Working from Home – Pros and Cons

Would you consider working from home every day in your current role if your employer signs off on it?

One of my dear friends is currently working from home as a full time IT Professional. She is working at one of the companies in Cleveland suburbs. It was not a work from home job when she started the job. She is very social and cheers up everyone around her with a pleasant smile. She always takes the time to know the people she is working with and is a very good team player.

Due to personal circumstances, she decided to move. She loves her job very much and did not want to quit. After discussing the situation with her boss, they agreed to have her work from home. It has been more than three years and she has continued to work from home for the same company. After one of her comment on my blog, I thought to blog about the option of ‘Working from Home’.

‘The Benefits’ of working from home

1. Flexible work schedule.

When you are working from home, you are creating your own schedule unless you have to attend meetings for work. You don’t have to put in a special request to leave early when the plumber is going to be home to fix that water line, or when you are getting delivery of the beautiful furniture you just purchased. You can schedule and take your breaks when you need to. Are you interested?

2. No driving or commuting to work.

I can’t even keep a count of how many times I get frustrated by drivers who are talking on the phone, and forget that they are driving. They are creating traffic blocks for miles. The time and energy that is saved to commute back and forth from work can be time spent with family (Spouse, kids, petsJ)

3. Fewer interruptions.

You are not going to be stopped in the hallway when someone wants to know the status of their request. People are not going to stop by your desk and interrupt you when you are focused on the assignment. When you work from home, you have fewer interruptions. This gives you more dedicated and focused time to work on the issue, request, project, or assignment.

4. Money savings.

Need extra cash? Well you got your savings all up and high with the greens that are staying in your bankJ. You are saving money on gas and car maintenance. Oh, and you are also saving money that could have spent on eating out at work.

5. Comfortable wardrobe.

Do I hear Pajama’s? You don’t need to dress up in formals or business casuals everyday when you are working from home. You can be comfortable in whatever clothes you like when you are working from home. I hear money savings, Ka-ching.

6. Healthy you.

By choice or not by choice, you are staying away from all the fast food and candies when you are at home. Those Friday donuts or occasional lattes are not part of your calorie intake.

7. Tax benefit.

Ka-ching. There comes greens’ flying over againJ. You will be able to write-off expenses and office space used for work purposes. So be sure to keep track of those work related spending.

‘The Challenges’ of working from home

1. Communication problem.

As you start working from home, you will find that communication via phone call or video conference is difficult. It does not always convey the message that you want to send across. You may also miss out on observing the body language, and gestures that allows you to read in between the line.

2. Still working.

Working from home means you never get to leave work. You are at work all day and all night long. No offense to people who stay late at work or brings work back home. But, when you don’t have the pressure to get up and be somewhere the next day, and when you can be in your pajama’s and continue working – the temptation to keep working is hard to pass.

3. Face to face interaction.

Oh sure, you will be happy that you don’t have to hear the whining and complaining chats of your co-workers, or you don’t have to hear the strange humor and weird jokes that your neighbors next cubicle pass, all day long. But all those interactions and voices that you hear over your cube are stimulations and mental breaks. It is very hard to sit all day, every day by yourself and focus and concentrate on work with no face to face interactions. You are going to face boredom sooner or later.

4. Slip-ups.

When you don’t have to dress a certain way, and be at work on certain time, it is easy to slip-up and delay the start of work some days. A great discipline and dedication is required to make sure that these slip-ups don’t happen often and your productivity is not impacted.

5. Decreased motivation.

A healthy competition is a motivation to outperform your colleagues. But when you are working from home, this competition will subside and eventually disappear. You also don’t have your boss or anyone else looking over your shoulder. Therefore you will have to find ways to motivate yourself in achieving or over achieving your objectives at work.

6. Many distractions.

Spouse, kids, and pets, may demand your attention when they see you at home all day. You may get into fights or arguments as you are struggling to balance between work and personal life when you at home every day. Then there are other distractions like watching TV, movies, and many more that you can enjoy from the comfort of your home. Self discipline is very important when you are working at home.

7. Household chores.

It seems like a benefit that you can take care of the laundry and dishes during your work hours when you are working from home. Those tasks may not take much time. But, if you are not careful in setting strict rules on household chores during work time, it can easily create pressing situations and stress for both personal and professional life.

Working from home has a lot of benefits, and also challenges that needs to be considered before deciding your options. Working at home requires maintaining greater self discipline. This career option may not be a best choice for everyone but I admire my friend who is performing wonderfully and balancing work and personal life. She is enjoying some of the great benefits and also working through the challenges.

Would you consider working from home fulltime in your current role?