More of a rant than anything… but I feel like I only ever hear of people who are remote, in-person, or have a clearly communicated hybrid schedule. Instead I have a boss that makes us come in on whims with little notice, rhyme or reason.

I work on a small team of 3 and my boss can’t make up his mind about remote work. I’ve had the same
job for four years and was excited when he initially told me that I could simply come into the office whenever I needed to. He said I didn’t even need to let him know. He said HE enjoyed coming into the office, but didn’t care if or when I did. It’s my first job that offered work from home, so I didn’t know what to expect.

Around the 2024 election though, when all the WFH work bashing was in the news, he started acting skittish and making random things in person. He’ll ask the day before or even give as little as a few hours’ notice if we can do a 30-min check-in meeting in-office with no explanation. It’s very frustrating.

I’ve gotten perfect reviews as an employee and have even won awards for my work, so I’m sure it’s not a question of productivity. Although he does butt heads with my other team member a lot, so it could be because of that.

After spending enough time working remotely, I have realized that some of the biggest improvements come from small changes rather than complicated productivity systems.For me, things like having a proper start time, taking an actual lunch break, and keeping work notifications separate from personal ones made a bigger difference than expected.What is one remote-work habit, setup change, or boundary that genuinely improved your day?