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Like most people, my days used to be spent dreaming of the time I could work from home full time. My own computer. My own schedule. My own garden. My own TV. My own family around me. It all seemed so wonderful.And wonderful it was. For a year.
Then I got bored.
You see, when we work from home, we lose the conversations at the water cooler. We lose the commute to work. We lose the friendship with the coffee shop employee or the bagel stand owner. We lose the early morning commute which wakes us up. Maybe we’ll lose the walk through the park, or the walk to the subway that got rid of the bags under our eyes on a fresh, crisp Spring morning. We lose it all, because we have nowhere to go…. unless we class across the hall or down the stairs as a place to go.
We replace it with a reluctance to get out of bed. A reluctance to eat and shower because “we’re not going anywhere”. We lose the self-satisfaction of wearing smart clothes, in favour of our night clothes. We lose the feeling of home that our house had when we worked from an office. You know that feeling each time 5pm rolls around? Right now, you can’t wait to get home to your cat or dog… or partner. When we work from home, that’s gone. They’re there all day long, so you take them for granted.
Suddenly things we took for granted while working at an office are lost and replaced with less interesting, less inspiring and less engaging things. We even begin to miss the 60 year old rapper we laugh and smile at on the subway each morning.
Before we know it, we’re craving for our next meeting where we can finally get out of our home and meet somebody. Suddenly we’ll feel like Grandpa Simpson, not wanting to stop talking because we crave physical, real life interaction with other humans. Don’t believe me? I’m 20 and I’m already at that point.
As somebody who has worked from home, full time, for the past three years, I crave the commute to work. I crave the water cooler conversations. I crave the trip to the pub with co-workers every Friday. And I crave the 60 old rapper.
If I could move in to an office tomorrow, I would do so. And I’d make sure my office location allows me to spark a friendship with a coffee shop employee. Allows me to commute via public transport. Allows me to meet other people and spark conversations. Allows me to wake up in a morning before I reach the office. And allows me the freedom to make home feel like home again. Because all these things are often taken for granted and often forgotten, but I value them as some of the most important aspects of life.
Working from home isn’t all we often think it is. Often, it’s lonely, slow, boring and faceless. Unless you’re careful, your 10 second commute from your bedroom to your office will rapidly become a part of your life you wish to see the back of.
Do you work from home? If so, do you enjoy it? If you aspire to work from home full time, what is it that motivates you to do so?
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22 RESPONSES TO "YOU SHOULDN’T ASPIRE TO WORK FROM HOME"
self-satisfaction of wearing smart clothes -- so key. This was one of the things I missed most when I worked from home...picking awesome outfits for work. I also missed seeing people every day. AND, I think I made my boyfriend crazy because he was the only person I saw every day. When he needed to decompress, after a long day at work, I wanted to talk a mile a minute.
Now having the luxury of a job that is flexible, I do enjoy the occasional day of working from home. That'd said, I genuinely enjoy an office environment.
For me, working@home increases my productivity a lot. When I worked in an office, I watched many colleages spend great portions of the day making idle chat and generally wasting time that should have been used to achieve results. I realize at least 20% more productivity at home, while enjoying my work just as much.
When employees want to work from home, and make formal requests to do so, the individual's past performance, personality style, communication preferences, longevity, turnover risk and such guide the answer. I approve requests on a trial basis so the individual and the company can determine if work@home would maintain or increase effectivenss, engagement and satisfaction. Working@home is not for everyone. I predict, however, that many of us may have the opportunity to do so soon. We better have strategies in place to do so well.
I suppose it could also be a question of age. I have worked from home after I turned 30 and have loved it and have not missed the office since then.
Granted I am a member of a private member's club and can hold meetings and events there too so I can deal with that there.
I live in London and I don't miss the commute. I deliver speeches and workshops across the capital, indeed across the country (UK) so am always travelling anyway but I absolutely hate the smelly commute. When you live as near as I do to a forest and open parks, commutes suck!!!
Plus I work with my wife :)
I have to say I LOVE working from home. I LOVE staying in my PJ's all day. In fact, I switch into "new" PJ's every morning (which I affectionately call my "work clothes").
I love that I make my own coffee every morning, and make my own lunch every day (without using a microwave like everyone in the corporate jungle).
