Working from home is a method of work. For example, you can work from home as a software engineer, marketer, or teacher.
These jobs tend to have flexible hours and locations. Other differences from traditional work structures may include salary, benefits, team collaboration, communication, and more.
This article discusses various forms of remote work, offers tips to help you overcome work-from-home burnout, and you will find more examples in books about remote work.
What is Remote Work?
Remote work is a work arrangement where employees work from a location other than a traditional office, typically their own home.
This shift has become increasingly popular in recent years, driven by technological advancements, changing work styles, and global events like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Benefits of Working from Home
Among the many benefits of remote work, one of my favorites is “zero commute time” because it saves time, money, stress, and more. Otherwise, this list is in no particular order.
1. Zero Commute Time
When you work from home, there is no commute time. Instead, you can wake up from bed and start working. Your workday actually begins while you’re still in bed. When you wake up, you turn on your phone and check any non-functioning apps first.
Then, you scroll through emails and Slack and respond to easy items. When you come across messages that require a computer, you get out of bed and start working on your computer. Zero commute time saves at least dozens of hours each month.
2. Can Cook at Home
When you work from home, you can also cook at home. This includes making breakfast, brunch, second brunch, lunch, and dinner.
You can eat in your own kitchen or at your desk. Cooking at home is a benefit because you can save time, save money, eat healthier, and more.
3. Posibble Watch Netflix During the Day
If you work remotely, you can take breaks during the day and watch Netflix or occasionally Amazon Prime.
For example, you can watch Ozark and shed a few tears, Dark and think deeply about time paradoxes, or Ant-Man for the eighth time. Netflix also makes for excellent background noise.
4. No Need to Wear Pants
Working without pants is one of the perks of working from home. You can wear shorts, pajama pants, etc.
Working without pants is a luxury and one of the main benefits of remote work compared to going to the office.
5. Listen to Whatever You Want
Whenever I go to a restaurant or store, I notice the music being played, and if it seems repetitive, I assume the staff tolerates the endless loop.
Maybe your office plays songs like Mahalini or Lyodra on a random Spotify playlist that you don’t particularly enjoy.
At home, however, you are the DJ and can listen to whatever you like. For example, you can endlessly loop a 90s boy band playlist, and only you and your cat will know.
6. Take Care of the Cat
If you go to the office, you may have to leave your cat at home unattended. One of the benefits of working from home is that you can take care of your little cat.
Additionally, you can feed your cat, cuddle your cat, and play with your cat all the time. Be a good cat mom or dad and work from home.
7. Read Whatever You Want on the Internet
When you work remotely, you can freely browse the internet, including reading random things on Medium and Reddit.
In the office, you might have to pretend to be working while secretly reading on your phone, but at home, you can do whatever you like as long as you manage your work hours and get your job done.
8. No Worries About Package Delivery Time
Setting up utilities and receiving packages can be annoying when you go to the office every day. If you work from home, you can receive packages all day, and it doesn’t matter what time it is if someone comes to fix the electricity meter.
Disadvantages of Remote Work
One of the biggest challenges of working from home is that you don’t see your coworkers in person. These relationships are important for team bonding, collaboration, productivity, and more. This list also includes other ideas.
1. Lack of Social Interaction
When you work in an office, you start the workday by greeting colleagues in the morning, and then at lunch, you can eat together with coworkers.
Working from home is different because it doesn’t have these basic social outlets. Instead, you need to be very intentional about seeing people so that you don’t end up in a disadvantageous position, missing out on human contact.
2. Need to Exercise Regularly
For office dwellers and road warriors, getting 10,000 steps a day is a bit easier because you have to walk to your car, walk from your car to the office, walk to various parts of the office, and so on.
After work, you might walk to a pub and enjoy fusion tacos with colleagues. Working from home lacks this exercise, and instead, you need to be very intentional about ensuring you get exercise during the day.
You can do tai chi, go for a walk, do push-ups, do yoga, or engage in various other activities. All of this requires more effort than just going to work.
3. No Free Lunch
If you work in luxurious industries like tech or finance, then the office might provide free lunch. When you work from home, lunch is almost certainly on your own tab.
4. Home Might Not Be as Nice as the Office
Many offices have beautiful views, nice furniture, and great people. Your home might not have views of the bay or other office buildings.
Your home might not have furniture as nice as the corporate office. You can improve all these aspects, but the default is often lower.
5. Higher Bills
When working from home, your utility bills like heat, water, electricity, and internet might be higher. You can reduce these bills by dressing appropriately and turning off things when you’re not using them, but still, you might end up paying more by being home for more than 8 hours.
6. Building Relationships with Coworkers is Harder
Building meaningful relationships with coworkers while working from home is challenging. You don’t see your coworkers in person and don’t benefit from proximity or casual chats throughout the day.
Instead, when you work in an office, you will accidentally build relationships with others.
7. Sometimes Don’t Speak to Anyone for Days
If you work from home and live alone, there is a risk that you won’t speak to anyone for days or even weeks at a time. You can talk to your cat or your houseplants, but it’s not the same.
Tips for Working from Home Productively
One of the best tips for remote work is to go outside every day. However, the tips below cover various topics for you to consider.
1. Go Outside Every Day
When working from home, it’s easy to stay at home every day. You can leave the house to enjoy some fresh air, shop for necessities, or go to the mall. Additionally, take a 10-minute walk to relax your body and prevent stiffness.
2. Don’t Stay Up Late
Working from home often offers flexible work hours. You may be tempted to stay up late, sleep in, and then start working late. This pattern is somewhat dangerous for working from home productively.
Instead, follow this rule of thumb: Don’t stay up late if you have to get up early. You probably won’t get up early to enjoy the morning air or to exercise, and you probably won’t get up early to read the latest news on X on your phone, so don’t stay up late doing it either.
3. Renovate Your Space as Comfortably as Possible
When you work in an office, it’s your employer’s responsibility to ensure you have a good work setup, and when you work from home, that responsibility might fall on you.
Get a good desk, chair, monitor, external keyboard, and mouse. All these items will help boost productivity when working remotely.
4. Set a Work Schedule
Remote work has a flexible schedule. But if you delay work hours for a day or two, you’ll end up catching up on the weekend and working overtime.
If you’re in the habit of delaying work hours every week, eventually, you’ll end up in a time debt that you can’t avoid.
Maybe no one will notice, but if the company notices, then it could become an issue. A level 10 integrity approach to remote work is to set a work schedule and don’t procrastinate too often.
5. Play YouTube
One productivity tip for working from home is to open YouTube, perhaps to find a new series of songs. Instead, find a song you like, right-click and select “loop” to listen to it repeatedly.
Read More Best Locations for Remote Work
Conclusion
There are many advantages and disadvantages to working from home. Every organization and employee needs to carefully consider these factors to make their own decision. Then, you can start implementing tips and best practices to make the most of it.
