So, You Want to Work From Home?
By: Edie Tuck
Tags: Interview, Careers, Remote Working, Writer, Work From Home

Everywhere you look online these days, ads are popping up all over the place. “Work From Home”, “Remote Work Available”, “Quit Your Boss!”. But is working from home really all it’s cracked up to be?

I asked four people who work from home, both part-time and full-time, what their thoughts are, and here is what they had to say!

Daryl

Daryl is a freelance and ghostwriter from Toronto, Canada. He works full-time from home, both for clients, as well as for himself.

Q. What do you love the most about working from home?

A. The freedom of being able to set my own schedule and literally just rolling over from bed into my office. I also love the variety. When you work in an office, you have a job description and there is often very little variation in the day-to-day routine. Bring a freelancer means no two days are alike and I have the freedom to just say no to work I don’t want to do.

Q. What do you hate about it?

A. I do miss the social aspect of working in an office. Having co-workers you can bond, gossip and b***h with. It is also hard to stay motivated when you’re surrounded by the distractions of your everyday life. I find that I really have to push myself to avoid falling into the costly stream of procrastination

Q. Given the choice, would you choose to go back to an office job? Why or why not?

A. Never say never. Right now my answer is no, but if something amazing comes along I might consider it. It might have to be for a job I know I’d love rather than a job simply for the sake of having a job.

Megan

Megan is a senior associate consultant for a very large multinational company, based in Nashville, Tennessee. She commutes to the office most days but gets to work from home some Fridays.

Q. What do you love the most about working from home?

A. The freedom to get other life things done (such as laundry, dishes, etc.) while also working.

Q. What do you hate about it?

A. I get anxious that someone may think I’m not working.

Q. Given the choice, would you choose one over the other, and why?

A. Work at my office. While working from home is nice, I also feel like being in the office helps me to be fully present and focused on what I’m doing rather than juggling it all.

Nathan

Nathan is a code-writer for a web development company, living near Ottawa, Canada. He gets to work from the comfort of home every day.

Q. What do you love the most about working from home?

A. I feel I can get more of my work done versus being in the office. In-office, people tend to interrupt you more than when you are not there. Also, it gives me the ability to work anywhere that has an internet connection. So I could move anywhere I want, or go to visit anywhere I would like.

Q. What do you hate about it?

A. The social aspect. For 8 hours a day, you are alone. Yes, you may talk to someone on the phone or through video chat, but that doesn’t really create a social connection with them. I have to seek out things to do after work to achieve that feeling of connection, though it tends to be challenging because most people who work in offices tend to want to come home and not be social due to the fact they had their fill of social interaction at work.

Q. Would you ever want to change your situation and go back to working in an office? Why or why not?

A. Yes. It goes back to the social aspect. I feel we as humans aren’t meant to be alone and we travel together. Also, as a single man, you usually group up with other single people. Either to date or just hang out with, to alleviate the feeling of being alone. So you expand your friend group, and maybe have a friend that knows a friend that might be suited for you.

Sarah

Sarah is an ex-high school teacher turned successful entrepreneur in the beauty and wellness industry. She’s also a published author, mentor, wife, and mother of two young children.

Q. What do you love the most about working from home?

A. I love the freedom of my day. I love not having to ask permission for how I spend my time. I love that I can creatively work at my own speed; sometimes that’s overachiever mode and sometimes that’s slower and reflective. I like I can work poolside or outdoors — that’s really important to me. I love I create my workday around my family, not the opposite where I would have to make my family fit in around a 9–5.

Q. What do you dislike about it?

A. Downsides, I can put in way longer hours I am an overachiever, so I work evenings and weekends more than a 9–5 because I don’t shut it off. It can be lonely, I don’t have a lunchroom or coworkers close always, and sometimes those are really neat friends. A lot of responsibilities are solely on me. Working from home, I am doing more of the home responsibilities too because “I’m home”, but the household functions way better!

Q. Would you ever consider going back to teaching or taking a corporate office job? Why or why not?

A. I spent 10 years as a high school teacher. I would never go back to a formal classroom school setting, now it would have to be a really creative, innovative setting. I would always keep my entrepreneurial spirit and side, but I love learning and meeting new people. I’m also open to new opportunities, so never say never.