It’s been almost exactly 3 years since I started my current job and was initiated into the wonderful world of “working from home.” Before we dip into negative-ville, let’s touch on the aspects of working from home that I love:
THE POSITIVES
Improved Productivity
Working from home allows me to give my total focus to a task and complete it in much less time than in an office. I’m not distracted by dumb open office plans, coworkers talking in the background or people just “popping by” my desk. I can give my work my complete attention and eliminate all distractions, which allows me to get more done in less time.
Less Wasted Time
Working from home has made me realize how much of my time was wasted simply because I had to go into an office. Besides the obvious savings of commute time, I also save time not having to pack lunch and make myself look professional every day. Instead of rushing around for 30 minutes before trying to stuff myself into a subway car with other angry commuters, I roll out of bed, put on my ‘work pjs’, make a cup of tea and settle into my couch to deal with the latest email dumpster fire.
An Introvert’s Paradise
Speaking of dealing with dumpster fires, I work in marketing – client service specifically. I did this because it matched my skills of being amiable, persistent and organized, but in retrospect it was probably a mistake because: I am a serious introvert. Pretending to be a happy, pleasant Purple in person is absolutely exhausting when coupled with having to deal with screaming clients day in and day out.
When I started working from home, I realized that it made my life A LOT more manageable, not just because of the lack of coworkers but because of the lack of other demands on myself. I only have to make my voice sound cheerful, not my face and body. It turns out that that saves a lot of my introvert energy 😉 .
Location Independence
Since I am in client service, I don’t have complete flexibility over my location (gotta be there in person to calm down a freaked out client if needed), BUT since I started this job 3 years ago, I have been steadily increasing the time I work from other cities, which topped out at 2 months this year. All of that time this year has been spent with my or my partner’s family in the northeast or southeast. Dealing with west coast hours on the east coast isn’t ideal, but being around family helps me remember what’s important and why I’m working so hard in the first place.
So those are the positives to working from home, but like everything, there are pros and cons. Let’s dive into the negatives in case they can help anyone else prepare for this transition to remote work.
THE DOWNSIDES
A Lack Of Brainwashing
One of my favorite films is The Matrix. I was 9 years old when it came out and IT BLEW MY MIND. The idea that reality is not what we perceive it to be was branded into my brain. I became so obsessed with that film that my only request for my 10th birthday was to watch it.
My Mom invited some of my friends over and I have a feeling that a few parents were pissed that we ‘subjected’ their young kid to the awesome madness that is that film. All that to say, I believe that I’ve taken the skepticism that film instilled with me throughout my life.
I know and recognize techniques that companies (as well as pyramid schemes and cults…not saying there are similarities 😉 ) use to inspire people and instill motivation. So when I actually go into the office (which I do for approximately 2 hours every month) and I talk to my boss (who I mostly love working with) or a colleague who is a friend and I feel like I’m ‘a part of something’ for a second I know that I’m basically being manipulated. My brain is trying to tell me that I am worth something because of the company I’m a part of, and the work I do, even though deep down I know the work I do doesn’t matter (but at least it isn’t harming people…).
Working from home doesn’t allow for this kind of brainwashing where I look up at the skyscrapers around me and feel ‘a part of something’ like ‘a successful contributor to society’ – instead I’m in my pjs on my couch cursing about a client being unreasonable.
When Faking Becomes Reality
“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.” – Kurt Vonnegut, Mother Night
When I’m feeling down, my Mom has always told me to smile anyway – even though it’s the furthest from how I’m naturally feeling. She says to smile when you feel like doing anything but. She believes it helps you feel better by tricking your brain somehow.
When I worked in an office, I had to project a happy, calm demeanor, even when I (once again) felt anything but. However, pretending to be happy and calm did in fact help me feel that way. Mom might be onto something. When I’m at home, there is no external force that causes me to pretend to be anything. I’m just in my house, complaining to my partner when something (metaphorically) catches on fire. I didn’t realize faking my emotions had an affect on my actual ones, but several years of working from home beg to differ.
