What are the advantages and disadvantages of working from home?

As you read the points below, relate each situation to what you envision for your professional future and consider what you consider to be decisive for enjoying a higher quality of life. A good tip is to make a list of pros and cons.

Benefits of working from home

Avoiding traffic jams: especially if you live in a big city with heavy traffic, this is one of the great advantages of working from home. There are people who are completely indifferent to spending their time in a car or on public transport, but if you can't stand wasting time in traffic jams, you can include this point in the list of advantages. In addition, it should be noted that at home we are more protected, while on the street we are always susceptible to accidents or being robbed.

Stay closer to loved ones: If you've ever started a family, you know how important every minute is when you're close to loved ones. This is indeed a determining factor for working from home, especially if you have children!

Control your own time: By working from home, you have the flexibility to define your time slots. Some feel more efficient in the morning, while others work better in the evening or even during the night! This can be adapted according to your profile, mainly if you work as a freelancer.

Save money: If you work from home, you avoid lunch at a restaurant, as well as the costs of public transport or gas. And if you manage to save money during the week, you can invest money in your business, cover other important expenses or have more money for your weekend.

Eating in a healthier way: if you avoid eating out, you will also avoid certain temptations at lunch and snacks. This will give you the opportunity to treat yourself to healthy food and take care of yourself.

Enjoy more comfort and convenience: at home, you can organize a workspace adapted to your profile and customize it according to your needs. You can also design a relaxation area to stay in after lunch and prepare a coffee according to your preferences. The whole environment will look like you because it will be specially designed for you.

Have more time to do what you love: the metro-work-sleep rhythm is so intense that people often don't have time for anything! Working in the home office also allows you to have more time to go for walks, do physical activities, take care of yourself and dedicate yourself to studying, for example, another language.

Disadvantages of working from home

Influence of the environment on work: when you work in a company and everyone is focused on a single objective, it is easier to concentrate and perform better. But when working from home, you may be interrupted often, whether by someone living in your home, on the intercom or telephone, by the neighbor calling you, or in other situations specific to your home. a family atmosphere.

Work in an undeveloped environment: Working from home requires creating an environment free from distractions. Mainly if you are the owner of your business, then it is you who must monitor yourself and ensure that your performance reaches the desired level. However, if you work in an unsuitable environment, for example, the laptop on the bed, your performance will naturally be reduced and, in this case, your health too.

Work excessively: at home, you can lose track of the hours worked and end your day after having worked for a greater volume of hours than that corresponding to a traditional job. We believe that if you are self-employed, you should strive much more than in joint employment, but you cannot allow your quality of life to deteriorate. In this post, we present some interesting tips on the subject.

Lack of social contact: If you are a socially active person who enjoys talking a lot, be prepared to go for long periods without intense social contact. When you work in an office, there is always the opportunity to chat during working hours, exchange ideas during coffee breaks, and make new friends. While at home, your daily life will be more solitary. Some people who work from home manage to find a solution to this problem by working at least once a week in coworking offices, which are facilities adapted to accommodate professionals who work remotely. This will allow you to continue your work from home most of the time, but also stimulate social contact.

Lack of social benefits: this point is particularly addressed to those who are going to start their own business. When you work on your own account, you will no longer benefit from certain legally provided rights, such as paid annual leave, medical insurance, and registration of the activity on your workbook. But do not forget that if your business is successful, you will have several other advantages which will compensate for the absence of social advantages related to the labor code.

As you can see, working from home and mostly in your own business has positives and negatives. Like everything in life, of course. It is up to us to assess which are the most important factors.