In the "good" column, Iskold lists the following as benefits of working from home:
1. No commute
If you live in the suburbs and work in the city, it is likely that it takes you 30 minutes or more each day to get to and from work. In the particularly busy metropolitan areas like New York, Washington, DC, and Atlanta, you are lucky if your commute is under an hour each way. Commuting takes time and energy (spending time in traffic is particularly draining). It is routine and boring and rarely productive or relaxing. Having no commute simply means more time to do things that you could not do otherwise.
For most people the ability to spend more time with their spouses and children is invaluable. Even a simple thing like having lunch and dinner together is big and game changing. In addition to spending time with your family, working from home makes it easier to exercise. It is a no-brainer to trade off the hour that you spend squeezed on the bus for an hour lifting weights or running on the treadmill.
2. Flexibility
Working from home likely implies flexible hours. Unless you have specific meetings scheduled you can take off a few times during the day as long as you get things done. Taking kids to an activity, getting shopping or errands out of the way, and enjoying a run outside or in the gym are the things that can be incorporated into the work-from-home schedule. For a lot of people, combining exercise and work is a challenge because their bodies do not respond well to a morning exercise regimen and they get home too late to go to the gym in the evening. Having flexible hours is a huge benefit for these people because they can exercise during the time of the day which suits them best.
3. Saving money and the environment
In addition to being able to spend more time with the family, having no commute has another big benefit - financial savings. With the cost of gasoline going through the roof, not having to drive is important for everyone. And we are talking big savings. If a tank of gas costs you $50 and lasts a week, cutting that in half gets you a cool $100 a month. The work-from-home folks also save money on food. Even in the cheapest corporate cafeterias lunch is generally going to cost around $7. At home, if you are stingy, you can spend $2 on a tasty lunch. This is easily another $100 per month is savings.
Working from home also has a global environmental benefit. By commuting less we save energy and reduce pollution. This is one of those rare moments when humans are in harmony with the planet - what is good for us, is good for the environment as well.
4. Increased productivity
Perhaps one of the most suprising benefits of working from home is that it can actually increase productivity. Assuming that your home office environment is conducive to work and you are able to focus, more work is going to get done. If you can't focus on work with home distractions (kids, lure of TV, etc.), you may want to rethink working at home in the first place.
A typical office environment is noisy, people are talking, phones are ringing, co-workers are coming by to chat, and there are always crowds near the coffee and soda machines. At home, these distractions are not going to be present. In addition, when working from home you will be focused more on your work instead of office politics. Playing politics and kissing up to the boss is not easily done over the phone, so people will get more work done instead.
If you live in the suburbs and work in the city, it is likely that it takes you 30 minutes or more each day to get to and from work. In the particularly busy metropolitan areas like New York, Washington, DC, and Atlanta, you are lucky if your commute is under an hour each way. Commuting takes time and energy (spending time in traffic is particularly draining). It is routine and boring and rarely productive or relaxing. Having no commute simply means more time to do things that you could not do otherwise.
For most people the ability to spend more time with their spouses and children is invaluable. Even a simple thing like having lunch and dinner together is big and game changing. In addition to spending time with your family, working from home makes it easier to exercise. It is a no-brainer to trade off the hour that you spend squeezed on the bus for an hour lifting weights or running on the treadmill.
2. Flexibility
Working from home likely implies flexible hours. Unless you have specific meetings scheduled you can take off a few times during the day as long as you get things done. Taking kids to an activity, getting shopping or errands out of the way, and enjoying a run outside or in the gym are the things that can be incorporated into the work-from-home schedule. For a lot of people, combining exercise and work is a challenge because their bodies do not respond well to a morning exercise regimen and they get home too late to go to the gym in the evening. Having flexible hours is a huge benefit for these people because they can exercise during the time of the day which suits them best.
3. Saving money and the environment
In addition to being able to spend more time with the family, having no commute has another big benefit - financial savings. With the cost of gasoline going through the roof, not having to drive is important for everyone. And we are talking big savings. If a tank of gas costs you $50 and lasts a week, cutting that in half gets you a cool $100 a month. The work-from-home folks also save money on food. Even in the cheapest corporate cafeterias lunch is generally going to cost around $7. At home, if you are stingy, you can spend $2 on a tasty lunch. This is easily another $100 per month is savings.
Working from home also has a global environmental benefit. By commuting less we save energy and reduce pollution. This is one of those rare moments when humans are in harmony with the planet - what is good for us, is good for the environment as well.
4. Increased productivity
Perhaps one of the most suprising benefits of working from home is that it can actually increase productivity. Assuming that your home office environment is conducive to work and you are able to focus, more work is going to get done. If you can't focus on work with home distractions (kids, lure of TV, etc.), you may want to rethink working at home in the first place.
A typical office environment is noisy, people are talking, phones are ringing, co-workers are coming by to chat, and there are always crowds near the coffee and soda machines. At home, these distractions are not going to be present. In addition, when working from home you will be focused more on your work instead of office politics. Playing politics and kissing up to the boss is not easily done over the phone, so people will get more work done instead.
On the negative side, Iskold brings up that it's difficult to brainstorm in the virtual world, because "activities that require passion and a blackboard are still better done in person." He also lists burnout and entropy as reasons working from home may not be for everyone.
At INK, most of our staff work from home, and we've tried to adapt accordingly by holding weekly brainstorm sessions via phone conference, for example...but how accurate is Iskold in his assessment?
It would be good to know everyone's thoughts on working from home...what are some of your tricks to stay motivated? What are your biggest challenges? What do you enjoy most about working from home?
1 comments:
Great piece! But Dick, where's your helmet?
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