Warning: I'm going to get goopy, gloppy, mushy and soft in this post.
To start and as a bit of a review for some of you - my employer has allowed me to work remotely from IL in order to be closer to family. On the recent trip back to the Midwest (huzzah!), I had time to think about what this gift I've been given truly is, and jot some thoughts down below.
In a nutshell, this opportunity is HUGE... but, for reasons that have only recently dawned on me. Sure, it's great for me that they're flexible enough and trust me enough to do this. It will also allow me to help my family, which is great for us.
But, the thing that's only recently dawned on me is something I'll call "The Network Effect of Happiness" TM. Let me explain - Not only am I happy about this change, and my family is happy (save for one cousin:), but from texts, calls, and emails I've received from people back in the Midwest, many more people are now happy too. It's like this one little act of kindness from employer to employee is making many people happy as a result. I'd like to do my best to keep this going, and also have it come all the way back to the employer in California - stay tuned.
And what about this - what if all/many/more employers and employees could create this kind of feeling or relationship throughout their company? How productive would everyone be? How happy would employees be? How happy would customers be?! I don't know if it would be easy to do, but I also don't think it would be so hard.
