The Pros & Cons of Working From Home

By Debbie Hall, Career Coach

Although, people have worked from home for decades, I believe the mobile workforce was born in the early 1990s when the IBM Thinkpad was launched. As an IBM employee at the time, I was enchanted with my brand new monochrome Thinkpad and starry-eyed with the prospect of being able to work from home whenever I wanted to or needed to.  Here’s what I learned over the course of almost 20 years of being a mobile employee:

The Good News is this:

·         You can work in casual clothes with no-make up and your hair a mess.

·         You can save dollars on your wardrobe and eating lunch out.

·         Your mileage and gas expense are reduced.

·         You can throw a load of laundry in the washer or do other household chores as a break.

·         You can iron while listening to a conference call.

·         You can exercise during the day without worrying about going back to the office.

·         You can snack all day.

·         You can flex your time to meet the demands of your family.

·         Your significant other and your children know where to find you.

The Bad News is this:

·         You can feel isolated and detached from your co-workers.

·         You forget to go outside.

·         Your office is open 24X7 so you are always checking email or working whether you’re on your computer or phone.

·         Your significant other and your children know where to find you.

·         Your air conditioning bill will increase.

·         You have to buy office furniture.

My advice to mobile employees is this:

·         Get out of the house a few times a week to meet a co-worker or friend for lunch this will help reduce the feeling of isolation particularly if you live alone.

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             If you have an office that you can go to, plan to work from there at least occasionally so people will remember you. 

·         Have “water cooler” chats using instant messaging tools.

·         Invest in a good head set with a mute button and/or speaker phone. There’s nothing worse than being on a conference call and hearing a toilet flush, babies crying, and/or dogs barking.

·         Invest in a good chair, desk light, and other accessories so you’re comfortable.

·         Set limits on interruptions from your significant other and children.  Use a door sign or hand signal to let them know when you’re focused and can’t be interrupted. If you have a door use it!

·         Enjoy the flexibility but at the same time remember to stop working and give yourself time to relax and enjoy some personal time every day.