I have been working remotely for over ten years. I agree with most of what OP Mark says.
There is one big caveat, however. Without specific measures to address the issue, working remotely is experienced as very isolating. Therefore, it requires local co-working spaces, such as work cafés, where people can still socialize once in a while with others.
It also requires the remote workers to have some kind of minimum social hygiene. People who at least have a significant other, or possibly even children, and good relations with other family members and/or friends, will do fine.
There are other people, however, who are such rampant individualists that they have absolutely nobody else in their social lives than their colleagues at work. If they start working remotely, they will really see nobody at all during the day. That is not feasible, year in year out.
Therefore, in absence of specific measures to address the issue, remote working may reinforce the dangerous contemporary trend to extreme individualization.
I agree this is a real issue. I've worked remotely for years and the thing I had to get over was getting on weird sleep cycles. You work later and wake later until you're day sleeping and you can detach from the rest of the World.
The one thing that makes this easier is having a team I find. They keep you on a regular schedule and provide companionship.
But I'm aware of the problems that can creep in and I chat individually to our team about it regularly. Today I did a call with someone checking in to find out if they have decided if they want to get office space in town to work from or shared space. (They decided against it) Also to find out if they need any furniture for their office (they may get a standing/sitting desk or an exercise ball) and to schedule them going to a conference to get out of the "office".
We're still figuring this stuff out and I think as we go the main thing is communication - checking in periodically, chatting about it and sharing ideas to make remote working awesome rather than a chore or problematic.
There is one big caveat, however. Without specific measures to address the issue, working remotely is experienced as very isolating. Therefore, it requires local co-working spaces, such as work cafés, where people can still socialize once in a while with others.
It also requires the remote workers to have some kind of minimum social hygiene. People who at least have a significant other, or possibly even children, and good relations with other family members and/or friends, will do fine.
There are other people, however, who are such rampant individualists that they have absolutely nobody else in their social lives than their colleagues at work. If they start working remotely, they will really see nobody at all during the day. That is not feasible, year in year out.
Therefore, in absence of specific measures to address the issue, remote working may reinforce the dangerous contemporary trend to extreme individualization.