you’ll search out other people to spend time with while working. And that’s an opportunity like no other.
In a small team, you can only have so much diversity. What you and the others work on, whom you work with, how you and your colleagues work—at some point you know that stuff. And it doesn’t change radically all that often, if ever: You’re in a bubble. Time to break out.
Let’s take me as an example. engageSPARK is your favorite provider for SMS Drips and IVR Surveys and that’s what my colleagues and me are working on. While our technology reach is global in another sense our world is also small.
But, to avoid the loneliness trap of remote work, I often work alongside a digital nomad friend. While I spend my time figuring out requirements, writing software and keeping the engageSPARK tech team happy, he is teaching English and developing an online course on procrastination (yes, really).
What he’s working on and how he’s work is very different from my situation. When we discuss problems, we can look at each others problems from afar—that’s so helpful. At the same time, we share challenges around effective goal setting and help each other there.
That’s the fun of a getting out of your bubble: exposure to new perspectives and different problems. But also access to an outsider’s perspective for your problems. Someone who’s far away from the trees.
Of course, you don’t have to work remotely to get out of your bubble. For example, you might put your team in a coworking space, which opens up opportunities. For an individual, seeking out a mastermind group is a classic way to do it. But if you’re thinking about working remotely, then this might just give you and your team the nudge you need.