Today too many videos, publications and ads create myths around remote work. Everyone talks about how cool, contemporary, and convenient it is, but cons are often overlooked. DISCLAIMER: we do not want to demonize remote work, but to restore balance in the information space, we will start with cons.
DISADVANTAGES OF WORKING FROM HOME
- Nobody cares that you work
Be sure that if there is at least one person in the room, you will not be able to work normally and comfortably. People do not understand that you work, it just cannot fit in their head. It will always seem to them that you can be asked about something or called somewhere at any moment. You will always be someone who is “doing something at the computer.” Even if you try to explain to another person that he or she is distracting you, it will mostly work for not for more than an hour.
- Lack of communication
You can go crazy without communication. If for the entire time of working remotely, your communication is limited just to your close ones (or no one at all), this can affect your mental wellbeing. Even if you are an introvert, you are still a human. And humans are social beings.
So, if you work remotely, make sure you have some leisure time for communicating with other people.
- Lack of working atmosphere
If you work in an office, you put on a suit, or your favorite programmer sweater, and you come into a working atmosphere. There are many colleagues around who work hard or at least pretend to do so. You are in the flow; you are on the wave rushing to corporate goals along with others.
It is nothing like that at home. We all hear stories that putting on a suit, or creating a work-like interior, will turn your room into an office. Be prepared that it won't work. Whether you are in your pajamas or work clothes, you might not feel any difference.
Instead, you will have to master an extremely helpful skill – self-discipline. If you do not have it, prepare yourself to train it. Otherwise, you will not be able to work remotely.
- Unlimited overtime hours
You can easily find yourself and your colleagues working at night, discussing some project issues, urgently fixing something, updating stands, etc. Yes, the working day is over, but many people just don't care. Normally, office work is fixed by hours. When you scan your pass on your way in and out of the office, it is much harder to force you to work overtime. This is not the case with remote work.
- It just does not feel like you are working
There is no feeling that you are working, that you are doing a respectable job. If you ever worked at the office, you know this feeling. Even if you are slacking, you are still at work, everyone sees that you are sitting and typing something, studying. But if you are at home, you can easily scroll Facebook or watch cats' videos for hours. As a result, your working day turns from 8 hours into 10, add this lousy feeling of being an irresponsible and undisciplined person and you will get the idea.
The fact that your work gets intertwined with your leisure makes it difficult to understand when you rested and when you worked. Moreover, it is also unclear when to end the working day. All these factors can cause a very tiring psychological condition called “permanent processing.”
But let’s not forget that every coin has two sides. So enough of the cons – let's talk about the pros.
BENEFITS OF WORKING FROM HOME
Although these points might look quite obvious and well-known, they are still worth mentioning for the sake of comparison.
- No need to travel to and from work. In the context of the modern million-plus city, this is a huge plus. Just imagine the road to work in the morning taking 1.5 - 2 hours. You save time and gasoline. You save the planet too, as it is eco-friendly.
- The second benefit comes from the first – you can sleep longer. For some “owls” out here, this is especially important.
- No need to think about what to wear. Yes, sometimes you participate in video calls with colleagues and customers, but even than only your upper half is on display. Some budget savings are obvious.
- An opportunity to spend part of the day on your personal matters, while doing the work in the morning or in the evening.
- You can go anywhere in the world and work from there. As long as there is good internet there.
- You can work around the clock. You can argue that this point belongs to the disadvantages list, but from a workaholic's point of view it might look quite seductive.
IN A NUTSHELL
So, as you might see, working from home has its nuances. This trend is still relatively young, and people have not yet had time to develop certain rules for this type of work. On the other hand, in the office, they set up the lighting, give you a table and a comfortable armchair, and what is most important – a comprehensive daily routine.
Everything in life needs the right approach to it. A remote work is the perfect example. It is a great tool and when used correctly can give you the desirable life-work balance and overall satisfaction. But if done wrong it can cause overtime and psychological problems. So please be careful. Work remotely the right way.
