by Gordon Hamilton

Created on: February 06, 2009

Working from home is something which a great many people the world over aspire to. Like so many things which we aspire to, however, we tend to focus very much on the advantages, the good points, and never stop to consider the negative aspects of that which we wish for. As one who has worked from home - four different homes! - for the best part of two years now, I have come to know the concept extremely well - in both in the positive sense and the negative. Let us therefore examine both in greater detail.

The most obvious benefit of working from home and perhaps the one which appeals most to a great many people is the fact that we omit from our lives the journey to and from our place of work. We do not have to drag ourselves out of bed perhaps two hours or more prior to our scheduled starting time and face such as rush hour traffic congestion or crowded public transport, both to work and from it each day. It is entirely possible to rise from bed and be working quite effectively within a matter of minutes. We therefore save ourselves what can be a great deal of time and frustration on a daily basis.

The second biggest benefit that I have found from working from home is that we have our home comforts around about us during our working day. If we wish a cup of coffee, we simply go and make one. We can take our lunch break at whatever time we wish and eat whatever we so choose without having to perhaps fight through the crowds in a canteen or fast food outlet.

It is not a benefit which has personally affected me but another potential benefit may be such as saving a family a huge bill for child care. If one parent is working from home, they can at the same time keep a watchful in on the little ones without - hopefully - it proving too much of a disruption.

The negative sides of working from home include disruptions that we would not face at an external place of work. Other members of the household at times forget that although we may be at home, we are also technically at work. I have lost count of the number of times I have had to explain this and that I should not be interrupted to make what is effectively small talk. Try to get other family members to understand this very important point. Ask them whether they would have called you or visited you at an office or other work site to speak to you about any given interruption's subject. If they say no, try to get them to understand that they should not therefore do so when you are working at home.

The second biggest disadvantage is in a social sense and perhaps closely related to the point above. Certain people, even friends, seem to view you as someone who doesn't "really" work, rather than someone who works from home. It is almost as though they are looking down upon you, very often without in any way meaning to, and wondering why you don't get a real job.

I hope that I have in this article given a balanced view of the practicalities and advantages of working from home and helped you to see that, although I wouldn't change it, working from home is not exclusively advantageous.

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