The Drive To Work 24/7
When I first started this remote job, I was shocked with the trust it implies an employer has in me. I came from many offices that were all about “face time” – you had to have your butt in the seat and LOOK like you’re working even if you weren’t. That (stupidly) mattered more than actual results.
My first few weeks while working from home, I wanted to make sure they knew I WAS working and could be trusted with this new, amazing benefit – so I worked 24/7. If my email pinged, I responded to it IMMEDIATELY so they wouldn’t think I was slacking. If I saw an email when randomly awakening at 4am, I responded to it. I worked myself into the ground and said to hell with boundaries to prove that I was a good employee since doing so through face time was all I knew.
Luckily, I have erected boundaries since then and completely changed this point of view, but it is one that I hear a lot of my colleagues and friends that work from home state often. In the beginning, I felt like in addition to working all the time, that I couldn’t take a break to unload my dishwasher when I have 5 minutes between conference calls (for example) or go to the grocery store over my lunch break when it’s less crowded.
But then I thought back to my experiences in an office and realized there is SO much time spent on non-work activities. For example, at my last office job, we had an Xbox in the middle of the room and most afternoons my colleagues would play it together instead of working (which could get frustrating when I’m waiting for them to provide me with a deliverable that’s due in an hour, but I digress as a party pooper…). Employees would play Xbox and also take 2 hour (sometimes liquid…) lunches. Other people seemed to come into work JUST to chat. There is no reason I should feel guilty getting ‘life’ stuff done even if it’s within ‘business hours’ – especially when business hours within my industry are basically 24/7.
Conclusion
Working from home is a wonderful perk and after having experienced it these past few years I know I can never go back to an office environment. However, like everything, there are trade offs and pitfalls. I hope this helps you avoid some of them if you’re thinking of taking the leap.
Have you ever worked from home? What did you find were the pros and cons?
I’m writing at home this year, plus living abroad. This was my plan for early retirement.
While working a 9-5 job I had no trouble busting out 5 hours of writing on a Sunday, but left entirely to myself the distractions are too tempting. Perhaps I just can’t concentrate on the one thing for that long.
Next year I’m going back to work with an easy job, will have plenty of downtime to work on my own projects. Oddly, I get more done when I’m busy with other things (but not too busy).
That sounds lovely! That’s super impressive you could bust out that much writing over the weekend after your 9-to-5. I definitely don’t have your energy 🙂 . Great point about distractions though (I assume you mean at home). I am definitely more distracted at an office, but have heard the opposite from many colleagues. Your new job sounds awesome – I hope you enjoy it. I do understand getting more done when there are other things to do – I get a kind of momentum while doing productive things. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Oh my gosh yes, the brainwashing!! This is timely. With more frequent office events lately, I’d been feeling like perhaps I should make efforts to show up at work more often, despite how that would negatively influence my productivity + make me waste time and, that I truly did not want to do that lol. When I did go, I kind of felt like “oh this is nice, it is a nice group to hang out with, maybe I’m missing something being remote all the time”. That’s exactly what that is.
Boundaries are soooo important when working from home. I’m also working hard to break those stereotypes that working from home means no productivity. Those often come from older colleagues but depending on a specific work culture it can be reinforced among coworkers. Mr. Mod has a colleague who will frequently respond “He’s alive” to any communication Mr. Mod sends him when working from home 🙄. It drives me nuts!
Finally, couldn’t help but picture”The Joker” while reading that “smile anyway” part lol!😆
Haha the brainwashing almost got you! Now that the substance of my company has changed I don’t get that brainwashing feeling often, but it used to happen since I enjoyed the people I worked with. Hell yes to boundaries! I really don’t understand the patronizing thought that people won’t work unless they’re hovered over basically. If you don’t trust an employee to do their work you never should have hired them.
