What are the pros and cons about working from home?

[Anonymous]

Only answer if you work from home or have in the past

[Anonymous]

PROS

• You can wake up minutes before work, and still be on time
• You can work in your pajamas and look however you want
• Schedule tends to be a bit more flexible
• You're more likely to still be able to go to work if you're sick/can work from the bed if you need to
• Great if you're not a people person/introvert
• Easier to focus when there isn't anyone around to constantly bother you or hover over your shoulder (if you have kids, it may be a different situation)
• You can work from practically anywhere with good wifi and headphones
• You Save money on gas/transportation
• Your personal contributions to the job can be more easily credited towards you with digital proof vs. others taking credit for work you've done
• The above also works when it comes to proving you aren't responsible for the poor work performance of others (assuming you actually aren't)
• What lunch hour? You can eat whenever you want and not have to hurry up and rush
• You tend to have better work/life balance

CONS

• You have to really focus and manage your time well or you may be in trouble
• Some jobs track every second of your work day, and will actively remind you about quotas and question why you aren't working every.single.second
• Depending on the job, you may have to work longer hours because the internet never sleeps/there are no holidays
• It can be lonely. I do miss workplace banter and socializing in person A LOT
• Live Calls can be a nightmare especially if the dogs are barking, kids if you have them are crying, your house is a mess, you have to get it together to look presentable
• You have to really keep up with your schedule. Usually in an office, someone will remind you about a meeting or something coming up, but you have to check those calendars and message reminders frequently
• You can struggle to detach from your electronics, because someone is always texting, notifications, reminders.
• You don't always have a team to rely on. If you work for yourself/are an independent contractor, you are responsible for managing 100% of your business, your taxes, government paperwork, licenses, etc.

[molonski2]

I cannot answer the question any better than that , so will simply say " excellent summary "
And the " tacking every second " bit , I found worse than being in the office. I think when working for just me that I was most productive , although sometimes this also involved zoning out ( on my own ) turning off phone and going to the cinema.
Great answer anyhow.

[msmissydc]

You get much more easily distracted. If you don't have self-discipline, it's hard to be productive. You have to be prepared for "meetings," especially if they can happen spontaneously. Prepare for the need to be seen through a webcam, even if you generally would not prepare to be seen that day because of homework.

But you can have a much shorter workday if you don't need to commute to work and back home, or if you can actually accomplish a lot in a short time. From what I've heard from friends, working from home is often based on a productivity scale rather than a worktime scale. I personally can't speak for that as a self-employed worker though.

[Tarifa]

Pros:

- you can, for most of the time, decide your own schedule. I can have a day off in the middle of the week if work allows it. It's great to be able to have that free time.

Cons:

- waiting for invoices to get paid. I usually have to wait between 30 to 60 days before getting paid.

- working overtime when work demands it. It's not uncommon I have to work during the weekend. 12-hour shifts are not uncommon either. I try to average it out over the week. Don't expect to work 'just' 40 hours a week (8 hours x 5 days). I'm closer to 50 hours a week.

- having the sensation that you never really finish. When you work for someone else, you close the office door on Friday and have no worries until Monday. You're your own boss, you're responsible for your own little company. 24/7, 365 to 366 days of the year.

- holidays are not free: if I take a month's holiday, that's a month with zero income.

- family will not always be on your priority list. I had to cancel a day's outing because important and urgent work came in the previous day. It's not easy to say no to your family members and say yes to a client.

So if you go down that route, I think there are more cons than pros. Tip: set up an office in a separate room, isolate yourself during work and then close that door at the end of your working day. That physical, spacial seperation is more important than you might think.

[Tarifa]

Thanks for the MHO

[Effably]

In general skipping any commute means hours extra every day. Work tends to be more free as you can often sneak in a laundry at the break. Realistically working from home will net you an extra 2 hours of free time every day even if you work the same hours.

Downsides generally boil down to less cohesion between coworkers and with any potential boss. You're harder to control and with less social ties more unlikely to sacrifice for a company.

