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Startups bet that lonely freelancers crave company

bloomberg.com

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Re: Startups bet that lonely freelancers crave company

#51

Post by jamil7 »

stingraycharles wrote: post #18
spurdoman77 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you tried freelancing alone, and of you have for how long? After working at a company, initially it felt quite nice but after some months/years I started feeling different. I have been working intensively at a companies, and then as a freelancer/solopreneur, alternating both modes along the years. Currently working mostly alone I have to admit that I crave the workplace - kind of the place where you go work and…

I think this is very personal. I've been doing freelance, solo (from home) since 2014 and I couldn't be happier. Workplaces drain energy from me for some reason. I do have a fair amount of good friends and other social activities, so I'm definitely not lonely.

I'm in my first year of freelancing and feel the same way, working alone feels so much more productive to me. No silly meetings or endless PR yak shaving and debates. I have coworkers in a small coworking space but I can go the whole day without being interrupted and get real work done.

Maybe I'll change after a few more years.

Re: Startups bet that lonely freelancers crave company

#52

Post by cerberusss »

coldpie wrote: post #40
cerberusss wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "watch someone's laptop" I'm that guy. Whenever I need to work in a coffee shop, I ask this of a coworker. Do you really feel like it's too intrusive? I never thought it would be a problem.

Honestly, just go. No one's going to steal your stuff, and if they did, some stranger isn't going to stop them.

You don't back up your assertion that, even after asking, some stranger isn't going to stop them. But I distinctly remember a scientific experiment that said otherwise. I googled and found this popular reporting: https://abcnews.go.com/WhatWouldYouDo/story?id=7091942

Re: Startups bet that lonely freelancers crave company

#53

Post by brightball »

chasd00 wrote: post #48
LeonM wrote: post #27

I'm in a co-working space, and the primary reason I took it was loneliness. But I think that, for me, a social app wouldn't be able to replace a physical work space. It's not just the interaction with co-workers, but also the separation of work and home. The routine of riding my bike to and from the office is like a mental barrier, helping me to switch between work and leisure. By going to my office, I effectively sw…

i work from home and get a "day pass" at a coworking spot from time to time (Common Desk in Dallas). After a while, wfh feels like being on house arrest. I head over to the co-working location for the commotion and activity honestly. Everyone is still working and so it's not like a social event but I need to be around other humans while at work from time to time. Plus, one time I met these kids (likely right out of c…

This was my experience at Coworking spaces. If you are more of a freelancer and need access to conferences rooms for your clients then they absolutely make sense.

If you're just working from home for another job though, there's not as much of a social aspect since everybody is just...working. I get much of the same benefit by going to work in my local library (out of the house, working around other people who are quiet).

Re: Startups bet that lonely freelancers crave company

#55

Post by HammockTester »

pts_ wrote: post #23

And here I am craving work from home. It's like another planet.

Yeah I think there's a balance somewhere and for me it's not 40 hours a week in an office. Maybe 20 hours in an office and 20 at home would be more reasonable. I would imagine different people will have a different preferred balance from 0 to 100%.

Re: Startups bet that lonely freelancers crave company

#56

Post by devtul »

You don't need to work remote to feel miserably lonely.

I moved to Canada with my wife, I consider myself lucky because I have two couples of friends who also moved here. Apart from that, nothing.

People where I work don't even say bye when they leave. This is insanely different from the country I came from, to say people there make a point of striking up conversations and caring about you doesn't make justice, it is just part of life. The worst part is that I am basically surrounded by fellow countrymen (1/3 of the team) but they already conformed to the norm here.

This has affected our marriage since we don't have that healthy time away with friends that heals any bad mood between us.

Re: Startups bet that lonely freelancers crave company

#57

Post by jonfw »

dntbnmpls wrote: post #36

If this is what startups are working on and if this is startup news, then it just might mean the tech world is awash in too much money with too few ideas. Or the news has to sell ads and has publish something. I wonder where Brady will end up? Oh that's sports "news". Also, I'm willing to bet more 9-5 workers crave privacy and alone time than freelancers want company. Besides, if you crave company, isn't there someth…

I don't understand the claim that work relationships are inherently non-personal or inauthentic. I have legitimately good friends at work who do favors for each other, look out for each other, hang out outside of work sometimes, etc. I keep in touch with friends from past jobs.

We spend a very large percentage of waking hours at work and see a lot of faces. I really enjoy being friendly with those people and having legitimate, authentic, relationships with them.

Re: Startups bet that lonely freelancers crave company

#58

Post by dglass »

Shameless plug -- my company is working on solving this problem also, but unfortunately we weren't mentioned in the article.

We talk with a lot of remote workers, freelancers, consultants, and self-employed workers, and the common theme behind all our conversations is that it's lonely working from home or on the road.

We hold Work Clubs in coffee shops to give people an opportunity to work together for a few hours while getting to know other people and get out of the house. We support local small businesses and are building an IRL community for remote workers. Mental health is a major problem with working remote and we've found this is a good way to help break the loneliness.

Feel free to reach out to me (my email is on my profile) with any questions or comments, or check us out at https://outofoffice.app/

Re: Startups bet that lonely freelancers crave company

#60

Post by linguistbreaker »

I have not found co-working spaces (I've tried a few in different cities) to enhance my productivity or my community. I have only been able to build community around shared hobbies or interests outside of work. I HAVE wished that there was a way to figure out who at a workplace shares my interests. For instance when I start with a new client with a large workforce, if I could quickly connect with who at that workplace is into BJJ, climbing, drones or w/e, that would be useful.

This may be my individual personality - just my two cents.

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