Working from home can really be an exciting experience when you consider the amount of freedom and independence it is going to bring.
No having to wake up in the wee hours and prepare to catch a bus or drive a few miles to the workplace where a boss is waiting to shout at you all day until you return home in the evening. No task to accomplish within a space of time while someone is monitoring, etc.
But with the above and many other advantages, working from home has its own disadvantages. And it is those advantages and disadvantages that we are going to treat in this article.
But before we do so, let us first and foremost seek an understanding of what working from home really entails.
What is meant by working from home?
Working from home simply means that an employee is performing his duties or tasks from the comfort of his home as opposed to performing those duties in a workplace where he is permanently employed.
As we said earlier on in this article, working from home is very beneficiary, but while thinking about those benefits, you must also consider the downsides that come with it and this article will help you to discover both the advantages and disadvantages that accompany working from home.
The advantages of working from home.
The advantages of working from home are mainly the freedom and independence you are going to enjoy because you are not required to work under any person. And aside from this freedom and independence, there are other advantages of working from home which I have taken the time to outline and explain below.
- Freedom.
- Independence.
- Produces more job opportunities.
- Relieves stress.
- Eliminates certain risks.
- Cuts down expenses.
- Makes your more creative.
- Increase your productivity.
- Helps you stay motivated.
- Helps you develop and improve your skills.
- Makes you more flexible.
- Limitless to locations.
- Promotes networking.
1. Freedom.
When it comes to working from home, freedom entails the opportunity to choose the time and space you are going to use to complete your tasks.
In this context, you won’t have to rush to the office in time so you can sign the time book and escape being queried for coming late to work. But with work from home, you can choose the time you are going to rise and accomplish a particular task.
And even though you are working for people, you have the freedom to make your own terms concerning the time you will be able to deliver the task that has been assigned to you.
2. Independence.
Even if you are doing freelance work where you will have a client on the other end to deliver a job for, the independence that comes with working from home will allow you to state your own terms as well as the time you will be able to deliver on the task.
And then, after the proper negotiations, that same independency will enable you to focus more on carrying out the task in your own space.
Whereas, if it was at a workplace, your boss will likely set the time for you to make the delivery possible.
3. Produces more job opportunities.
When you are working from home, there is going to be no limitations to the number of job offers you can shoulder.
To that effect, you can source for jobs across several industries where you possess the skills.
4. Relieves stress.
Think about the stress of having to rise early enough so you can catch a bus at the bus stop or cover the mile on the wheels to the workplace. And if you are living in a crowded city like Lagos in Nigeria, you will get caught up with drivers and passengers wailing and cursing and before you get to the workplace you are already stressed out.
With working from home you will not have to go through such stress because all your tasks are going to be performed right in the comfort of your home.
5. Eliminates certain risks.
Working from home will not require you to be on the road every day as opposed to working in a workplace. And this in the end is going to help you eliminate certain risks like auto crashes while on the way to your workplace.
6. Cuts down expenses.
Transportation, eating lunch at the workplace, and clothing expenses are often associated with going to work every day.
But if you are working from home you are going to cut down on these kinds and several other expenses you could have incurred in the workplace.
7. Makes you more creative.
Working from home will increase your chances of being very productive because you will have the tendency of coming up with new ideas that are going to add to your creativity.
This fact is going to rise from the quiet environment you are working from home.
8. Increases your productivity.
Working from home will give you the opportunity of trying new things which will end up making you more productive than if you were working in a workplace.
For example, the ability to work from home gave me the opportunity to venture into farming which helped me to add another stream of income to my revenue.
9. Helps you stay motivated.
Having new jobs or tasks to accomplish from the comfort of your home will help you to stay motivated to look out for new jobs with the anticipation of putting more energy into your deliverability.
10. Helps you to develop and improve more skills.
Working from home will give you the opportunity to try your hands on several jobs and tasks that will help you to develop new skills as well as improve on the ones you have already.
For example, working from home will give you the opportunity to consistently communicate with different people by making phone calls, sending emails, using several messaging platforms which will help to increase your communication skills if you had one, and develop new ones you never had before.
11. Makes you more flexible.
Work-from-home jobs do not require working hours like the workplace nine to five, and as such will give you enough time to attend to other issues and life events.
Working from home is more beneficiary to parents who will have the flexibility of looking after the ie family affairs.
12. Is limitless to locations.
Working from home will enable you to work with other individuals or companies across locations you wouldn’t have reached physically.
This will increase your opportunity to learn new ideas and stay updated with trends in various industries.
13. Promotes networking.
The ability to network and work with varieties of businesses is one of the advantages of working from home.
And this in the end will enable you to build professional relationships and advance your career in your preferred industry.
The disadvantages of working from home.
The disadvantage of working from home is usually associated with boredom which arises from being isolated by working all alone, most especially in a quiet environment.
And aside from boredom, I have taken the time to outline and explain other disadvantages of working from home below.
- Boredom.
- Working overtime.
- Losing focus.
- Home distractions.
- Inability to balance your life and career
- Decreases physical relationships.
1. Boredom.
Working from home is likely going to make you spend the majority of your time alone, and this can lead to boredom.
To avoid this, make sure you always make out time to hang out with your family and friends as well as attend social events and gatherings.
2. Working overtime.
Working from home is likely going to make you want to spend additional time to accomplish certain tasks, and this can lead to your being burn-out and stressed from work.
To avoid this, make sure you have your working schedule which will help you to allocate specific times you are going to spend on a particular task and accomplish it in due course.
3. Losing focus.
The freedom to move around and take breaks if the need arises will likely lead to your losing focus on the task you are working on.
To avoid this, make sure you have the things that motivate you to work in place and avoid any urge to leave your space when the time to do so is not yet.
4. Home distractions.
As we all know there are so many things at home that distracts us more than the workplace.
At the workplace, everyone tends to concentrate on their tasks while looking forward to when the closing time will arrive. While at home the kids, hubby, family members, friends, pets, etc, might distract us in one way or another.
To avoid this, ensure you set up your home workspace and stick out rules that prevent anyone from disturbing you while you are working.
5. Inability to balance your life and career.
Working from home will sometimes make you find it hard to distinguish between your personal life and career.
So make sure you have activities like taking your bath and dressing up in a different manner when it’s time to set yourself on a work-from-home task.
6. Thwarts physical relationships.
Most work-from-home jobs will not give you the opportunity to communicate face-to-face with your clients or co-workers.
But thanks to the digital age that has made it possible for us to make video calls, conference calls, etc. So make sure you utilize that to overcome this disadvantage.
