Cheryl Works at Home

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Working at Home

If you are someone who has just started working at home or has just been strongly considering the prospect, there are a few things you need to know that can only be given from the perspective of those who have been in the position for a period of time. These suggestions apply both to all those who work from home, online as well as those who do so offline.

Advantages of Working at Home

1. There is No Place like Home

One of the benefits you will find about working for yourself in the comfort of your home is just that: comfort. The comfortable atmosphere is far less stressful, in most cases, than what you would find at a workplace. This helps your mind stay focused without getting overwhelmed.

2. Usually Your Boss Is Off-Site

Without a manager or other superior looming over your shoulder throughout your work time, you can feel less pressured and more inclined to be productive for the sake of personal work ethic rather than for the sake of being monitored. Also, with the boss off-site, you are less likely to be nervous about practical things like what you wear, how you sit and when you take restroom breaks.

3. You Control Your Income

Working at home holds one major advantage that alone makes it worth doing. You have almost complete control over how much you earn. Your income is only limited by your drive and the time you dedicate to work. You also do not need to feel guilty about working a second job, also at home, to meet the financial level you need to be at to keep your bills paid. At a conventional job, the politics are quite thick in this area.

Disadvantages of Working at Home

1. Home Can Be a Hectic Place

While the working environment of a home can be very comfortable, as with every rule there are exceptions. When your household is a bit chaotic due to a spouse, children, roommates, pets, disruptive neighborhood or otherwise, it can actually prove to be more difficult to be employed domestically than it would be to simply become part of a conventional workplace. However, for those who make the difficult choice to “go it alone,” the overall advantages may outweigh the disadvantage of occasional stress and chaos at home.

2. Overtime is More Difficult to Gauge and Harder to Cap

In a conventional workplace, you have set hours for work and time allotted for breaks and lunch. At home, if you work overtime, it is not always clocked on a time card and therefore is not necessarily fully appreciated by your clients and off-site colleagues. Also, whereas a workplace usually has a closing time, you may find yourself (either deliberately or inadvertently) working a great deal of overtime that you would not put in if you were anywhere but home. Family, sleep and social life can suffer greatly as a result.

3. Cabin Fever Can Be an Issue

If you are used to being out and about – particularly when your previous long term employment was outside the home – you may find yourself suffering from a case of cabin fever when you begin working from home. You will most likely need to make it a point to get “outside the four walls” even if that means taking your work with you to some place away from home base. Contrary to your instincts, this strategy can actually boost your productivity.