Question / Discussion How can you make earning online less lonely

Jon · May 6, 2022

I've been thinking about this a bit recently after seeing a number of people post in the Adult Chat thread about how they felt cut off and it's nice to know other people are doing the same kind of work as you.

I think this is a problem that's ALL OVER the 'earning money from home' niche and it's been doubled down on due to all the lockdowns during the pandemic.

It doesn't matter if you are doing web search evaluator work for Telus, out in shops doing Field Agent checks, Crisp Rating, Surveys or whatever else you by a large are on your own and don't feel like part of a 'working team' as you would do if you were all working in a regular 9-5.

Some the jobs mentioned above even come with NDAs so you can sort of talk about it but you can't really which doesn't help things.

Maybe this sort of work is just destined to be 'lonely' ?

EdibleDormouse · May 6, 2022

It’s a tough one, isn’t it? I’ve been self-employed since 1996 (and earning money ‘from home’ for a good bit of that too - before the internet and social media for a few years!).

I still don’t have all (any of…) the answers, but a Facebook ‘staff room’ of a few other self-employed friends has been a godsend. We check in at lunchtime and mid-afternoon and hang out for 15 minutes or so. This gravitated to Zoom over lockdown - particularly important as so many of us are musicians who had just had our work pulled away from underneath us (thank goodness that is passing - I’m as busy as I was in 2019 for the rest of the year!).

I’m generally solitary and anti-social, but even getting out of the house and going and drinking a coffee somewhere other than your own lounge has always been important for me. I find I don’t necessarily need other people to talk to, but I do need to physically *see* other human beings. This was pretty hellish over 2020 and early 2021.

I’ve caned the internet for work since about 2005 (I think my PPH account and first client dates back to around then), and I think my first Appen job was 2012. It’s rare that the work is interesting enough to talk about, even with a NDA!

Justdesserts · May 6, 2022

Possibly why it works for me then lol, when I had regular jobs the constant drama from being in a team drove me round the bend! Seriously I'm all empathy-and-patienced out from looking after my immediate family and chatting (very!) occasionally to the couple of friends I do have, zero headspace left for other humans! Can imagine it being quite different if you live alone though.

Jon · May 6, 2022

EdibleDormouse said:
It’s a tough one, isn’t it? I’ve been self-employed since 1996 (and earning money ‘from home’ for a good bit of that too - before the internet and social media for a few years!).

I still don’t have all (any of…) the answers, but a Facebook ‘staff room’ of a few other self-employed friends has been a godsend. We check in at lunchtime and mid-afternoon and hang out for 15 minutes or so. This gravitated to Zoom over lockdown - particularly important as so many of us are musicians who had just had our work pulled away from underneath us (thank goodness that is passing - I’m as busy as I was in 2019 for the rest of the year!).

I’m generally solitary and anti-social, but even getting out of the house and going and drinking a coffee somewhere other than your own lounge has always been important for me. I find I don’t necessarily need other people to talk to, but I do need to physically *see* other human beings. This was pretty hellish over 2020 and early 2021.

I’ve caned the internet for work since about 2005 (I think my PPH account and first client dates back to around then), and I think my first Appen job was 2012. It’s rare that the work is interesting enough to talk about, even with a NDA!

Yeah I think chatting to people on websites, forums, social media helps a bit

I would imagine doing online work back in 2005 was even lonelier than it is now as you wouldn't have had all the groups / websites to find other people doing similar work than you do now.

Jon · May 6, 2022

Justdesserts said:
Possibly why it works for me then lol, when I had regular jobs the constant drama from being in a team drove me round the bend! Seriously I'm all empathy-and-patienced out from looking after my immediate family and chatting (very!) occasionally to the couple of friends I do have, zero headspace left for other humans! Can imagine it being quite different if you live alone though.

Yeah I suppose the fact you don't have to deal with any 'work based drama' is a plus

The major negative being you can lose what work you are doing online at a moments notice lol

Sherliarty · May 6, 2022

I think how lonely you get depends on your own personality, I enjoy my own company but I also like chatting and being around people. I do volunteer work weekly where I see lots of people and I try to go out for coffee, a walk etc at least once or twice a week with a friend/neighbour, this does help to mitigate any sense of isolation. I do miss having colleagues and being part of a team but I also agree that I don't miss the drama.

