Work From Home: The Good and The Bad

When my husband’s company imposed work from home amid the pandemic Coronavirus, my first reaction was beyond expression. I hardly see my husband at home due to his odd hours of scheduled work. This was the very first time when I was able to see my better half round the clock.

Now it's been more than 2 years and I also joined the same boat 1 year before. When everyone is expecting to return to the office the rising case of COVID-19 has marked a question mark again.

During this phase, I have come across so many benefits and side effects of working from home. I believe most of us must have faced the same.

Work from home, remote work, or telecommuting- whatever you name it, the objective is to be productive while enjoying some personal settings and without any physical supervision at your own place. but work from home comes with many added responsibilities and benefits too. Below are outlined both “the good and the bad” of a work-from-home benefit.

The Good

Zero Commuting

As you are working from home, there is zero commuting involves. In regular work traveling to the office takes a specific time of your day. You have to start from home way before the working hour. If you live in a big town or metro city you may spend half of your working hours time on the road. But in work from home, you can just get up 5 minutes before your scheduled hour. How cool is that! Isn’t it?

Crowd and Traffic! What's that!!

Most of the office goer spends a lot of time in crowd and traffic posts. But work from home gives you a peaceful experience of keeping you far from these two. No honking noise, no irritating horns behind you. No more stocking in the traffic.

Cozy Clothes

No one explains the pain of wearing those formals and heavy shoes throughout the long day. But if you work from home you can wear anything you want. Your favorite pajamas, shorts, or those weird T-shirts you own.

Flexibility

You can take breaks at any point of time just to get some fresh air on the terrace or to grab a cup of coffee or tea. Flexibility is one of the best parts of working from home.

Can spend more time with your loved ones

You can spend a lot more time with your family members or with your pet. As it saves your travel time, you can spend those hours spending quality time with your loved ones.

Saves Money

Daily travel expenses, lunch or dinner expenses get saved if you are working from home. You can save those extra expenses in the name of birthday parties, promotion parties, and whatnot! (These parties have their own charm but sometimes it makes a person irritated too.) You can fulfill your other commitments with the spared money.

Improved Productivity

As per?Entrepreneur, one?Stanford study?found that employees who work from home are 13 percent more productive compared with their in-office counterparts. Due to less travel and other less environmental issues employees become more productive, focused and give their best.

Less sick leave required

Companies give sick leave as they understand the season illness and sudden sickness. You may feel less energetic to travel to your workplace if you are having a cold or fever. But working from home doesn’t seem painful as you will get some?Me space?and can take a rest in between. It also prevents the spreading of the illness among other co-workers.

Reduced Stress

Some researches say that working from home reduces stress. It reduces the work pressure as there is no supervision. No boring meeting room experiences, no bullying or infighting within co-workers. It helps in the long run.

Work-Life Balance

Most of the remote workers feel that working from home gives them a flexible lifestyle and more time to spend as per their choice. This leads to more productivity and a good work-life balance. When there is no waiting in the rushed traffic one can spend time waiting for a cup of tea from their loved one.

The Bad

Nothing in this world has only good points. When there is a good sight there is a bad sight too. Work from home seems convenient and easy but it has its dark side too.

Unhealthy Lifestyle

When you stay home for a longer time, less physical activity and food habits lead to an unhealthy lifestyle.

The office environment has every essential furniture for the suitability of the employees but not all of us have a dedicated workplace at home. So most of the time people work lying on the bed or sitting on a couch that can cause back pain.

As you spend the whole day staying home your food habit may change and over-eating becomes a habit. These things can result in unhealthy and cause various diseases.

Lack of Teamwork

Teamwork is the key to sharing bulk works and ideas. Creativity level improves if you work in a team. but working from home does not allow to have team bonding as you are connected with your co-workers only virtually.

Zero Human Interaction and No Social Life

Work from home is all about working online. You will only have phone calls, online meetings, and conversations. There will be no lunch together, no tea break no weekend plans with your co-workers. This decreases social activities and involvement.

Longer Working Hours

Yes, you read it right. Working from home always makes you work for a longer time. Taking constant breaks in between or spending time with family members during working hours stretches the working hour.

People may think you’re unemployed

When you work for a long time your neighbors or relatives may think you are not working anymore. It may seem funny but true. You have to face questions like, “When you’re going back to your regular job?” which seems very uncomfortable to answer.

Is Working From Home The Right Thing For You?

Everything has pros and cons so does?work from home. you have to decide how you will deal with it. Some love the office atmosphere and some dwell in the home environment. But always keep in mind to manage and have a balance between your work and personal life.