Why are so many professionals looking to make the switch to working from home?
For several years, it has been said that the working world is shifting away from the old 9-to-5 office model and businesses are opening to employees working remotely. For many professionals, working from home is something they strive for – thinking of it as the ideal work experience. As someone who does work from home, I can add some insight into the reality of the situation. This week, we’ll start with the good and examine some of the benefits to working from home.
No more commute.
Not going into the office should not be the main reason you work from home, but it certainly is nice. For anyone living in a bigger city, you know the pain of sitting in rush hour, bumper-to-bumper traffic, going to and from work. It eats up time in the day, it puts you in a bad mood for the morning and it takes time away from your family in the evenings. Being able to wake up and walk into your office is a real luxury that allows you to get to work right away.
Your own office.
A proper work-space is essential to remaining productive. Maybe you’re lucky enough to have one at work now, but there’s nothing quite like being able to design your office the way you want. Design it in a way that works best for your style of working. And your office can be anywhere you want. Getting tired of your home office? Go to the library. Feeling stuffy indoors? Head to the park. If you can get the work done effectively, your office can be whatever you choose.
A flexible schedule.
As work-life balance becomes more important to professionals, a home office is seen as a means of achieving that. While I can’t guarantee that working from home achieves an ideal work-life balance, it does help. The biggest advantage is having the ability to create your own work schedule. While you still need to be available to your colleagues when needed, there is definite flexibility. You can create your own work-day schedule that allows you to be productive and enjoy the other aspects of your life.
Fewer distractions.
Some employers are still hesitant to allow working from home. They feel that outside the office, there exists too many distractions. I can confidently say that the opposite is true. I have never been as productive within an office job as I am working from home. There are no pop-ins while you’re in the middle of something. No drawn-out conversations. No office politics. I can get through a morning’s worth of work without lifting my head. The social aspect of work can be nice, but in terms of getting work done, nothing beats the home office.
No surprise – working from home has its upsides. But before you start thinking it is always perfect, next week we’ll look at some of the challenges of working from home.