What makes Romanians happy working from home: “At the end of the program, I close the laptop and either go to bed or go outside”

Many Romanians responded to the invitation to tell how they see working from home (remote) and what benefits and disadvantages this way of organizing their work has brought them. Most say they enjoy the time saved, while others say they feel more comfortable and more efficient.

More and more employees prefer flexible workplaces. Photo: Freepik.com

The flexible schedule and especially the possibility to work from home have become, for more and more Romanians, advantageous conditions that they expect from their employers. In recent years, employees' perception of remote work has improved, and some research confirms the benefits of this way of working.

A study published in 2025, titled “Evaluating the impact of remote work on employee health and sustainable lifestyles in the IT sector”, involved more than 1,000 IT workers.

“The results show that remote work consistently improves self-rated health, increases perceived productivity and encourages the adoption of sustainable work practices, with these benefits being largely similar regardless of gender and across most age groups”show the authors of the research carried out in Switzerland and published by the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI).

The analysis shows that the effect of working from home on perceived stress is complex and significantly dependent on age: stress levels increase among young workers (under 25), while mid-career professionals (26–35) experience a reduction in stress.

“Perceived stress did not prove to be a significant mediator in the relationship between remote work and productivity, the positive effects on productivity being mainly generated by direct mechanisms, such as increased autonomy and flexibility”the research also shows.

Work from home, a new lifestyle

In Romania, the phenomenon of working from home gained momentum during the Covid-19 pandemic, when health restrictions accelerated the transition to this way of working. However, “remote” jobs appeared and expanded years ago with the Internet and new technologies.

Many Romanians have had a hard time getting used to such service, some of them keeping the memory of the long period of communism, in which the labor system was completely controlled by the state. People worked six days a week, often posted to places they didn't want to go, overtime added to the grueling schedule, and Romanians met on the street at the “unsuitable hours” when others were working could raise the suspicions of the Militia.

According to Crossover, a recruitment platform dedicated to “remote” work, the growing popularity of remote work is not a passing fad.

“Its long history shows that there is a certain inevitability to this model. The pandemic has accelerated this process, and most careers will, in the future, include some form of remote work,” show the representatives of the platform.

Employee retention increasingly depends on the ability to have flexible schedules and work remotely, at least part of the time.

“Remote employees are much more engaged than those who are forced to come to the office five days a week. In fact, those who work remotely 60-80 percent of the time, over three or four days a week, are much more engaged than those who work exclusively from the office”informs the recruitment platform.

According to the statistics cited by Crossover, most of those who switch to remote work no longer want to return to the old system.

“90 percent of remote workers plan to continue working remotely throughout their careers. Additionally, 94 percent would recommend this lifestyle to others,” reports Crossover.

Some analyses, presented by the research and analysis company Gallup, also make arguments for working in a classic work environment. Physical proximity between colleagues can generate positive effects on productivity, and for young employees or newcomers, working in the same place with colleagues can bring additional benefits, say specialists

Remote work, adopted by Romanians

The eight and a half hours spent at work, to which is added the time spent on the road, back and forth, and preparations for leaving for work are regarded with reluctance by more and more Romanians, when they have to choose between a stable and a flexible work schedule.

Many of them have recently responded to the challenge to tell how choosing a “home” job has changed their lives and how they manage to organize their time in a flexible schedule.

“For me, remote means waking up an hour before the program starts, having a quiet breakfast and a quiet coffee. During the program I can listen to some music while doing some tasks, at lunch I sit quietly at the table without thinking or talking about work, and at the end of the program I close the laptop and either go to bed or go outside to do whatever I want.” reports a Romanian on the social networking platform Reddit.

He says, however, that he has noticed that other colleagues of his take advantage of the opportunity of this program in a different way.

“When you need them, they are never at the “office”, they stay connected on the phone, and then we all suffer, because we are called to the office for several days. Even the bosses have the impression that remote means spending the company's money for nothing and that work is only done in the office, when it is quite the opposite”. add this one.

Someone else noted that the most valued benefit of working from home is that they no longer have to order food out of town and can stick to a diet.

“The best thing the job gave me was that I got to see my child grow up, I was there and helped my wife at all times. To me, that was worth more than any financial benefit. No one can take that time away from me, it was so worth it”says someone else.

Solved the problem of hours lost in traffic

A Romanian tells that, working from home, he “saves” three to four hours a day, which he used to spend in traffic. It can also work quietly.

“I adjusted my schedule to start at 10. Anyway, I was having coffee with my colleagues in the morning and wasting time. Until 10 I have time to clean, walk my dogs, eat quietly, not on the run. Sometimes, during my lunch break, I take a 30-minute nap and it's absolutely phenomenal. I'm no longer forced to interact with people I don't like just because we met in the hallway.” claims a Human Resources employee, adding that she has been working from home since 2010.

Another Romanian says that the fact that, thanks to his remote job, he escaped traffic and alarms is enough for him. Plus, he notes that he's stopped worrying about having to be “presentable” for the job.

“I've been working remotely for 12 years and I would never go back to an office. I can't say that I benefit in any way from this. I simply don't waste time, money, nerves, traffic, etc. I'm at home with my family, I feel like under my wing, everyone, all the time”, says someone else.

Some Romanians say that working from home saves them from the useless and stupid discussions they used to endure at work and that they no longer have to interact with people they don't like. Others claim that they manage to sleep in the afternoon or that they have improved their social life because they no longer come home tired after socializing at work. Someone else is content with having their own bathroom, which they use alone, at home.

“When a recruiter contacted me for a job at a major company and I heard they wanted me to be in the office five days out of five, I instantly refused. I didn't even care what they were offering.” says another Romanian.