And yuck – I’m sorry they say that to Mr. Mod. We should come up with something snarky to say back…So funny you say that about The Joker. I was intentionally trying to reference him in my post about quitting in the title “Why So Confident?” aka Why So Serious and no one seemed to get it lol. This time it was a total unintentional nod, but I love it!
I am working from home, but only 1-2 days a week. I guess my routines are not as good as yours, because I sometimes feel that my productivity drops. But that is dependent on the challenge I am working on. If I have a lot of work to do and is not dependent on anyone else, it could increase my productivity to be at home.
Working from home also makes me move less. Being at home, my movements throughout the day are limited to walking back and forth to the kitchen for coffee and food. This often makes me feel stiff and lacking energy at the end of the day. However, if I was working 100% from home I would probably do something about this, starting the day with a walk or workout or something.
I can see how doing a mix might lead to a productivity drop. I think my brain would be like “oh it’s a day off 🙂 !” Fair point about moving less. Since previously I walked to work and now just walk from my bed to my couch my movement has definitely decreased, but I try to incorporate a walk around the neighborhood or a walk to the grocery store (with the added challenge of lugging my groceries up our hill on the way back) to get some exercise in. Overall though I do get more exercise then when I took a train or car to work, which I’m happy about.
I’ve been thinking about the possibility of working from home after I go back to Canada but really know nobody in my life that does it regularly. It feels…a little scary and unknown. How will the company know I’m doing a good job?? Thanks for the insight, it gives me a lot to think about 🙂
They’ll know the same way they should regularly 🙂 – by the work you produce. Definitely think about it since working from home isn’t for everyone, but it’s seriously improved my life for the better.
I have worked one day a week from home for a company and I have worked entirely from home when starting a business. When doing it for the company I was often treated by some other coworkers like I was slacking which was annoying since I was more productive on those days than any other. Maybe it was jealousy that they didn’t have the trust (and maybe didn’t deserve it). When doing it for myself it was all flexibility and dare I say mostly enjoyment. The problem became boundaries. My partner was unhappy that I was always working but to me it didn’t feel like work. Hence I walked the line of burnout and would be doing stuff until 10 at night thinking it wasn’t really work but just something I wanted to knock out. Maybe balance and inner independence is the key. Always be your own boss on the inside and you will be treated as such by others too?
That’s so strange colleagues responded that way. I’ve never experienced that, even when it was someone other than me working from home while I didn’t at other companies. People need to mind their own business 🙂 . Boundaries are definitely challenging and at times I do wake up in the middle of the night and knock some work out if it’s not allowing me to sleep, but those times are very rare. I usually try to stick to strict 9-to-5 hours unless something is absolutely urgent (and my definition of urgent is very different than my colleagues’ 😉 ).
I like this line “Always be your own boss on the inside and you will be treated as such by others too” – I’ve been trying to figure out how I’ve been acting lately and this might just be it. I’m saying “no” and acting like I have control over my time (because I do) instead of thinking a boss has control over me.
Interesting. You know, the brainwashing never worked on me. I never liked going to those all-hands meetings and various office parties. Maybe that’s part of the reason why I never fit in. 🙂
Haha – you see through the matrix better than most 🙂 . And fitting in is overrated in my opinion. The all-hands meetings and office parties have never gotten me, but walking in with other commuters amongst the skyscrapers and rushing between meetings in a building with a coffee in hand has at times made me think “look at me being a part of something” and then I remember – I’m part of making infographics and PowerPoints that no one will ever see or care about 🙂 . That shuts that silly feeling down really quick.
Great commentary on the ins and outs of working from home. It’s a battle I’m still having with my boss. Even though I work largely unsupervised, put together all of our editorial content with little direction, and am a solid rock of reliability, my boss still gets funny when I suggest working from home. There are times I have out of necessity – being snowed in, or being sick but still needing to get my work done. I worked from home for a couple of weeks at my old job when our office flooded. It smelled like mildew for weeks after we came back.
All those things you said were completely true. I got my work done in record time in all those situations. Even when I was sick, I got about a day and a half of work done in about 6 hours, after which I collapsed on the couch.
I had actually considered that “work from home” guilt sort of a good thing – I felt it was part of why I worked better from home, that I didn’t want to be unproductive. But I am also paid by the hour, so that helps me delineate clear work time from me time. Then again, in my line of work, one is never really off since sources contact you any time they want and I’ve always got my eye on the news. If I see something interesting I usually send a quick email to my work email so that I will see it when I’m on the clock.
Bottom line, I think more employers should embrace this. It’ll lead to more productivity and help businesses operate more efficiently. Great post!
Thank you! And ugh I’m sorry you’re fighting that battle. I really don’t understand that management need – people should not hire people they don’t trust to get their work done and you’ve already proven you are reliable and get your shit done. I don’t understand that old school way of thinking.
Glad you like the work from home guilt lol. I don’t personally find myself being more productive because of it, just working longer hours unnecessarily (I’ve always been salaried) and allowing work to infect more (ok, all) hours of my life. It sounds like that’s a constant for you so I can see how that would be different.
Totally agree employers should embrace it – people are happier, get more done AND it’s cheaper for the company! If all they care about is the bottom line this should be the new normal 🙂 .
Oh man, Purple, this couldn’t have been more relevant. I just started WFH last month and can’t believe I ever went into an office when my apartment is RIGHT THERE. Another unforgettable contribution to the Positives column is “zero commuting”. No planes, trains, and automobiles to contend with, no traffic to curse at, no wasted time in the mornings in a flurry to get to the office on time. Nothing delights me more than the extra sleep I can now afford.
Congrats on your WFH situation! Totally agree on the no-commuting. It seems pretty silly to me that I used to leave the apartment I’m paying for to avoid the apartment I’m not using 😉 . Also how much a bad commute negatively effected my mood and I wasn’t even at work yet – the real hell hadn’t begun haha. Enjoy your extra sleep!
I work from home and the main negative is that it gets very isolating without someone else living here. I like my alone time, but it gets ramped up to an extreme level since I don’t go out with friends more than once or twice a week. It’s a lot of time with only myself for company.
Great point! I’m lucky that my partner works from home as well. On the days he used to go into work it was a totally different feeling and I did feel isolated. To combat it I would usually schedule more time out and about with friends during those weeks or invite them to a lunch in between meetings. Do you have a plan for how to combat that? Are you going to increase the number of times you see friends during the week?
Great post! As a work from home person too, one thing caught my eye: work pjs. Such a good idea! Any ones that you recommend especially? I do a lot of video calls so need to dress my top and at least not have puppies on my bottoms but pants are so much effort and much less comfortable…
Haha – well I don’t turn on my camera for literally anything so not sure I can help with that, but by work pjs I just mean different pjs/sweats than those I wore to bed so it feels like I’m ending my ‘personal’ time and starting my ‘work’ time. When I have done video chat interviews in the past I would have sweats on the bottom and a nice shirt on top. I don’t remember the last time I wore pants so let’s throw those out the window 🙂 .
I never ever enjoyed meetings or “togetherness” stuff, whether working in office or remotely, so that brainwashing effect was useless but this bit was refreshing: “walking in with other commuters amongst the skyscrapers and rushing between meetings in a building”. No coffee, I don’t drink it, nor did I feel like I was part of something, but I did like feeling like a part of the WORLD on occasion. Rarely.
The positives of WFH vastly outweigh any negatives, but I honestly didn’t see any negatives aside from having to be my own IT and having to pay for my own internet. Compared to having to be in the office 5 days a week and see people and TALK to them? Ugh, no contest.
For years, my dog wouldn’t let me cuss out the computer like I couldn’t do in the office so I had to pretend to be civilized here too.
I’ve had 15 years of remote working experience in various amounts. It took more than 2 years of working remotely entirely to even think once: maybe I should see people sometimes. But I get more than enough of people on the weekends so that idea never got off the ground 😀
Working from the office, I never did anything not work related and worked 12 hours days. That was a terrible grind. Working from home, I can balance doing everything I need to – personal and professional, and preserve my very limited energy to be with my family as well. Loneliness isn’t an issue since I have a family that comes home after their day at work and school.
