COMMENTS
As a matter of fact..I'm working from home today too. I love it! Sitting on the couch barefoot and in my shorts with my laptop in my lap. I also work longer hours though - sometimes until 10pm. But overall.. it rocks!
I have worked from home for several years. First as part of the workweek when I was employed and now as a freelance consultant I work 100% from home. And love it. It definitely demands structure. But the freedom !
I agree Susan, sometimes when working from home, I definitely work longer hours, I have a hard time stopping.
Maria, I think there are some jobs that work really well at home. It would be a perk of freelance consulting. I just start to go crazy if I don't have someone to talk to by 2pm!
I don't like it. While it's convenient once in a while I could not do it long term. Like you, I need someone to talk to!
I've been working from home for the last two years and I see the pros and cons of it.
On the up-side, I save hours of commuting which translates to doing more work, being green and spending more time with the family.
BUT...
- I, too, miss the interaction with my colleagues. It's hard to argue with the plants in my home office :)
- There's a real risk of getting disconnected - especially when the real "office" is hundreds or thousands of miles away and the others do see each other on a regular basis.
- I'm a huge fan of personal relationships (customer, peers, whatever). Emails and conf calls make it very hard to create and maintain those relationships. Lunch over the phone doesn't work.
- The work-life balance is more fragile. I always say that there's a fine line between working from home and living in the office...
First of all, you're adorable. Second of all, working from home is my life. Even though I have the occasional toddler distraction, I tend to agree that I'm way more productive at home than at the office. Still, I often miss the personal connections the office affords. (Something about conversation with a toddler and his garbled language just isn't as intellectually stimulating.)
I definitely like having the buzz of an office - I have to build structure into my day to stay productive at home. It's nice to have the option to do either, but I am partial to going to an office, but only if I live close by. Spending 2 hours per day commuting is the most wasteful and annoyingly inefficient use of time ever!
Thanks so much for all the thoughtful comments!
I do really appreciate the option to work from home as well. There are times when I just need a day to catch up and then working from home is a blessing. I think that is the point I forgot to make this morning.
I also appreciate the green benefits of it as opposed to commuting and how wonderful it must be to be able to be at home with your children more.
Personally, I love working from home... in small doses. Two to four times a month is plenty. There are times when I just need to get out of the office, nose to the grind stone, and no distractions. Some days I literally have staff lined out the door needing answers and I just need to get away to get stuff done!
Love it at times, but not as productive as I thought I'd be. Super convenient when you have kids, but a balance of 3 days in the office, 2 days home works best for me!
I think you have it right Mike and Mary, working from home is great - in small doses.