In reality there is no efficiency loss or gain of note that is confirmed. Most studies see a small all the way up to 40% increase in efficiency, as odd as that might sound. Some studies see smaller 5-10% drops. The AI answer is accurate in that efficiency generally increases but it comes down to what work you do.

In reality you lose coffee-machine talk in exchange for a few more hours each day of you time. If your social life relies on work, it might be bad. If it does not, it is almost certainly good.

[AI Opinion]

Working from home has its benefits and challenges.

Pros include flexibility in managing your schedule, no commute, and a comfortable work environment. It often allows for a better work-life balance and can increase productivity if distractions are minimized.

However, there are cons like potential isolation, difficulty in separating work from home life, and distractions from household tasks. Communication with colleagues might also require more effort. It's important to create a structured routine and a designated workspace to maximize the benefits while managing the challenges effectively.

[TsundereMatrix]

I started my first job in my dream industry as work from home. The pros were not having to walk up so early, no commute and going to bed late as I didn’t have to get up early the next morning. The cons were difficult training when you’re a hands on learner like I am, everyone seemed to have no communication skills and hard to reach people and specifically because I was in an IT department, equipment does break and there’s been times we had downtime between they had to get a person to manually fix things sometimes. Because of this experience, I prefer working hybrid.

[DishLady]

#1 Pro: You’re home.
#1 Con: You’re home.


Basically, you’re comfortable and know where everything is, there aren’t a ton of annoying co workers or random overhead costs that exist when you have a brick-and-mortar location. However distractability and procrastination levels tend to rise as well. It also tends to encourage unprofessional and shut-in tendencies for some people (at unhealthy levels).

[Asker]

Yeah I see what you mean, thank you for your feedback

[seeyounexttuesday]

I'm currently a remote worker.

Remote work is great because - no commute, no stuffy office environment, no annoying coworkers. I can wear what I want, eat where I want, and work where I want. If I want to go to the park and work, I can do it. If I want to throw a load of laundry in the washer in the middle of the day or run errands I can do it.

Remote work is difficult because - it's harder to learn a new job remotely than it would be in the office. You do miss out on some of the things that you might need for your job. You have to try to catch someone if you have a question rather than just run by their desk. It can get lonely at times. And you're working while it's work time instead of BSing with coworkers for hours a day.

[AviatorTom]

I worked from home (WFH) starting with the pandemic until I retired early, a few years later. My career as an engineer had me working from a base office as well as customer sites and hotel rooms around the world, so WFH was easily doable for me and most of the people I worked with.

The major pro is that you don't have to fight traffic to and from work, and instead use that time productively. I actually got more done WFH than I ever did at the office. It's also a pro to be able to do things around the house during the day that otherwise would have to wait until evenings or weekends. And not having to dress for the office is a nice perk of WFH.

The only real con is the lack of direct personal contact with my colleagues, but TEAMS and Zoom meetings, as well as email, texts, and phone calls, make it possible to maintain good communications.

Though I did WFH, I did occasionally (a few times a month) go into the office and to the customer site I was responsible for.

[jshm2]

Depends on work.

For some work it can be a boon, for others it can be hell.

For example, most call centre staff work can be done from home. No commuting, no worrying about office politics, etc. Just you, the calls and the notes.

But most call centre manager work becomes hell working from home. instead of walking up to them, you have to send a pm and wait, getting stuff out the Sharepoint you have to call round to find out who fucked up what. etc etc.

There was a reason after the pandemic, most staff were happy to work from home, while managers were not.

[Zack-Bann]

Cons is lack of socialization on a daily basis


Everything else: pros.


I love remote work and think that the obsession with outdated business practices is unhealthy and costs everyone time money and energy when it can all be sabed

[jazzy34]

I WFH from 2021-2022 out of necessity. But, I liked working in the comfort of my own home and to remain in my pjs all day. However, the novelty of that eventually wore off for me. I need camaraderie and I was starting to get cabin fever.

