by Janie Emaus (Mon Oct 12, 2009)
Your children are
grown. Your house is nice and
quiet. So, when your boss offers you the
opportunity to work from home, you want to jump on it, right? What could be more ideal? No traffic. No one looking over your shoulder. No dressing to impress co-workers. No make-up. No problem.
Well, as one who has
worked from home for many years, let me go over the pros and cons with you
before you make that all important decision.
Working from home does
have many benefits. The most obvious one
being able to sleep until the last possible second and still log-in on time. No
matter the square footage of your house, getting to your office should be quite
easy. You shouldn't encounter any traffic
through your living room, and your hallway should be smooth sailing. For those of you not living alone, you might
experience the occasional ‘husband/partner/roommate/holdup' at the point where
your kitchen merges into your office.
But you can swerve around this obstacle with a quick smile and promise
to catch up later in the day.
Another obvious perk
involves your attire. You can work in whatever you've slept in. Unless of course, your boss has installed a
Skype camera. If you have a say in this
matter, it's most beneficial to vote no, unless you harbor the exhibitionist
gene, in which case, you probably wouldn't accept the ‘working-from-home' offer
in the first place.
A further perk is that you
can sneak in some personal e-mails and web surfing throughout the day - although,
you're really not sneaking because no one is watching.
This is all very well and
good and makes working from home seem quite appealing. But there is a down side
which you really need to consider before accepting this opportunity.
First, there is no
face-to-face contact while on your breaks. You can chat with the photos of family and friends that you have
plastered on your refrigerator. And
because you don't get any disagreeable answers from them, this may sit well with
you at first. But after a time, you start to long for those inter-office
dialogues - especially those which end in heated arguments and threats to
report insignificant behavior to the Human Resources Department.
Which leads into my
next point. With no one to talk to,
you're completely devoid of company gossip. You know, that juicy data that floats around from department to
department and finally lands on the subject's desk taken completely out of
context? But whether you want to admit it or not, gossip adds a little spice to
the day and makes those boring tasks a little more bearable. When you work from
home, you may end up talking to yourself. But gossiping to yourself about yourself, well, that could
be grounds for psychiatric help.
And don't forget the
other social aspects. Or lack thereof. There are no cute men to flirt with
(whether married or not, many women do like to flirt) and no UPS or Fedex
delivery guy to create a fantasy about. Although most companies frown on employees dating each other, it happens
all the time. So, for single women
looking for an office romance, working alone may not be an attractive option.
Finally, and perhaps
most importantly, there is no co-worker to share a drink with at Happy Hour. You can meet yourself out
on the patio for a cocktail, but that can be a bit boring since you've been
with yourself all day.
In the end, you must
weigh the good against the bad. In my case, I've decided that despite some of
the lonely hours, I'm too accustomed to working alone, without constant
supervision. And although I do get a bit
lonely, I've decided that I am pretty good company.
So, if you'll excuse
me, I had better get back to work. I hear myself calling.
