by Sarah Bammel

Created on: February 14, 2009   Last Updated: April 12, 2010

Working from home can be good and bad, here are a few general pros and cons.

Pro – Short Commute

Working from home means going to the office is just a short walk down the hall to your computer. This may allow you those extra precious moments of sleep as you won’t have to get up early to allow travel time. This comes in really handy in those winter months as you won’t have to worry about cars moving at slower speeds or getting stuck in the snow on your drive to work.

Con - Distractions

Being at home and knowing there is a load of laundry that needs to be done, the sink in the bathroom is dripping and needs fixing, is distracting. It’s a distraction because you are close to it. The washing machine is just downstairs and it only takes 2 minutes to start a load. A leaking faucet is reminding you to fix it with the constant dripping making sure it is not far from your mind.

When working from home you have to be able to remember you are still at work. But with the television in the other room, it is easy to get distracted. You need to be able to manage your time effectively so that things do not become distractions and you can get your work done. It’s like mother said when you were little, “you can’t go out and play until your work is done.”

Pro – Close to Family

If you can find a way to keep the distractions away, working from home has one great upside. You can be closer to your family. If you have kids you may not need a baby-sitter because you can take care of your children yourself. Or if your children are in school, you can be close by when the school calls because your child just got sick at school. There is a balance of course that needs to be found between your kids and work, as your family could become a distraction.

Con – Equipment Costs

Equipment needed to be able to work from home can mean a lot of extra dollars either from your pocket or if you’re lucky the company will pay for things you need. Depending on the work and the company, you may need a special network connection to be able to link with the company’s network, a web cam for video conferencing, and an extra phone line for business calls, not to mention a fax machine. If you are running your own business or freelancing all these costs will be covered by you as well as being responsible for maintenance.  When the printer gets jammed, you will be the one that has to unjam it, there won’t be a help desk that you can call and have someone immediately come to help.

Pro – Choose Your Environment

Working from home means you get to create your work environment. You are allowed to listen to music all you want and not have to worry about disturbing any of your co-workers. Just be careful as the music can also be considered a distraction. Listening to music you may feel the sudden urge to start dancing and singing and not get much work done. You can also have as many or as few plants in your office as you like.

These are just a few of the pros and cons to working from home. Your career choice and how you plan to work, be it freelance, your own business, or for a company will have an effect on what the pros and cons are of working from home.

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