Working from Home: Pros & Cons
- Staff not able or not allowed to work from home – 53%
- Staff allowed to work from home – 21%
- Staff able to work from home but with some restrictions – 17%
- Staff able to work from home due to health reasons – 9%
Apparently, security concerns had a lot to do with why companies did not want their employees to work from home. Other concerns had to do with a lack of teamwork, productivity, and fairness. I think those are all good points but I would argue it also depends on the type of work, and the company.Years ago, I worked for a travel agency, and while I did work mostly from the office at first, there came a time when my boss and I both decided there really wasn’t a need to commute to the office when all the work we were doing could be done from the comfort of home. So, the two of us decided we would start working remotely 100% of the time. Once we had compared connections, such as dsl vs fiber internet, and had the best high-speed internet up and running, we could work online and chat via Skype when necessary. I really liked this at first and felt I had so much freedom. I’d lounge around in my PJ’s, eat a balanced breakfast, and then sink into our sofa and get to work. There was something really wonderful about peering out at the rush hour traffic in Seattle and feeling so relieved I wouldn’t have to get in my car to join in on the madness.
It really worked well for me... At first. Eventually, I started to realize how lonely I was all day, and how every day felt the same. It was a new routine, one I thought I'd love, but after a while, my motivation really started to suffer. I'd put off working as long as possible and instead, spend the morning folding laundry, doing dishes, or even watching The View (that's how bad it got you guys!) until I'd get so stir-crazy I'd have to shower, get my things together, and head to a coffee shop just for a change of scenery. Unfortunately, working at coffee shops got old, too.I mean, don't get me wrong. I love coffee shops. I've spent so much time working in coffee shops that they almost feel like 2nd homes to me now. But when you work all day in a coffee shop, you feel a bit drained by the end of the day and don't exactly look forward to returning the next morning. The chairs aren't as comfortable as your office chair or couch might be and it's really easy to get distracted by all the commotion going on around you so you end up taking a lot of breaks. (I did anyway.) You also feel obligated to buy another drink every few hours, and purchase something to eat around lunchtime, so while there is some appeal to spending all day in a coffee shop (I loved searching for fun new spots around the city!), if you're doing that all day every day, the cost can really add up!
I will say everyone is different though, and what works for some people just doesn't work for others. I think if I were to have a remote job again someday, I'd probably invest in a proper desk/chair to make working from home a bit easier, but I'm sure I'd still want to mix it up and be in an environment similar to WeWork some days, too. I still enjoy the couch or coffee shops for blogging, editing photos, that sort of thing, but for hardcore productivity, I'd want to work anywhere that mimicked an office as much as possible and had a bit of structure to keep me motivated since I think the work-from-the-couch thing isn't my jam full-time.What do you think about working from home? Are you also in a bit of a love/hate relationship with it? ;) Let me know!