I LOVE that I can do laundry, fold clothes, clean my bathroom, etc when I need short breaks between work tasks. At the end of the day I'm super excited for my boyfriend to come home (instead of being drained from the day and needing "me time").
However, the first few months of working from home were difficult for me. I left a group of people I LOVED at my last employer. We worked in a "bullpen" setting where everyone heard everything going on in the office at all times. We were ALL friends, went to happy hour every day, and probably socialized more than we worked.
My best friend diagnosed my misery my first few months of working at home. It was F.O.M.O. Fear of Missing Out. I found myself calling my former coworkers to get the latest stories, gossip, and drama....because I was so afraid to miss out on the fun. I missed dressing up at the office for halloween, gift exchanges at Christmas, and the putting range we built in the conference room (yes, that office was that fun).
But, I am also an introvert. I now couldn't imagine going back to working in an office. You definitely have to have the right personality to enjoy and succeed in a home office. If you don't stay disciplined, and find ways to entertain yourself it certainly can become a drain.
The solution is co-working. For a nominal fee, you and other telecommuters rent out a communal office space and work in the same room. It allows for more human interaction but without office politics.
I should add that the main differences were productivity and meetings. When I worked at home, I never got anything done. I still don't get much done, but it's a bit better than before. Now that I'm no longer self-employed, I also have to sit through meetings that aren't always relevant to what I do.
I worked from home for two years, and I've been working in an office for almost 3 years. They're not all that different. I walk to my office in 5 minutes and work by myself for most of the day. I have no idea where my coworkers eat. Apparently, they usually eat by themselves. When I worked at home, I sometimes went out to lunch or dinner, so there's no missing out on that.
I've been in my home office since 1994, and I don't think I could go back to a "normal" office environment. I live a few blocks from the coffee shop, so am able to work there some days and have met a lot of people there who also work at home. I make it a point to meet friends/colleagues for morning coffee, lunch, or a drink after work. And I make sure I'm touching base with co-workers on a daily basis.
I've learned not to fall into the (very easy to fall into) trap of throwing on some sweats and turning on the TV. You have to dress and act as though you're in an office environment (OK, the sweats do happen, I AM at home ...). The TV - never.
I've also learned that working at home means you never really leave the office, so most of the time, I end up working way beyond the 8-hour workday, and if I don't MAKE myself shut down the computer, walk out of my office and close the door, I can work all weekend before I know it.
The one troublesome thing I hear from the above proponents of working from home is their espousal of things they do other than work during work hours.
I know it may seem archaic to some, but if you have time to spend with your kids, time to walk the dog, and time to blog and twitter, then you probably need more work to do.
While not universally true, many workplaces expect that for the eight hours a day you are being paid for that you fill that time with work.
And while opponents of being in the office may suggest a focus on outcome based employment, maybe the efficiencies you bring to the table that give you the free time to pursue non-work related things should be applied toward more outcomes for work to fill your work time with.
I work for an entirely virtual organization and I would NEVER go back to an office.
The key is, you need to replace those relationships with the bagel guy and others. It's to not become the guy who sits in his P.J.s all day.
I have two standing appointments each week. One is a lunch with a friend who also is the CEO of a nonprofit (and I sit on her board). We talk shop. We talk other stuff.
The second appointment I keep is breakfast with a friend who is a former accountant and now is staying home with her kids. We discuss NOT working in offices, NOT being chained to desks, and the challenges, too.
I also walk my dog everyday at 3 p.m. and am able to chat with the neighbors.
I have also started blogging and twittering. It helps with the interaction stuff.
This may seem like really simple basic things that couldn't possibly work - but they do. If you tell yourself that telecommuting sucks, then it will. I am grateful each day that I get to telecommute, and it's awesome.
I work from home and I agree with both of you (Jamie and Suzanne - the GenXpert). I miss the interactions associated with going to an office that Jamie describes. But right now working at home means that I can be super-productive during my workday and then spend all the dead time you get going to an office with my children. Do I want to do this forever? No way. But currently what I get from working at home is far greater than what it costs me.
Heh. You touched on tomorrow's post, Suzanne. Today was about how it can be bad. Tomorrow is about how to avoid it being bad. :-)
Thanks for the insight. It's interesting how you cope with it when compared to myself. We both do very similar things (Twitter is a good one, which I included in the scheduled post for tomorrow). :)
I'm looking forward to the home office life eventually. Granted, I don't much care for the office life in general. I tend to avoid the water cooler by any means possible.
