Working from home: pros and cons

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Today, it is not necessary to go to the office every day, idle for hours in traffic jams to earn bread and butter. More and more employees of firms and freelancers work remotely - at the home table (often even in the kitchen), without changing their pajamas for a business suit. They contact the employer via the Internet or by phone, complete tasks, send them to the customer, take new ones and work like this day after day, independently making decisions when to rest and when not to sleep at night while working on the next project. Copywriters, journalists, critics, translators, web designers, programmers are just a small liver of professions, the owners of which can try their hand at work from home.

At first glance, it may seem that the work of such people is a sheer pleasure: you sit next to the refrigerator, do not waste time on any "tinsel" such as makeup and matching shoes for clothes, and you also get money for it. Yes, in fact, there are many advantages to working at home, but there are also disadvantages. And only a person who feels the strength to overcome all difficulties can truly find himself in this form of making money.

pros

1. You really don't waste time commuting to the office. Residents of megacities will understand. And readers from smaller cities will also appreciate it. Not everyone wants to get up at dawn, so that then for half an hour to ply back and forth at the nearest stop, waiting for the "cherished" bus. Or to stand in traffic jams for precious hours, on the way filling up at the wheel. It is much easier to walk from the bedroom to the bathroom, and then to your workplace, when all this fits into the framework of one apartment.

You can safely go for a walk or a meeting with friends, even if the clock is only 15:00.

2. You decide when to work and when to rest. Of course, if now the deadlines for the next project are "burning", then there is no need to think about rest. But when you complete it, you can safely go for a walk or to a meeting with friends, even if the clock is only 15:00.

3. You do not have to "cram" all the chores around the house in the time interval between 19 and 22 hours. Yes, yesterday you may have finished your work after midnight, but today you have free time that you can take your time to devote to washing windows, cleaning and other important female duties.

4. You can live anywhere. Of course, this is a more utopian option, it does not suit everyone, but some freelancers purposefully leave for a while to other countries, where life is much cheaper than in Russia. For example, to Thailand. And all because the work does not tie them to a specific place of residence. Do you want to sit with your laptop surrounded by flowering trees? Please. The statement “where there is work, there is home” now does not apply to you. The only thing is that you should have on your account a certain amount of money, which will be enough for you for the first months of living in a new place.

By the way, this is also a good option for women whose husbands are forced to move on duty. You are everywhere with him, but you do not have to constantly look for work. You already have it.

5. You can work without being distracted by idle chatter with colleagues. One woman, explaining why she decided to work at home, named this one among other reasons: “I could not concentrate. I was just beginning to read the text of another letter when my colleague recalled another funny story about her cat or little son. At first, I treated it as easy communication, and then I realized that it really annoys me. Thank her for adding the missing drop to my almost overflowing glass."

6. You are unfamiliar with the concept of a "vacation schedule". It's up to you to decide when you can go to the resort. There is no need to wait for the obligatory six months, no need to agree on the terms of the vacation with colleagues and superiors. Just complete all the duties before the date X, warn the customer that from such and such to such and such a date you will not be able to get in touch. Do not be afraid that your services will be immediately refused. Employers have long understood that a person needs rest for productive work. Perhaps you will simply be asked to complete a certain amount of tasks in advance.

Minuses

1. We'll have to train willpower. Still, this proximity of the refrigerator, sofa, TV and constant Internet access is relaxing. Every now and then I want to get up and chew something tasty, be distracted by correspondence with a friend on social networks, etc. In this case, you need to take what you are doing very seriously. You don't just sit at home. You are working. Therefore, make a set of rules for yourself. For example, do not get up from your desk until you have finished writing an article (it doesn’t count to the toilet), do not open a page on the social network until the end of the work, even if you have received a million messages (again, if this is how you communicate with the employer, this is different question).

Working from home is, as a rule, constant sitting at the computer. Hence, hypodynamia, visual impairment and other ensuing.

2. Potential health problems. Working from home is, as a rule, constant sitting at the computer. Hence, hypodynamia, visual impairment and other ensuing. In this case, you need to include small breaks and sports in your schedule (at least a pool a couple of times a week). Do not be afraid that in six months you will turn into something big, immovable and half-blind. You just need to take measures to maintain your health. After all, people don't do aerobics in the office either.

3. Deficit of communication. In the work collective, we constantly communicate, whether we like it or not. Here, your communication is reduced to correspondence with the employer. With rare exceptions - to phone calls and Skype calls. For some, this will not be enough. Others (like the woman we wrote about earlier) will only be happy.

4. The likelihood of stumbling upon scammers. Today there are so many offers for home work that it is rather difficult to choose the truly worthwhile ones. It is not uncommon for negligent employers to cheat freelancers. In this case, you act at your own peril and risk. Having stumbled upon such scammers several times, you will learn how to separate the wheat from the chaff, and then you will find regular customers.

5. Lack of usual compensations, pension contributions, social package. You will not be paid for vacations and weekends, and you will have to take care of the pension yourself. But even these problems can be solved: as soon as you regulate the amount of work you do, then the size of your salary depends only on you. Want a paid weekend? Earn more than your colleagues in the office. As for the pension, there are two options: either you will make contributions to the Pension Fund on your own, or you will apply for an individual entrepreneur, which will allow you to gain experience and take care of old age.

Working from home is not for everyone. In addition to convenience and freedom, it also brings a number of difficulties, which can be combined with one phrase - "the ability to take responsibility." If you are ready to be responsible for your work schedule, salary, self-discipline, health and concern for the future, then you should try yourself as a “free spearman”.