Working from home - why not?

I am self-employed and I mostly work from home, so how does this impact my life, my productivity and the clients I work with?.

Point No. 1- my life: at this point in my career I would be filled with a vague dread, queasiness even, having to work 5 days a week in any office (unless for a short contract) it would totally go against my gut, that is the best way to put it. If it is your own business that is different. I don't enjoy long commutes or sitting in traffic. In an office environment I can sometimes feel stifled and therefore it is harder to concentrate. You can leak a lot of energy interacting with colleagues (and don’t get me wrong I love the office 'chats'), but if it goes on too long it is distracting and non productive.

Point No. 2 - Productivity: mostly on arrival into work as you go through your to-do list, you realize could have done 75% from home and 25% only requiring some input from a collaborative meeting or colleague. Just to be seen and heard is really an antiquated idea, it is all about the results of your work, not the ego strutting and posturing that can go on in an office. It is a form of madness if you tease it out and examine the loss of time and concentration just for 'face-time'! Of course this is a personality thing too, many workers are stimulated by the thought processes of their colleagues and this helps them form their thoughts or at least bounce them off a team. This is more indicative of younger employees coming up through the ranks.

Getting into your ‘zone’, especially writing or working through a problem, usually happens in a calm centered space, and often not within the time frames managers might like. But the quality of your work and the thinking will be better if you can access your ‘zone’.

Point No. 3 - Clients: I know what numbers I have to do each month, what KPIs/goals I have to deliver for a client so if I don’t achieve them I can’t bill and therefore I can’t get paid. If you are a natural self-starter and are responsible for your achievements, you can’t procrastinate. 

For me the ability to put the lead on the dog for a walk or go to the gym for a swim makes life worth living and integrates my work with my life not the other way around.

Granted working in an office is important for creative brainstorms with teams, sales and target meetings, (if you are in a sales or new business role), and for key presentations for new business etc. But that is it really. Once your reporting mechanisms are good with your line manager, the trust should be there, embedded in the culture.

Flexibility should be earned though: I am over 25 years in the business and I know I can request flexibility unless a client requires me being in their offices (and I will do so if needs be), but they should intrinsically know that if I have got this far with client's projects and results, they don’t need me to be present (unless a key meeting is taking place).

If you go even further back into why people group together, it is penultimately so they can be controlled and in some instances brainwashed and dictated to (old economic models of course), but those days are gone. People are generally well trained, educated and understand the goals they have to achieve, so why does it matter where they do it from?

Jane Hervey quotes in Forbes February 2018

“An important consideration for this as forward-thinking companies continue to make a key shift towards remote and flex work is that they formalize it as a policy rather than allowing it to be done casually, which often backfires. In doing so, it will help organizations move away from antiquated managerial practices to more modern ones, integrating current workplace technologies to focus on effective processes, results-oriented outcomes, and having best talent regardless of geography. My wish is that more organizations realize that, to be successful in the future, they will lean into this shift in a way that benefits workers, companies, and the bottom line."

The only way this flexibility and trust can grow is if each employee -  on negotiating their contract or having achieved a good set of results - can discuss options with their HR manager/line manager and see if a day a week could be done from home?

Try mooting it next time you have that conversation with your manager: it can transform your work-life balance and protect your mental health