Home office : To be or not to be...

After having spent more than 2 yrs in my home based HR consulting, sharing with you all, my learnings ie the pros and cons as it might help some of you who want to consider setting up a home based office.

Working out of a home-based office is certainly not for everyone, here are the many advantages and disadvantages before you make it a part of your work process.

The Pros of Working from Home

• There is greater flexibility. Working from home allows you to work during your most productive times, wear what you're most comfortable wearing and create a workflow that works for you.
• Your day is often less stressful. When you work from your home, you have more control over your stress level and can more easily walk away or take a break when work gets particularly crazy.
• No commute. Not having a long commute to and from work can save a great deal of time and money. It can even reduce your daily stress levels.
• Reduces distractions. While there may be distractions at home, you control them much easier than you can control distractions that come from coworkers, employees, and other office-based noise.
• Saves money. Not only can you save money by avoiding the long commute, but you can also write off a portion of your home office expenses on your taxes when you work from home.
• Improves your work/life balance. Many professionals struggle with finding a balance between work and their personal lives. Working from home can make this balance a little bit easier to find and maintain.

The Cons of Working from Home

Working from home does sound like a pretty good deal, isn't it? Before you take the plunge, consider these disadvantages that often come with working from home:

• Needs a lot of self-discipline…a lot…it should be in bold and capital.Getting up and focusing on work every day when you are in your home environment takes a great deal of self-discipline and motivation.
• Can get lonely. Working all day without access to coworkers and colleagues can be very isolating and lonely.
• Harder to shut down. There can be less distinction between work and personal life when you work from home, making it harder to shut down and more likely that you will overwork.
• You lose living space. Creating a home office or workspace can use up living space in your home.
• Relationships are harder to form. It's hard to establish trust and develop relationships with colleagues and clients when you don't have a daily face-to-face connection.
• There's less ad hoc learning. Office workers are constantly in a position to learn from their peers. When you work from home, you will need to make an extra effort to seek out networking and learning opportunities on your own.

Only you can decide if working from home is right for your small business but whatever you decide, stick to it with a lot of rigour and perseverance and never give up as you have the power to change even a wrong decision into the right one!