Remote work secrets: how’s it going 5 years on?
Companies and organisations both big and small, from Dropbox to us here at Comotion, have decided to do away with the traditional office 9-5 altogether after teams not only adapted but thrived under this new setup. Countless others have moved towards “hybrid working,” where remote working has still become an integral part of each week.
So what are the benefits? From making it easier for those of us with disabilities or care responsibilities to work at all, to opening up jobs usually reserved to those in major cities to national and even global talent, to normalising and facilitating breastfeeding while working, to simply saving so many of us hours of commuting time – this marks a huge shift in the way many of us carry out our work, as well as the opportunities at our fingertips.
This all being said, getting together in person cannot be replaced, and we are all for meeting up off-screen whenever we can to connect in ways that just aren’t possible online, whether for conferences or just for informal meet-ups that remind us of the humans behind the screens that we stare at all day! For the more extroverted among us, remote work can present real challenges associated with feeling isolated and missing out on human connection with colleagues.
Trust is also essential to ensure that the work still gets done. At Comotion, we pride ourselves on having immense trust in each other as well as a real passion for the work, which means that getting the work done has never been an issue. But this can’t be glossed over as trust and motivation can be a considerable challenge for companies going remote in the beginning.
There’s also the issue that we are all too familiar with at Comotion, where the team is so invested in the work that those blurred boundaries between work and home mean we can struggle to disconnect. We now have the ability to jump onto a meeting even when ill and wouldn’t have come into the office, or it’s late in our time zone and we just put our kids to bed and are in our pyjamas, or we are at the hospital with a loved one (Molly, we’re looking at you…)
And of course, for countless jobs, remote work is not an option.
But overall, remote work is not just a passing trend—it’s a permanent shift that continues to shape the way we work and live. At Comotion, it’s become a foundational part of our company’s DNA. Embracing remote work has allowed us to grow into a truly global organisation, with core team members spread across six countries and a collective spanning many more.
More importantly, it has empowered our team to work in ways that are flexible, inclusive, and sustainable. From parenting and pregnancy to living with a disability or being neurodivergent, remote work has helped our people thrive—not in spite of their circumstances, but alongside them. As we look to the future, we remain committed to building a work culture that prioritises adaptability, accessibility, and genuine human connection—no matter where in the world we are.
Hear more about navigating remote work by some of our team members here:
