Thursday 27 April 2017

Working from home: Pros & Cons

There are many advantages and disadvantages of working from home.
  • Flexible work hours
  • No commuting
  • No dress code
  • Requires stamina and discipline
  • More time for home chorus than actually working
  • Improved work life balance & quality of life
  • More control over your stress level
  • You can't pass the buck. When you work from home, the amount of work you do is entirely your responsibility. 
  • Even if you are part of a virtual team, you're still the only team member around. It can get lonely.
  • A study found teleworkers are more productive and took less time off work, even when sick.
  • Home-based workers proved to be more productive, happier and less likely to quit. 
  • No workplace colleagues distractions of talking on phones or in meetings.
  • The only distractions are the ones that you bring on.
  • No pretensions to keep actively working.
  • Home office in a secluded space, free from any visual distractions will be helpful.
  • Home office working all the time, it is harder to form relationships.
  • For introverts, isolation is exactly what you desire for your day-to-day.
  • For extroverts, who eschew workplace camaraderie (interpersonal drama, office politics etc) in favor of going solo may find themselves with a feeling of dissatisfaction.
  • You will miss personal collaboration and social bonds forged in the workplace, which could lead to future opportunities and promotion.
  • The symptoms of isolation may be trickier to recognize, workplace burnout can happen.
  • It is more difficult to find out about new projects you might be interested in.
  • You’ll have more hours in the day to transition your career efforts.
  • By working from home, you just might be able work more the rest of the year to offset the lost hours or by working remotely from your holiday vacation.
  • Most people appreciate flexibility for more practical reasons: childcare, eldercare or simply the ability to be home when maintenance shows up.
  • There can be less distinction between work and personal life when you work from home and face the danger of overworking.
  • Might miss promotion opportunities compared to their office-based colleagues. 
The advantages of 'working from home' far out weigh disadvantages. If you have the option to work from home occasionally, you should definitely take advantage of it. If you work remotely all the time, you’ll see both the pros and cons, as you would from working in an office. Whatever your choice of work, the best idea is to make the most of it. If you don’t find yourself socializing on the job, reach out to co-workers, join a lunch-time soccer league, or seek opportunity to collaborate. Chances are, there is an opportunity, and you should take advantage of it!

My View:
Working from home is definitely advantageous mainly with elimination of commuting time, improved work life balance and other issues are manageable. But more freedom comes with added responsibilities. A day or two in a week, working from home, you will miss nothing but derive benefits of most advantages. At the moment, most companies allow self-supervising people work from home, not all. 

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