Pros And Cons Of Working From Home

If you ask most people, they would think that working from home would be the ideal scenario – getting to work in their pyjamas all day, having no boss to tell them what to do, and when to do it.

However working from home may not be all it’s cracked up to be and it certainly isn’t for everyone, so in this post, we want to share with you some of pros and cons of working from home, so that you can decide if it’s really for you, or if you’re better suited to an office life.

Pros:

No office drama:

One of the best things about working from home is that there are no things like office politics or drama that you need to deal with. This stuff just doesn’t happen when you’re on your own, and it means that you can focus entirely on getting the job done you need to do.

No commute:

Another huge benefit of working from home is that you never have to leave your house.

Of course, you can choose to go somewhere like a coffee shop or cafe, but you certainly don’t have to commute to work at a set time every day and then on the way back.

This means that you can save money on things like train fares or paying for a car each month to get to work.

Work on your own schedule:

When you work from home, a lot of the time you can work completely on your own schedule as long as you get the work done in the time that’s required.

However, this can lead to things like procrastination if you’re not disciplined, so when considering whether you want to work from home on your own schedule or not, it’s important to remember that you really do have to develop a discipline and create systems and processes that allow you to work on your own schedule without sacrificing on quality or missing deadlines.

Cons:

It can be isolating:

Being alone day and working from home can be great for some types of personalities, but it certainly doesn’t suit everyone, and since it can get quite lonely, if you decide that working from home is for you, then this is something that you have to take into consideration, and perhaps look at joining a networking group, or looking at other ways that you can connect with people outside of work.

Lots of distractions:

Working from home comes with lots of distractions, and if you are on the phone with a client trying to close a motor trade insurance deal and suddenly the doorbell goes with a package for the neighbours next door, or your kids start fighting in the next room, then it can not only look unprofessional for you, but it can be very distracting.

If you are working from home then you need to have boundaries in place that help people understand that whilst you’re here physically, you’re not actually here, and you need to be focused on work during certain hours of the day just as if you were in the office.

Less work/life balance:

Many people who work from home struggle to maintain a good work life balance, since you won’t have to go very far between your office and your home, it can be hard to switch off and not take work home with you like you would be able to if you were leaving the office every day and then not having to return until a certain time the next day.