The Two Disadvantages Of Working At Home

The benefits from working at home are numerous. It’s convenient and the commute is zero. Your work environment is under your control, which allows you to be more productive. You can stay at home and work when you are sick or easily stay at home with the kids if they are sick. Your schedule is flexible to address the needs of your household and work at the same time. But, the biggest perk by far is being able to spend more time with your kids. You can pick them up from school, volunteer in their classroom, make dinner, play outside and put them to bed every night. You can also spend more time with your friends, do more lunches, and generally be more flexible to meet people whenever your schedule allows.

But it’s not always rainbows and unicorns.  These work at home perks come with their share of difficulties as well. For me, I’ve been able to narrow it down to just two disadvantages of working at home:

Weight Gain / No Clothes

This may seem like it should be two disadvantages but they feed off each other, so I’d like to address them as one. It’s probably no surprise but if you sit at your office desk for hours on end (at home or at the office), you’ll begin to experience an unwanted side effect: an expanded waistline. It’s so important to use some of the work at home flexibility to include a daily workout. Make sure you stay active and don’t just sit there at your office desk. (Which leads me to address the part about having no clothes). Wearing daily yoga pants or pajama bottoms might be comfortable for at home work but they just won’t do when it’s time to meet face to face with a client. It’s important to have a few professional clothing options to choose from when working outside the home is required. And no one wants to buy clothing when you are struggling with weight gain (so try and keep that in check). Use some of the money you’ve saved by staying home and treat yourself to one or two office outfits.

You’re At Home, So You Must Not Be Working

Many people think that just because you’re working at home — and not in an office cubicle or store or workshop — you’re not really working at all. But nothing could be farther from the truth. That fact still doesn’t stop your friends, relatives, and acquaintances from calling on the phone, stopping by to visit and carrying on as though you had nothing better to do all afternoon than talk. Your neighbors may also find it convenient for you to babysit or pick their kids up for school. It’s true that you will have the ability to get to the post office before lunch but that is because you work hard. It’s not for your neighbors, friends and family to take advantage of because they’ve chosen a job that doesn’t allow them such flexibility.

Working from home can be a great solution for many people. It may look easy to do but it does take a certain degree of discipline and planning. Additionally, if you do choose to work from home, it’s important to maintain a presence at the main office. Report in often and let your boss know you are alive and productive. And don’t forget to treat your home office like a real office. Close the laptop at the end of your workday schedule and don’t open it again until you begin work the next morning.