Coronavirus isn’t going anywhere, and people had to adapt. Many employees have started working from home, and people get left to wonder: is this the new normal? Is working from home a dream or a nightmare? There are both pros and cons to it. Let’s examine them and begin with the positives.
You cut out the time it takes you to get to your office. No commuting saves time usually wasted, which you can use to work or sleep in – both great perks. It also decreases transportation costs and saves you the stress that accompanies street traffic or being cramped in a tube or bus.
It’s your own space, and you control it. You don’t have to endure loud coworkers chatting, music from noisy headphones, any noise you find distracting or uncomfortable – you can get rid of at once. Brighter, darker, hotter, colder, any adjustments that usually require a conversation with your fellow employees, you can do on your own accord. You won’t get judged every time you go on a break.
Flexibility is also a key benefit. Unless video calls are involved, you can roll out of bed and work from your pajamas if you feel like it. You have no dress code. Even if you get a call, you can always be business on top and party at the bottom.
A quick recap of the pros:
- no commute
- saves money
- control
- flexibility
Let’s go over the disadvantages next.
To keep up productivity at home, you must have self-discipline. If you have set working hours, you must abide by them. If you don’t, you must find the time needed to accomplish your work for the day. The couch may seem enticing, but it can wait after you’ve done your job. The same applies to chores or other home-related tasks. Don’t get distracted. You may be at home, but you’re on the clock.
A significant contributor to poor working conditions is roommates. That includes flatmates of any kind – family, friends, all same-space occupants fit the bill. If they are unaccommodating to your working needs, you will suffer for it.
It can be isolating and lonely to work from home. Whether you live alone or with people, you’ll find that you miss your coworkers. You’ll miss the banter, the opportunity to ask them a quick question and get a response. You can lose that connection when you’re all working from home. In that case, you should try to spend some time in communication with your coworkers.
It’s hard to separate work from home. Not many people have the luxury of designated office space to leave and close the door behind them when work hours end. You can lose the distinction between home and office, and that can lead to overworking yourself.
Working from home increases the risk of being a cybercrime victim. Most people do not have the proper training to build their cybersecurity defenses, leading to data breaches. So to properly defend yourself, an onboarding cybersecurity essentials course is a good start.
A quick recap of the cons:
- self-discipline is mandatory
- unaccommodating roommates
- lonely
- no work-home separation
- more significant risk of being a cyber victim
You can argue for and against it, but ultimately, it comes down to every person’s preferences.