Pros and Cons of Working at Home

Before you commit to working at home you should know the pros and cons of doing so. It’s simply not for everyone.

Pros:

Hey guess what you just did to that one hour commute? Can you walk from your bed to your desk? How long did that take you? Ah yes, so you just saved 56 minutes from your morning, and not only that you didn’t have to battle one bad driver all the way to work! Not to mention – it’s quitting time – you don’t have to drive an hour and then head home to cook dinner, so there’s another 56 minutes saved from your day.

Dry Cleaning is almost a thing of the past. What did you wear to work this morning? For me, I’m working in sweatpants and a sweatshirt and barefeet. Yipee. No worrying about if my suit is last years model, or if I spill something on it when I’m going to get to the dry cleaners with it. Not to mention the expense!

Gas (at the rate it’s selling today). So my one hour commute back and forth to work every day costs me a tank of gas (so 60 odd dollars give or take). Just think how much money that saves you over a year. Assuming 60 to fill your tank, you’ve just saved at least 700 dollars.

Lunch with your office co-workers is now down to once or twice a year, instead of 2-3 times a week. So think about this – you’re now more productive (you’re only taking 30 minute lunch breaks) and you’re not spending 10 – 15 dollars for lunch 2-3 times a week.

You no longer worry about office politics because you’re not there! The petty backstabbing that goes on often drives you out of your mind, but if you’re working at home, you hear about it after the fact.

No more interruptions for you – don’t you hate being in the middle of something to have a chatty co-worker invade your ’space’ to discuss some inane topic that you really have no interest in anyway and don’t know a polite way to say sorry I’m busy.

Cons: Ok so not everything is rosy

You’re all by yourself all day long working. You may miss the office chatter and gossip, you may feel cut off from your co-workers. Keep up to date with what’s happening via emails or chats.

You may begin to feel isolated. If this should happen you will want to make sure that you get yourself involved in things outside of work that will get you involved with other adults. This will prevent that feeling of isolation.

You may tend to work when work is over. This is almost inevitable because you find that it’s easier to get back to things.

You may not be able to adhere to that routine (without the watchful eye of others). Not everyone can, and if you can’t – immediately head back to the office. It’s not worth risking your job!

It’s hard for me to come up with Cons because I’ve been working at home for years and I personally love it – I’m sure others can come up with other ‘cons’!