Working from home vs office: 12 pros and cons you should consider.

As technology has advanced and attitudes have progressively changed, remote work has gradually expanded. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, it forced a sudden and broad shift toward a geographically diverse workspace. Now that the pandemic is over and people are thriving in the new normal there’s a significant change in the mindset of the workforce too. With many employers calling the employees to report to work from office many employees are showing reluctance in returning to work.??

So why do employees prefer the work from home method? Let’s take a detailed look at its benefits and disadvantages.?

Pros of working from home?

Remote work had a major breakthrough when COVID-19 required businesses worldwide to send their staff home to work online. Many office-based teams rapidly realized that employees might be equally or even more effective and focused outside of the workplace. Employers throughout the world started to realize that remote work is effective.

Hence, it has long been known that there are several benefits for employees who work remotely. The top advantages of working from home are listed here; some of these advantages may already be known to you, while others may further enlighten you about the positive effects of remote work on businesses, employees, the economy, and the environment.

Reduced stress

A remote work lifestyle can help people feel less stressed in a number of ways, especially in terms of commuting from home to work and back. However, because there is less need to engage in workplace politics or interact with toxic employees, stress can also be lessened. Additionally, leaving a busy, overstimulating workplace setting might help you feel less stressed.

More solitude

While many professionals were worried that working remotely would lead to professional and social isolation, many others were saying, "Bring it on!" Setting self-care as a priority in today's hectic world is challenging. Employees have had more time to themselves and less social engagement, allowing them to concentrate more on their physical and emotional health.

Quality family time

Time spent with the children was valuable to many parents. Once the kids were in bed, several people returned home. Family meals were uncommon for those who spent their entire time together racing off to other activities. The COVID-19-initiated work-from-home lifestyle has reconnected and bonded families like never before.

Ability to choose a work schedule

Not everyone can function well from 9 to 5. The freedom to pick one's working hours may be a huge advantage, whether it's due to changes in natural circadian cycles or more practical factors, like taking care of a baby. Additionally, work may be planned around significant events like spending time with young children or taking advantage of additional daylight hours outside.

Location independence

Now with remote working, employees can travel and live as digital nomads while maintaining a fulfilling profession because they have no fixed place of employment. In addition, for jobs that previously required relocating to a place with a high cost of living, remote work is a perfect option to avoid high-rent and high-mortgage areas. With remote work, you may follow a career you love without having to live close to a large city.

Positive Environmental Impact

Before the pandemic, there were 3.9 million workers who worked from home at least half the time, which brought about a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of more than 600,000 cars for the entire year.

Cons of working from home

Increased isolation

You can become quite isolated working from home if you spend the majority of your time by yourself, working independently. The key to avoiding loneliness and isolation as a remote worker is to schedule outings and events with friends and family. Some remote workplaces offer regular team events to encourage socialization.

Less face time

With isolation and workplace disconnect comes less face time. Working remotely, you won't have the same opportunities to speak face-to-face with coworkers and the community unless you get out and about. You can also integrate more face-to-face interactions within online conference platforms to engage with coworkers.

Risk to productivity

Although working from home can help increase your productivity, it can also be a challenge to it. With the freedom to move around and take breaks whenever the mood arises, it might be difficult to stay focused on the tasks you're working on. This can ultimately lead to slower productivity. One way to combat this is to implement productivity tools like time trackers and task management applications.

Distractions at home

Distractions like the television, pets or household chores can affect how you perform your job. Too many distractions can lead to a decrease in your productivity and motivation. You can avoid this by limiting anything that you find distracting in your home. Use noise-canceling headphones and play relaxing music to block out noises like traffic and neighborhood activity.

Workplace disconnect

Telecommuting can sometimes lead to a disconnect between you and your coworkers. Working from home means you won't have access to immediate information about important business processes until someone in the company communicates it to you. Make sure to stay connected with your physical workplace through constant communication whenever you have questions or concerns.

Disproportionate work-life balance

Although working from home can offer you the opportunity to balance your home life with your job, it can also be challenging to create a distinct separation between your career and personal life. Set clear boundaries between your work hours and personal time, and communicate these boundaries with others in your home.

Work from home vs Work from office : Which is better?

Many companies are reassessing their work patterns. Some are considering a range of new rules and regulations to be implemented in regards to the insights and productivity statistics gathered during the previous two years into practice.?Conducting internal company surveys will give you an insight on more common issues and receive honest opinions.?

At Virstack we follow a hybrid method. We weighed in the pros and cons of the work from home and considering the beneficial of our employees, clients and customers it's more suitable for our business process to work from home on few days and report to office according to a time schedule.

On the days that are employees work from office we prioritise tasks that require collaborative efforts like brainstorming sessions, product planning and team meetings. While on the days that the team work from home we focus on tasks that requires their individual attention and commitment.

However, the optimal solution for your company will rely on a number of variables, including the nature of your industry, the location of your offices, and the preferences of your employees and management.