[Asker]

It's nice to work in pj's but also it is nice to get ready and go to work and see people

[Massageman]

Since providing massage therapy is rather isolated anyway, that will always be there. I just don't have to report to anyone. I control my schedule, but I have to maintain it and my own books. The best explanation I heard of having your "own business" (whether or not you work "from home"): The good thing is that are your OWN boss. The bad thing is that you ARE your own boss. Kinda cuts both ways, since it's 100% run your hands (even if not using them for massage therapy).

[Twalli]

The pros are that you don't have to wake up early for a commute, and you generally don't need to take as many sick days because you'd just be at home on a sick day anyway. Since most businesses have PTO that account for sick, vacation, and personal days you can plan longer vacations while not taking off work when you don't feel too good.
The cons are that there are so many more distractions. You are at home and everyone else who is at that home can distract you (or any pets). I had one coworker who was pretty much bouncing his son on his lap during several of our team meetings because his son was cranky (this was a kid under 1). Some people don't dress up for work when they're working from home, which is a bad idea. Studies have shown that dressing professionally, even if you're working remotely, increases productivity, but I was of the minority in my group that dressed up every day before work.

[BCRanger10]

PRO

• Convenient
• Generally lower stress
• Comfortable

CON

• Easier to be distracted and complacent
• Don't get to have as many real-world interactions, especially with "work friends"

[Aakash_Hangargi]

Pros

First and foremost the commute.
As you are at home you eat home food and also not waste money on canteen food or to go outside of the office to eat.

Also not ordering food at office.


For me it's all about economic benefit and hours saved by not commuting.

Cons people act way different inperson than in online.

You have to be highly self reliant.

[Finchie40]

The pros are you can get stuff done around your house while working , so you can kill 2 birds with one stone , you don’t have to worry about sitting in traffic and dealing with shitty weather , less wear and tear on your car and save on gas money. , the cons is it can get boring

[Anonymous]

Pros you can do your washing and miss the traffic.

Cons, family members annoying you while you're trying to work.

I prefer going to the office to work as I get disruption at home home.

[Asker]

I love the not having to drive but also if you live alone I'm sure it has it's pros

[Anonymous]

Socially cut off. People often don't realize how much of a hole they fall into when they don't get out.

[Asker]

That is true

[Coden7]

I personally really missed being able to change my mindset into a work mindset as I walked into work. When I was working from home it began to feel like I never left work when I was done. I would make excuses to leave just to get away from “Work”


One of the pros was how much money I saved on gas before all of that lol. I was also eating better because I had access to all of my food prep at any point during the day.

[MannMitAntworten]

I occasionally work from home. My lone con is in working from home I feel guilty for billing for my time working from home (or where if not at work) so I never add it to my time. Which is stupid and I know it, so I don’t really like working from home.

[BDRick]

As a pro, you get to work on your own schedule/in your pajamas/where you want/freedom, etc.
As a Con, you don’t get social interaction/potentially less exercise (Depending on your method of living)/ Less desire to work (again, depending on your will), etc.

[integrale77]

I work from home doing call centre work.
Equipment has changed over time but the principle is still the same as being in the call centre, same shifts and speaking to the customer via a VoIP connection.

Benefits

[Geo1970]

Nobody to hassle you and you can get on at the pace set out.


Possible boredom if you are on your own and especially without the work colleagues that you get on with.

[ProbablyClueless]

Pros - time flexibility, no commute
Cons - you have make sure you can be productive and it can be hard to keep work at work when your office is in your home.

[exitseven]

I teach computer science at a college. I had to teach remotely during Covid. The downside is that the students did not learn much and some cheated on the exams.

[nl171]

I can’t focus at home enough. Also my job can’t exactly be remote

[Nikki1989]

I have never found any pros. It sucks.

[Asker]

No wayy?

[Anonymous]

I think they are mostly pros, maybe only a few cons.

[LiamJHayden]

Pros: no 45 minutes each way to and from the office.

Cons: people think that because you are home you are available.

[Staximus]

Too many distractions and too many opportunities to take a break

[aquamarine321]

I don’t know, never worked from home

[Ironic_Method]

Pros