While the economy slowly recovers from the recession, many are still finding themselves without jobs. Whether you are unemployed, unhappy with your current position or looking for additional income, working from home can be a viable option. There are positives and negatives to working from home as there are with every position. Whether you work for yourself or you telecommute here are some of the key advantages of working from home:
- Flexibility. This is probably the most well-known, and by far the best advantage of working from home. Working from home allows you to set your own schedule so that you can fit everything into your day that you need to. So if you have a sick child that needs to go to the doctor or if you’re waiting for the plumber to come fix your sink, you schedule allows you the flexibility you need to get everything done. Additionally, you can come into work and leave work as early or late as you want or need to. So if your clients are on the West coast and you’re on the East, there is no issue with you getting up three hours later than your neighbor who works in a traditional office.
- Work in your own space. Being in a space that you are comfortable helps you focus and increase your productivity. Working from home gives you the freedom to have the office you always dreamed of. Also, you don’t have to worry about being disrupted by co-workers. And if you hit that mental roadblock and just can’t think anymore, no one is there to stop you from playing your music, taking a walk, or doing whatever is necessary to get the creative juice to keep going.
- No commute. We’re all sick of being stuck in traffic or waiting on a late train. When working from home all you simply have to do is get out of bed and walk to your office. You can even wear your pajamas if you want! Not only are you saving your commuting time but that time can be applied to more fun activities like having family game night or going out for a night on the town.
- Save Money. This might not be the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of working from home, but believe me, you’ll save. In a traditional workplace you are expected to dress a certain way, you must pay for some sort of transportation and if you have children you have to pay for child care. When working from home these costs decrease drastically. Your spending on clothes will go down because you can wear whatever you want. Your car repair and gas bill will go down because you are not commuting every day and if you have children you no longer have to pay for babysitters or daycare if you can still get work done while they are at home.
- Mobility. The advent of the Internet has made working from home a beautiful thing. You are no longer required to drive to client meetings or go into the office once a week. You can simply call in or video conference with your clients or headquarters. This means that you can be virtually anywhere in world as long as you have access to the internet. Take advantage of this mobility and travel. Just take your laptop with you, make sure you have Internet, and you can make money while you travel.
- Relationships. The extra time you gain working from home can be invaluable when it comes to building relationships with your family members. If you have children the flexibility it provides allows you to make all of the school plays, recitals and soccer matches. It gives you the freedom to have family movie nights or make the kids a special lunch on the teacher in-service days off from school. Even if you don’t have children, the extra time can allow you to build relationships with your close friends or anyone else that you can now spend more time with.