I guess it's the fact that I like my friends, and they're not my co-workers.
I've been working from home for about a year and a half. I must admit there are times when I get bored.
That just means I need to spice my day up. Spend the morning in yoga, get out during lunch to get something to eat and to simply walk around. At night, spend time with the significant other, go running, work on other projects. I also go to a running group and, of course, hang out with friends - don't ever lose your Fridays and weekends! When I keep myself busy with a number of different things, I can't wait to work at home the next day.
I am relatively new to the work at home lifestyle, but so far I love it!! No more commutin and no more office politics. Plus, if I have to be around for a delivery or a repairperson, I can still keep up with work. Of course, I think it takes a certain kind of person to be productive at home and maintain friendships so you're lonely. The latter was people's biggest concern when I told them I was going freelance. But I'm pretty active at networking events and also going to the gym and hosting parties, so I don't think it will too much of an issue for me personally.
I'd lose the commute?!?!?!?
How his this a bad thing?
I think that working from home gives you freedom, and with that comes having to build everything, including the relationships you have with other people. I meet plenty of people everyday on my mid-afternoon walk, at the library, at the laundromat where I wash my clothes, at the shopping center where I buy my groceries...the list is endless.
The allure of the office is that those relationships are built into the position, but there's no guarantee that you'll automatically have the interaction you crave. When I worked in a call center, I still ate to myself and took my breaks with nothing but my crackberry for comfort. If you don't get along with the other office bees, the hive is still a lonely place, just as working from home can be.
Either way, it's a challenge, and is definitely something to be thought about if you're serious about working from home.
There's another option that is becoming more and more popular - coworking.
Instead of working from home or working in an office, you work in a shared space with a few other freelancers/sole-props. That way, you get the networking and comradery of the office without all the restrictions of the office.
Win-win!
I am so with you Jamie! My house became my jail. I lasted about 8 months. It affected my personality. I started to become depressed and started to avoid interacting with people. Even working with one or two other people didn't work for me.
I read a post by Penelope Trunk that made me decide it was time to get a job. It took courage but after a month I was back into the routine.
I could stand one day a week from home or a few hours a week. Otherwise, I prefer the office with a team of coworkers.
-Janet
Five years ago, I made a case to my then-boss that I needed to work from home at least one day a week in order to be more productive. I personally pledged that I would be doing it full time "down the road." Well, I traveled through an office environment another two years before I found myself making a 10-second commute.
After nearly 3 years as a teleworker, here's my assessment: love it! Why? Work-life balance, more time for the people and activities I value most, increased productivity, savings from high gas prices and obnoxious commuter traffic, an office space set up exactly as I want it (with a view, mind you!), and I could go on and on.
Do I miss face-to-face interaction? Absolutely. But that's where networking associations and events play an important role.
When will I KNOW that I have really arrived "down the road"? When this location becomes my office: http://www.yachthitauk.com/images/index/DSC00114.JPG
I think goal setting is even more important when working@home. It's easy to let the day go by but you need a sense of what you're trying to get done that day. If you're enjoying your work then there shouldn't be an issue. If you're not enjoying it then then the days are going to be even longer when there's no human interaction involved.
When I am trapped in an office job, I know it is not the right environment for me. On the other hand, working from home can sometimes be a challenge too because I can occasionally get off track. But right now, I run my own business, so I don't have the option of going into the company office. What works for me is a nice balance. A mix of working around people and working from home would be ideal. Fortunately, I don't have to deal with the issue too much because my business involves being with my clients where ever their home or office is located. So I really only work from home when I've got no clients to work with on a particular day.
This year, to avoid the work-at-home blues, I'm going to take advantage of a co-work space here in L.A. It will at least get me up and dressed, around people, and near nice little cafes where I can go to enjoy lunch.
Other than every once in a while wishing I had co-workers to grab lunch with, I don't miss sitting in someone else's office for 8 hours a day. But working from home does take discipline and as a previous commenter said, getting goals is incredibly important. Also, when I work from home I have to make sure I get time on my calendar to SEE OTHER PEOPLE, whether it is a client, a friend, or a business associate. Being at home can definitely effect your mood and cause little pockets of depression and cabin fever...
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