I also do agree that loneliness/isolation is something that is part and parcel of working online. Being part of an online community does help too.

Justdesserts · May 6, 2022

Jon said:
Yeah I suppose the fact you don't have to deal with any 'work based drama' is a plus

The major negative being you can lose what work you are doing online at a moments notice lol

Well I got a weeks notice this time so better than previously

A job outside of the house isn't an option for me in any event nowdays as I care full time for my son (he has additional needs and is home educated). I feel very fortunate online earning is a thing.

Lemonade23 · May 7, 2022

I think it is destined to be lonely....I didn't realise how much until I went for my first job interview in about 20 years last week. The people were so nice!!! It's only a day a week but I'm really looking forward to it. Online working has been a life saver however, I had to divorce my husband when my kids were under 5 and it has allowed me to survive and support them for the last 15 years.

Jon · May 8, 2022

Lemonade23 said:
I think it is destined to be lonely....I didn't realise how much until I went for my first job interview in about 20 years last week. The people were so nice!!! It's only a day a week but I'm really looking forward to it. Online working has been a life saver however, I had to divorce my husband when my kids were under 5 and it has allowed me to survive and support them for the last 15 years.

wow! Hope you get the job! I agree 1 day a week will make all the difference!

OCTOPUS · May 9, 2022

I agree that its part of the parcel of working from home. I used to get enough interaction by seeing my various friends from time to time and seeing people on that school run and dropping the kids off at activities. However, now my kids are older the school run and football interactions have stopped, although my youngest Son is starting football again next season and I will have some involvement in drop offs and pick ups. I did consider doing voluntary work for this reason, but tbh dont really have time, so I've joined a monthly book club and I'm trying to be more proactive in making arrangements to see people.

Lemonade23 · May 9, 2022

Jon said:
wow! Hope you get the job! I agree 1 day a week will make all the difference!

Thanks I did. It will make a huge difference to me, an extra £70 or £80 per week

Plus as it's a food shop, a discount in there too. I can totally relate @OCTOPUS I used to get a lot of interaction from the school runs, footie runs etc. I used to love it, I miss those days tbh. I looked at voluntary work as well, but to be honest not having worked for anyone for so long, I didn't have any credible work references which was a problem. The four employers prior to going SE don't exist anymore. I'm thinking 6 months in a shop should help me change that....

Jon · May 10, 2022

Lemonade23 said:
I'm thinking 6 months in a shop should help me change that.

You can get out JUST before the Christmas retail rush lol

matowers · May 12, 2022

I don't know if it's a fortunate coincidence, or part of the reason why this thread began, but this week happens to be Mental Health Awareness Week, and the theme for the week is loneliness.

I can only encourage anyone feeling a bit lonely to visit the website for more general info: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-week

And say that I hope the loneliness anyone's experiencing currently is bearable at the moment.

Sherliarty · May 12, 2022

Sadly I think loneliness is one of the biggest problems facing modern society, the pandemic made it worse but it's been there for a while. I would say if you are feeling lonely or sad, reach out and ask for help.

Frugalgal · May 14, 2022

If you are feeling lonely, I would probably do what some people do is go to a cafe where there is free wi-fi and work where you may not feel so alone.

homie · May 14, 2022

Lemonade23 said:
Thanks I did. It will make a huge difference to me, an extra £70 or £80 per week Plus as it's a food shop, a discount in there too. I can totally relate @OCTOPUS I used to get a lot of interaction from the school runs, footie runs etc. I used to love it, I miss those days tbh. I looked at voluntary work as well, but to be honest not having worked for anyone for so long, I didn't have any credible work references which was a problem. The four employers prior to going SE don't exist anymore. I'm thinking 6 months in a shop should help me change that....

How did you deal with the reference problem to get this new job? @Lemonade23

Lemonade23 · May 15, 2022

homie said:
How did you deal with the reference problem to get this new job? @Lemonade23

I applied to a store that didn't need references. It's just Iceland, but they do an online interview thing of five questions that you type in and then a quick store interview. References were never mentioned, they only wanted right to work evidence so birth certificate, NI number kind of thing.

homie · May 15, 2022

Lemonade23 said:
It's just Iceland

Thats a very long way to travel just for a job

Lemonade23 · May 15, 2022

homie said:
Thats a very long way to travel just for a job

Yeah

Are you thinking of looking for store work too?

Question / Discussion How can you make earning online less lonely

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