I have been working from home for a little over 3 years now, so I figured it was about time to share my thoughts on this situation! There are days where I love the arrangement and there are days where I wish I had a normal 9-5 office job. As with anything in life, there are going to be ups and downs!
Overall, working from home as given me extreme flexibility, which can be both helpful and dangerous at the same time. I wanted to take a few minutes to share some the good and the bad on working from home. I am sure you can relate if you have ever worked from home!
Pros:
- You don’t have to get ready
- I love this! I have saved so much money since I haven’t had to buy business casual clothes. I also save time because I don’t have to spend an hour each day to get ready for work. I think this is a huge perk of working from home.
- No 5 AM wake-up call to exercise
- I have to workout first thing in the morning or else I won’t go. I love that I don’t have to get up at 4 or 5 AM to get my workout in. I love being more awake and alert when I am at the gym. This has been a game changer for me and my overall health. I definitely would not workout if I had to be at the office every morning at 8 AM.
- Accomplishing household chores
- One of the reasons I am always ahead on our laundry is because I am able to do it during the day. I throw in a load every morning before I go to Orangetheory, and I can fold it later in the day between conference calls. If I have a few extra minutes in my day, I can clean the kitchen or do a quick vacuum through the house. I love that we don’t get behind on these day-to-day tasks!
- No commute
- This is a biggie! Many people in Houston spend 2-3 hours PER DAY commuting to work. That is a lot of time you could be working or doing something else more productive. I feel like this is one of the reasons I am able to spend a little bit of time blogging. Instead of the dreaded commute, I am able to use that time on my hobbies that I am passionate about.
- You can get more work done
- Whenever I am in an office, I get so distracted. People can drop-in whenever and the next thing you know, you’re behind on a project. I tend to be extremely chatty when I am in an office setting. I am always talking to people about their vacations, families, etc. At home, I can focus on the task at hand with minimal distraction. I know for a fact that I can get way more work done at home than I would in an office.
- Getting to work wherever you want
- This is one of my favorite perks. I move around a lot! I can’t sit still and look at the same scenery each and every day. Sometimes I work at Starbucks. Sometimes I work on my couch. Sometimes I work in a different city. It doesn’t matter where I work, as long as I am getting my work done.
Cons:
- Being distracted by chores
- This is obviously a pro and a con. I love that I am able to get things done around the house, but it can also be a huge distraction. If I see dirt and crumbs on the floor, I feel like I need to get up and vacuum immediately. Sometimes, the daily chores can pull me away from my work, so I have to find a balance. I need to constantly remind myself that it is okay if something doesn’t get cleaned right away.
- It’s too quiet and lonely
- This is probably the biggest con. I have complained to my husband and my parents about this SO many times. I can get extremely lonely and sad when I work from home. I don’t have any human interaction the weeks my husband travels, so it gets really hard. I am sure you won’t really understand this unless you are in the same boat. If you work from home and have no kids or pets, you probably feel this way, too.
- No exposure to humans/the outside world
- This kind of goes along with the above, but it is really weird to not have any human interaction during the day. I do make it a point to go to Orangetheory most days, but I still don’t really get to have meaningful conversations with people. It is kind of scary to think that I could stay inside my house all week without leaving!
- I also go stir-crazy being inside all day, so by the time 5:00 PM rolls around, I am ready to get out for a happy hour! I think working from home as led me to eat out a lot for dinner.
- You never really get to “leave” work
- You are basically always at work when you work from home. I find it hard to stop working at night because if there is something to do, I want to get it done right away. I honestly don’t mind answering a few e-mails at 9:30 PM, but sometimes it would be nice to have more separation. I know other people who have a bigger problem with this, so I think it just depends how much you have going on in your work life.
Overall, working from home is an amazing perk that I do not take for granted. Sure, there are a few downsides, but the pros definitely outweigh the cons.
Have you ever worked from home? What are your thoughts on this topic? I know I have talked to several people who said they would hate working from home! Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts below.
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