The remote-work dream isn't dead, but it's slipping away

[MichMan]

Doesn't seem like it was that long ago that people working remote were threatening to quit and work somewhere else if they were forced to return to the office.

Landing a remote job in 2026 is only slightly less competitive than cracking an NBA roster. And just like making a professional basketball team, there are basically two ways to do it: Be an all-star, or an affordable alternative.

We appear to be reaching remote-work equilibrium, after years of conflicting trends and predictions. The share of open jobs listed as remote on the career site Indeed has held steady between 8% and 8.6% for the past six months. That’s roughly triple what the rate was in 2019 but markedly less than it was in 2022. Back then, more than 10% of jobs were advertised as remote, and many others were understood to be for obvious reasons.

If you manage to get an offer, brace for a cost-of-living adjustment. The days of collecting New York salaries at New Hampshire and New Mexico addresses are waning.

Millions of people got a taste of the WFH life and loved it. When you apply to work from home today, it feels like every single one of them is in the candidate pool with you. Forty percent of applications submitted through LinkedIn are for remote roles, even though those jobs represent only 8% to 9% of listings.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/the-remote-work-dream-isn-t-dead-but-it-s-slipping-away/ar-AA1X5Cuk?ocid=msedgntp&pc=LCTS&cvid=69a1ef97e2dd49b7a3aaf5f9f3ba1f75&ei=8

[Kira_Thomsen-Cheek]

1. I was fully remote for over a year and it was a dream...

until it bit me in the BUTT and I lost my job.

My boss was fired about 6 months after I went fully remote, and her replacement could "never figure out what I did." Or so he said in his weaselly fuck fashion as he was firing me the week before Christmas.

I was the Communications Manager for a big division (insurance/billing/medical records) in a medium-sized healthcare system. I wrote the newsletter, managed the recognition program, managed the leadership development training program, and managed the websites for our several departments. I developed web content, kept every department's page fresh and accurate, rolled out new pages for new programs, and developed web-based systems for gathering and tracking information.

I did special projects, too. Example: I coordinated the roll-out of hundreds of HIPAA-compliant remote work desktops to the folks who had been sent home permanently after COVID. This was a huge job, involving the vendor, the IT department, and every department and work group in our division. I came in on weekends to distribute machines and train users how to set them up. I even learned how to program the desktops in the first place, to take some of the load off IT.

But the new boss never met me in person. He walked in the door not knowing what I did, learned only the position description, and never asked me for any specifics in a Zoom meeting. When I had one-on-ones with him he'd either cancel or slough me off after 15 minutes, impatient and disinterested. He *KNEW* intellectually what I did, but he just didn't think foo foo "communications" was at the heart of our work, so he convinced himself that I was superfluous.

Thing is, I'm charming and presentable and compelling in person. I get leaders laughing. I get them engaged. I make them feel like process improvements that *I've* thought of are mostly their idea. (Leaders love that.) They feel not just supported, but clever and creative. About 95% of the time, they love me! They think what I do is valuable. They see that I am capable and smart, and they give me "stretch" projects that allow me to become invaluable.

BUT THIS IS ALL BETTER IN PERSON. Much better. It's a vibe. It's a dance It's a relationship. And it is wildly challenging over Zoom.

Maybe this guy would have fired me anyway. There were budget pressures at the time, and he needed to offload staff - but there were similar, if not worse, budget challenges in the prior years, and I wasn't let go because to my original boss, "Communications Manager" wasn't low-hanging fruit to be slashed with no impact to the department. She valued my contributions and my talents, and she happily piled more work on me in order to get value for money for the institution.

Anyway, ever since I was sacked I have been ruing the day I decided to go 100% remote and not keep my wide behind IN THE OFFICE. I'm pretty sure I'd still have that job. I loved it.

[senseandsensibility]

2. I live in the heart of Silicon Valley

and just a few years ago it seemed like all my neighbors worked from home. It was kind of cool. Everyone was in their backyards during their breaks, taking walks at lunch, etc. The neighborhood was humming! Now we're back to everyone being gone during the day and it seems so quiet.

[CTyankee]

3. This work at home idea sounds good but I found it not very practical.

For one thing, when the kids got home from school they wanted Mom (that was me). I found it difficult to maintain my presence for both the office and the home. Also, I like the office in many ways. I had adult friends there, we shared experiences there. At home I had to be present to be a Mom, seeing to their needs and listening to their daily conversations about school and friends.