I work from home with my cat in my lap and once stayed off-camera in a video call so I could do a face mask. I don't feel I'm missing out on office life as a remote worker.

• Dana Good, 25, is in the first full-time job of her career and works entirely from home.
• She wears slippers while she works and has saved roughly $1,000 by not buying a business wardrobe.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Dana Good, a 25-year-old account executive from King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, who works remotely. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I'm so grateful that I started my career virtually — it's been the best thing for me.

When I was originally looking for internships, the majority of the postings were remote. As someone just starting my career, I couldn't afford to relocate for a job; I either had to find something locally or warm up to the idea of working from home.

At the time, I had an in-person part-time job as well as in-person classes. It seemed like an obvious choice to go for a virtual internship to allow flexibility with my other commitments. Once I got in the groove of remote work, I found myself resenting the commute, hair, makeup, and formal dress code required for my in-person job.

After being a work-from-home intern for five months, I took a full-time remote position in November 2022 as an account executive at the same company, FischTank PR.

Working from home supports my mental and physical health — and allows me to continue grad school in the evenings

On weeknights when I don't have class, I usually set a one-hour timer starting at 7 p.m. to do homework. Sometimes I'll work for longer if I feel like it, but as long as I fulfill that self-set requirement, I'm satisfied.

Any time not spent commuting is time available for physical and mental rest, or exercise, depending on what I need that day. Daily walks in the morning and evening are crucial for me. I can take doctors' appointments more easily and I eat a lot less takeout food, as I have time to cook and experiment with meal prepping. Also, I get to work with my cat in my lap or right next to me all day, which helps with my well-being.

It also shows that my company trusts me

I'm transparent with my supervisors about what I can or can't handle. I have regularly scheduled check-in calls with my supervisors, and I have clear company-set and personally set goals regarding my work output.

There are no extra precautions in place because I work from home. By treating me the same as in-office employees, my employer shows they trust that I'll get my work done as planned, in my own setting.

I'm not missing out on anything — except time, money, and energy spent on commuting and wearing business-casual clothes 5 days a week

To some, the idea of getting dressed in a suit every day, stopping by a coffee shop, and going into a high-rise office is something they might idealize — that's their preference.

Personally, I prefer making my own coffee every morning exactly how I like it and walking upstairs in my fuzzy slippers to answer some emails and calls with my cat by my side.

I typically wake up about 15 to 20 minutes before logging on to work and prepare breakfast. Most of my self-care — skin-care regimen, exercise, and cleaning — is done the night before. That's not to say I haven't done skincare while working from home before; one time I told my colleague I wouldn't be on video for our 1:1 because I had a face mask on, and she said no problem — she'd been whitening her teeth earlier that day.

While it's hard to guess how much money I've hypothetically saved from not commuting, I estimate that I've probably saved about $1,000 by not buying a full business wardrobe.

To keep my boundaries, I set timers

If I'm logging off at 5:30 p.m., I'll set an alarm for 5:15 p.m. to let me know it's time to start winding down. I also have a timer for 12:30 p.m. to remind me to eat lunch.

I have my work notifications silenced from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. and on the weekends. I think it's vital, aside from confidentiality and proprietary reasons, to have a work phone and work laptop with no personal information stored on them, and vice versa, to reaffirm work-life boundaries.

I felt awkward when I first started as a virtual intern

But knowing myself, I would've felt awkward being the "new kid" in the office as well. I wasn't sure how or how often to message my colleagues initially, but they set the tone, just as they would for chitchat in the office.

Lots of my friends who work in an office tell me that happy hours and company dinners are thrown together at the last minute or decided just a few hours ahead of time when they're already at the office. Then they feel mentally unprepared, uncomfortable in their outfit choice, or torn between exercising after work, making a homemade meal that night, or going to a work event.

I'm lucky that my company offers many virtual and in-person team-building events, so I have the option to see people face-to-face. I like going to these events because they're fun, but most importantly because they're planned ahead of time. This allows me to coordinate what I'll wear and how I'll get there so I can be the best version of myself at these events.