Working from home is becoming increasingly common. The economy continues to evolve in favor of work from home arrangements. Their flexibility and benefits for both the worker and the company are hard to ignore. But working from home has its disadvantages too. In this article, we’ll look at the pros and cons of working from home to help you with your decision to go for it (or avoid it!).
Advantages of Working From Home
Flexibility & Independence
When you can work from home, it’s almost like being your own boss. You have a lot more freedom in being able to change your routine and habits.
Similarly, while your company’s office might have rules against hanging things on the wall, you can do whatever you want to your home office! Unless of course you have a strict lease, in which case hanging things on the wall might still not be an easy option…
One easy way you can upgrade your work space, whether in the company office or from home, is to invest in a standing desk. Standing desks allow you to quickly transition to standing from sitting without having to break your work flow. This comes with a number of potential health and productivity benefits, and there are many affordable standing desk options in all shapes and sizes!
And you don’t actually have to work from your house. You can work at a coffee shop, a co-working space, or really anywhere!
Companies are Becoming More Accepting of Work From Home Arrangements
To save costs, many companies are encouraging their workers to stay home. This allows those companies to cut office and amenity costs, while also giving more flexibility to their workers, so it’s potentially a big win-win.
Whereas asking for a work from home arrangement might have been an uncomfortable task before, it is easier than ever for many people as companies become more accepting of the work from home trend.
*Need a standing desk for your workspace? Check out our review of the popular VIVO 36 inch Standing Desk here!*
No Commute!
The most obvious “pro” to working from home is not having to commute. This is a massive plus as many people spends hours of their week just on commuting.
Working from home eliminates this huge time drain. You can also save money on transit, gas, and parking depending on how you get to work!
No Office Distractions
Some offices can be very distracting. Especially in a telephone focused roll, coworkers in your department might create a lot of noise on their own calls, which can be distracting.
Similarly, you might not actually like your coworkers very much, and now you won’t have to deal with any distractions from them.
On the flip side, you might actually love your coworkers to the point that you distract each other a lot at the office. You will be able to easily separate yourself from your distractions at the office by working from home.
Career Opportunities
When you are not constrained to an office, there’s much more freedom in picking career opportunities!
Let’s say you live in Illinois. If a job based in California allows you to work from home, you don’t have to move all the way to California to take the job! Because you can work from home, you can work from anywhere, which opens your geographic career opportunities.
Disadvantages of Working From Home
Distractions
Yes, this is a pro and a con of working from home. While you avoid office distractions, you gain new distractions which might even be worse than the office.
For those with younger kids, this can be especially problematic. Children often demand a lot of attention, attention that you need to give towards your job.
You might also be tempted to flip on the TV or any of the other things at your house that can be a distraction.
There won’t be any supervisors walking around, so you’ll need to keep yourself extra focused while at home!
Work-Life Balance Issues
Because you are working where you live, you might struggle to decompress or separate yourself mentally from your work. This can be a benefit to productivity in the short-run, but it is important to be mindful of this in the long-run to avoid anxiety or social issues.
Working from home is a big lifestyle change for many that can take a while to get used to! It can take time to build a routine.
During the day, to help with alertness and productivity, take time to stand up and walk around. Standing desks are one way to do this. Then, by the end of the work day, you can feel better both physically and mentally when you switch out of “work mode”
Home Office Setup Expenses
You might need to purchase office equipment to help with productivity when working at home. While you won’t always need a decked-out office, it often helps to have some nice equipment!
You might need a desk, a laptop, a webcam, a bigger cell phone plan, and plenty of workspace decorations, assuming your company does not supply any of these.
Thankfully, you don’t need to run up the bill very high to get solid office supplies. Definitely check out our review of an affordable standing desk as an example.
Nevertheless, home office expenses are a serious consideration when making the decision to work from home.
*Looking for a larger standing desk with great customer feedback? Check out our review of the FlexiSpot 47-Inch Standing Desk Converter here!*
Conclusion – The Pros and Cons of Working From Home
Hopefully this article helped you to weigh some of the major pros and cons of working from home.
While working from home is great for some, it is not ideal for everyone.
But, wherever you work, do what you can to make your workspace as effective as possible. As we’ve mentioned, standing desks are a great way to do that, though they aren’t the only way. Always weigh your options carefully to find the best, most productive outcome for you!
*Read all of our desk reviews here!*