Never going back if I can help it!
That’s a great explanation – maybe it was being part of the ‘world’ and the idea of being an adult that I was reacting to because the togetherness stuff is more of an opportunity for me to see how long I can hold in my eye rolls more than anything else.
You have to be your own IT while WFH? We outsource to a company I can call that remote accesses my work computer. I can share that info if that would be something you’re interested in. Fair on the paying for the internet thing, but I haven’t upgraded my plan or anything just because I work from home so for me at least that cost hasn’t changed.
And yeah – talking to people is the woooorst. When I look back I’m shocked that I talked to people in person and then also had most of my day taken up my conference calls. So happy I made a career pivot. Now if I have more than 2 conference calls in the day I’m like “oh the humanity” 🙂 ! And your dog doesn’t let you cuss? I haven’t heard of that before.
15 years of remote = wooooah! I have yet to think I need to be around people more lol. Honestly at this point I doubt I’ll ever think that. I now have more energy overall and see my friends more since I am not expending that energy at work and need my weekends to lay facedown and recover.
Working straight for 12 hours sounds awful – I’m so glad you go away from that life and are able to balance your life stuff and work stuff in order to focus on what’s important. I love it – let’s never go back!
It is interesting that you noted the “lack of brainwashing” as a con. So because you’re not there to drink the kool-aid, you are missing out on a feeling of accomplishment, belonging and purpose?
I consider the lack of brainwashing to be a pro. Throughout my career, the message I have internalized is that nothing I do is good enough. Ergo, I am not good enough. Annual goals and reviews, constant need for improvement, being compared against your peers. The constant message that “the talent bar has risen”, when the people we’ve been hiring are far less talented.
I have been an accomplished employee for 30 years, and have watched the message du jour come and go, and come back again. The lack of brainwashing is a joy.
Interesting point. That’s exactly why I didn’t include it as a pro – the brainwashing I witness at work is the only reason I’ve discovered for why people (seem to) blindly continue down the path of doing work that doesn’t actually matter to the world.
The brainwashing I’m talking about is a (unwarranted) feeling of self-importance and belonging. It sounds like your experience of it has been more bullying for a lack of a better word and the impossible, constant demand for ‘more.’
Either way, I like your perspective. I see my ability to see through the brainwashing as a pro, but the lack of brainwashing as one of the reasons I am so extremely discontent with the corporate world and striving so hard to change my circumstances.
Love this post. I’m not there yet, but I agree, a little side hustle stuff while on the JOB. It’s draining at times though.
You side hustle while at work? That’s an interesting twist and I imagine it is draining to have both on your plate. How do you strike a balance?
The balance don’t always happen, but I’m a paralegal and sit in front of a computer ALL DAY. Why not get a few blog post in. I would type it in email and send it to myself. At home I’ll edit and grab photos.
The best thing for me was getting on a regular work from home schedule.
I let myself relax at home. I make a nice meal for lunch. I take a walk. I watch some tv. I get a lot of work done.
What I miss most is the connection I have in person with my assistant. I feel so separate when I work from home. That’s why I still like going in most days.
That sounds like a lovely routine! The TV thing is one I didn’t think about, but when I’m doing something brainless like entering data in a spreadsheet having something on in the background makes it a lot more enjoyable. I used to only do that at work after hours when no one was there because of ‘appearances’, but it helps make monotonous tasks more bearable.
That’s interesting you miss the connection – maybe it’s because my partner works from home too, but I almost dread the days I have to go into the office and I definitely don’t do it by choice 😉 . Great, different perspective!
An interesting post and interesting comments, as usual 😉
With 10 years of WFH under my belt, what has turned out to be the best fit for me is a coworking space. As I currently live by myself, working from home proved increasingly lonely experience, I missed getting myself ready for the day in the most literal sense like getting dressed etc., being around other people and my productivity started plummeting.
