by Doreen Martel

Created on: January 02, 2011

Self employment and telecommuting have been glamorized as the ideal way to make more time to spend with family and friends and still maintain a steady working income.  While this may be true both telecommuting and self employment have some significant downsides that not everyone is aware of before they undertake either.  The reality of working from home is not as glamorous as people would like to believe. Here are some of the realities that are associated with working from home.

Working from home can be lonely

For people who enjoy daily interaction with others, the reality of working form home is that hours on end are spent alone.  For many, interaction with names is far more common than interacting with people that are known. It is not uncommon to work with people online who are in locations far from where an office is actually located. This can create a feeling of isolation in addition to loneliness.

Working from home is harder than most think

While it may be great to not have to deal with rush-hour traffic and fight ones way to work on a daily basis, working from home still is harder than most think.  In fact, while a person who works from home may not have to deal with rush hour, in most cases, working form home means longer hours than would be put into a brick and mortar position. The exception of this of course is for telecommuters since they typically will have set hours by their employer.

Working from home does not mean less interruptions

While it is true that working from home means fewer interruptions from co-workers, there are an entirely new set of interruptions from other sources to deal with. Neighbors, friends and family members sometimes do not seem to "get" the idea that a person who works from home is actually working. Those who do work from home are often interrupted by telephone calls, people dropping in and other interruptions.

Working from home may not be good for health

While those who work from home are not exposed to the flu, colds and other maladies that impact those in offices, this does not mean that it is great for ones health. In fact, those who work from home may find that other factors are impacting their health. This includes the tendency (by some) to overeat, to drink more coffee and perhaps to get less exercise.  While this is certainly not true for everyone who works at home, this can have a detrimental impact on overall health.

Summary

Those who work at home likely would never consider entering the brick-and-mortar world again. For most, the opportunity to work from home is exhilarating and frees them up from the stresses of commuting and trying to "play nice" with co-workers.  However, the reality of working from home is not for everyone.  It takes a lot of work and discipline to successfully work at home.

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