The Benefits of Working from Home: A Closer Look

I love talking about work-related topics - it's my passion and most of my fun time happens during work. For me, work is one of the most important things, and it's the very thing that occupies most of my time each day and week. In this post, I will be talking specifically about working from home as opposed to working in an office.

I've tried both so far. I've got my share of working in different environments, so I can share my experience with them. I can't promise you to be absolutely objective because I've already chosen what's best for me (working online), but I'll try to give enough information about both of them.

Advantages of working from home

As many of you know, working from home instead of going to another certain location to do your job can be really diverse. Like, there are many opportunities (most of them not available in every country), but still, you have to choose what type of work is the best one for you. And in the end, it comes to what you are capable of doing, what qualifications you have, and last but not least, what you enjoy doing. Let's see what are the top advantages of working from home that is really worth it:

Flexible working hours

Oh, yes. That's definitely the first one on the list. I'm not saying all jobs provide it, but in general, to work from home means freedom in regard to choosing your own schedule and making the best of your time. And it's also my exact number one reason to switch to working from home and leaving my previous job.

Of course, this goes with some responsibility. If you can choose your working hours, that doesn't mean that you forget to choose them at all, as otherwise - you don't get paid. It requires some sort of discipline to make yourself start working when nobody is telling you to do so.

In that regard, I know many people who tried working at home, and some of them still doing this, but have a hard time organizing their time - work/breaks schedule. I have been fighting with this myself in some periods of my life when I had a lot going on and I felt too tired to start working.

There is always the possibility that even if you are on a flexible schedule to actually create one for yourself which you can stick to. But in that case, it will be difficult to follow it, and the main point of working on a flexible schedule is lost. I appreciate that people are different and maybe for some individuals that will be the better option.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

I really enjoy flexibility so much that I find it hard to imagine what it would be if I went back to a regular job. How would I feel about it? Probably terrible. Especially for a night bird like me, trust me, it’s really hard to find such a schedule as the one I make for myself. Mine is not fixed, I can say my schedule is different every day, but there are some similarities on a day-to-day basis because I know what hours I’m most active - in the afternoon.

And my last point here, and I continue with other advantages - break time. Well, the companies I worked for so far always had that 1-hour lunchtime, and two small breaks of 15 minutes. In regards to law and labor contracts - no issue here.

In regards to personal freedom - I don’t see how that’s fair. A fixed lunchtime? What if I’m not hungry? I’m not really that spoiled, I really work hard and do my job, but when someone is messing with my break time, then we have a problem.

There is one thing I never managed to understand in office jobs - how come following the rules, the break times and the schedule is more important than efficiency? A person who is using the hours of the day when he/she is most productive and is not bounded to work when he/she feels tired is:

        1. Much happier and 

        2. Much more efficient

But the good news is that more and more companies now switch to flexible hours (and I’m extremely happy about it).

No traveling time

Together with the first advantage, here comes the bonus. This is pretty straightforward. If usually, it takes 10 - 30 min, even an hour just to reach the office, depending on location, traffic, etc., working from home gives you the opportunity to reach work the moment you want to. Isn't that nice?

Not only that saves you time, but it also saves you energy, nerves (if case you don't like traffic, like me), and so on. From my experience, there is nothing better than waking up in the morning and starting to work directly from bed by checking email, tasks, etc. No need to prepare for work, get dressed or comb my hair. But don’t get me wrong here - not that I don’t comb my hair, I just don’t do it immediately.

Fewer issues with the management

Even if you have the best boss in the world, there will be always some minor or bigger issues. Why? Because the fact, that you spend many hours in the office and you have to deal with management face to face, and rarely with emails, at some point, sooner or later, unavoidably they start taking you for granted. Unfortunately, that’s what the sad reality in most companies nowadays is.

It’s a whole different story if you actually never see management, and deal with them by chat/email in the comfort of your home.

Why issues are less?

            ✔ You feel more comfortable in your territory, you don’t leave your home, after all. And that’s purely from a psychological point of view - home is yours, and you have all the confidence there.

            ✔ If you are communicating by email you have plenty of time to make it the nicest possible and the same goes for the person you’re messaging. Even if there are some controversial topics or disagreements in opinion, both sides have all the time in the world to think it over and express it in the best possible way. Cool, huh? And…

            ✔ You will be surprised how much people will start valuing your work if you’re actually on a flexible schedule and an individual contract. What that means is that you have the option to leave the job anytime you want, without advance notice, and you have the freedom to work as much as you want whenever YOU decide. Well, let’s just say that if you actually do a good job, not only employers will be nice to you but they will be hoping that you work more.

Imagine the same situation in an office job with a fixed schedule. Nobody needs to ask you to work or be nice because you already signed that contract and you’re stuck there as a slave or something. Anyway, that’s just my opinion. I’m sorry if someone might consider it too harsh.

Working from different locations

The fact that you work from home doesn't necessarily mean that you need to be all of the time at the same location. Unless there is a strict requirement for the project you are working on, you can actually travel and visit different places. It depends on you whether you want to bring your laptop, but in many cases, if you are comfortable using your smartphone instead, it will make your life a lot easier with regard to equipment.

How are working and traveling at the same time beneficial?

Traveling gives you the opportunity to see the world from a different angle and to expand your thinking and understanding of things. It doesn't end with that. When you add your job to this already adorable picture, the entire experience can make you more productive, inspired, and motivated. It is no secret that the happier a person is, it has a direct influence on his/her level of achievements.

More time for friends/family

The closest people to you would be happy to spend more time with you, even if you might be focused primarily on work. You can interact with them during your breaks, have lunch together, or have a light conversation when you are not completely absorbed by the job itself.

Even though you will not give your full attention to them, it is still a bonus of working from home worth knowing. It all depends on the job though - some jobs would allow a more relaxed environment with fewer assignments while others would require your concentration and commitment to your tasks.

As usual, it's up to you to decide which one you want and strive to find the one that suits your needs. And who knows, maybe your people would want to join you in this journey, too? Finding a freelancer job is an appealing offer for most of us. It's a completely different lifestyle than usual, so having more of your friends on your team will help strengthen your connections with them.

In this publication, I covered the most common advantages of working from home. These are things that I experienced or I’ve noticed in people working this type of job. In one of my posts I am talking about the challenges of working from home, so - see you there!