The coworking space is 5 minutes away on foot, so no commuting but just a leisurely stroll through my lovely neighbourhood (though it can get longer because of the dazzling colours in the sky in the morning at this time of year haha), there are other freelancers around to chat to and the coffee maker makes the best latte macchiato ever 😉
Haha thank you! A coworking space is an interesting in between. I have worked in their ‘open desk’ areas and found them personally distracting. I’ve also been in their smaller, medium and now large offices and find it about the same as normal office environments since my colleagues are there. My partner by choice used to go into a coworking space even though he had no colleagues there and found that he was more productive. All this to say, to each their own. I’m so happy you found what works best for you and identified things that you enjoy doing (e.g. getting ready for the day). Sounds like an awesome set up! Thanks so much for stopping by.
One big plus for me is that I eat much better at home than when I am in an office environment — with snacks everywhere and bad, expensive food at the lunchtime eateries. I like hot lunches, and I don’t like packing from home (too long, too messy a commute) so being at home where I can cook midday is amazing. One big downside is what you alluded to, 24/7 work potentially and lack of people around you. When I started my business 12 years ago, I was part of a coworking space that provided very nice camaraderie, but it has since closed so I have to make my connections more piecemeal. It requires effort but it helps with the loneliness.
Great point! If I forgot my lunch some days I would try to resist buying something since it was expensive, but then I would be even more cranky lol and ended up dropping $15 on a mediocre meal I scoffed down at my desk. Making breakfast and lunch during the day is a wonderful perk. Totally fair point about loneliness and one I’ll need to carefully consider how to combat if my partner stops working from home.
I completely relate to the “introvert’s paradise” and don’t know if I could ever go back to being office-based full time. I, like you, have worked hard to put boundaries in place and that has helped with staying focused and motivated. I also love that when I have back to back calls I can transition quickly instead of having to physically rush between conference rooms and feel stressed because I’m running late. Trying to sneak in some exercise on a small elliptical machine right next to my desk helps, too, when I’m on calls where I don’t have to be on video.
That is SO true! I forgot about the conference room fighting and dial in tech issues I used to have to deal with. Everyone is always late because you can’t teleport from one conference room to another (and people were resistant to making meetings 55 minutes long for some reason…) Oooh exercising during calls?! I love it! Thanks so much for stopping by.
This article is so interesting. I have many similar characteristics, but an entirely opposite drive from you; it took me a solid year to realize that I am NOT a work at home person, and that at this point in my life, I require the external external structure and socalization of a workplace to have the most balanced life.
I am such an introvert that without work, I will literally avoid leaving the house for days on end. And yes I love structure, but I loathe routine and require variety (Probably why I can’t successfully work from home).
I now work a consistent pattern of 2X12 hr dayshifts, 2X12 hr night shifts, followed by 4 days off, rinse and repeat. I know my schedule for a full year in advance. And I find the work I do meaningful (which helps).
The most important thing I have ever done to maximize my life satisfaction is continue changing jobs until I truly understood not just what I “liked”, but what “served me”, in creating a truly balanced and stable life.
It’s interesting how different we all are.
That’s awesome you figured all that out! And oh wow that schedule sounds challenging (long shifts) and awesome with the 4 days off. And knowing your work days a year in advance sounds amazing. I bet you can some awesome travel around that. I’m so happy (and jealous 🙂 ) that you find your work meaningful. I’m with you on changing jobs until you find what works for you – through my job hops I’ve learned what I need and what I can tolerate 🙂 . It is indeed interesting how we all need different things to get to the same destination. Thank you for stopping by!
10 years of working from home, I’d never get back to a salaried job. I love my freedom to cook, care for my daughter, travel on a whim and be able to earn as much as possible, not being tied to a salary.
Sounds awesome! I’m happy I get some of those perks, but all of them sound absolutely wonderful. Enjoy!