Benefits and downfall of working from home.
Working from home has many benefits
Working from home has many benefits that are attractive to many people, but there can also be some serious downsides that you should consider carefully before jumping into it. Let's take a look at both sides.
First of all, working from home is a huge privilege. If you are not disabled, you should count yourself extremely lucky to be able to work from home on occasion or full time! However, you don't need me to tell you that because if the idea of working from home had no appeal at all, you probably wouldn't have clicked through to this article.
So what are the benefits?
Well, you'll have more time at home with your family. This is one of the most obvious upsides to working from home. For parents, this means having a huge amount of quality time with your children that you wouldn't be able to have if you had to commute every day. You will also save a lot of time, money, and energy that you would have spent on commuting.
Working from home also gives you the flexibility to run errands when needed. If you are sick or have an appointment with the dentist, for example, there is no need to take a day off work if you can just go out in between tasks at your job. This also means that you don't have to take your work with you everywhere you go. You'll never be that person furiously typing away on their laptop in a cafe when everyone else is having coffee with friends or reading a book.
Finally, working from home means you can avoid the hassle of commuting altogether, whether it's by car, train, bus or even bicycle.
What working from home looks like
Working from home means different things to different people. These are some of the most common situations I have come across in my research:
- Some people work full time by themselves at home
- Others have a place they go out to every day, but still, work for their companies remotely - this can be working on computers in a public place like a library, but it can also be somewhere more private like an office or shared workspace. Some people even rent small offices for this purpose.
- Others work part-time at home and part-time in another location - I think this is the most common form of remote working to start with if you are new to it. It's easy to go slowly and see if you like the experience before pushing yourself too far.
- Some people work from home one or two days a week, but the rest of the time they commute. - I think this is okay as long as it's not every day. It can be convenient to do this sort of thing because there are fewer things to leave behind at home, but the extra time that you have to commute every day will probably mean that working at home one or two days a week isn't enough to justify cutting down on your commute.
- Finally, there are some people who just work from their computer in their pajamas all day long. I'm not going to comment on this one.
Why is it not for you?
The main downside of working from home is that it can be extremely difficult to set boundaries and stick to your work schedule. Many people find themselves working long hours because they don't have anyone else around to keep them productive and on task. Or at least someone who will actually notice if they spend all day watching TV.
It can also be difficult to concentrate when there is a lot of noise going on in the house, especially if you have other people who are constantly asking for your attention or permission/advice for this or that. Of course, working from home has an advantage over working from a cafe where at least you get to choose the level of noise you're subjected to, but there's still no guarantee that you won't get distracted by other things that are happening in the house.
It really depends on whether or not you can handle working from home successfully. You need to be self-motivated and able to keep yourself focused without too much outside help. If you're the kind of person who spends most of their time procrastinating on social media and dicking around online, working from home probably isn't for you.
You have to be extremely flexible
Working from home also means that you have to be extremely flexible about what hours you work. You can't commit yourself to any 9-5 shifts because your employer will never know if you are working or watching Netflix. So you have to be ready to drop everything for them at any time. This can be a problem if you have kids, who typically don't take into consideration that their parents might need to work at 4 AM one day because someone in Japan doesn't know the word "no".
It also means quite a bit of self-discipline when it comes to setting up your environment for working from home. This is not a problem if you have a dedicated room for yourself. A room where you always work or a separate computer which you only use for work. Most people tend to mix the two together and there's nothing more distracting than thousands of photos of kittens on your main computer screen.
Working from home should not be done too often
if you have the right environment and the proper mindset working from home can be a wonderful experience. If working from home is something you are interested in doing but aren't sure how to go about it, read this article for some great tips on working remotely. It's never too late to try working from home if you feel the time is right! working from home can be great, but it has its downsides so make sure you are prepared. working from home should only be done when working at an office is not available or working at an office is too difficult/stressful.https://wellnesssleuth.com/7650/beating-anxiety/ working from home might not be for everyone, but with the proper working from home environment working from home can be a wonderful experience.
Starting a business
If you are starting your own business, then that in itself is motivation enough. Enough to get yourself disciplined to do it right and to be prepared to work long hours. Sometimes working for yourself is harder than working for an employer. But the benefits can be tremendous.
Good Luck !
Ideas for working from Home
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