Would you rather work from home or in the office?

[love_b00ks]

I am a mom of three, and when I had my second child, I already opted to look for jobs online so that I can work from home. I shared this with friends and some of them liked it because they can maximize their time with their family while others prefer to still do office jobs because either they do not want to mix work with family or they tend to become less productive without a boss supervising them.

How about you, which would you prefer?

[amydoshier]

I have also had three kids. And I preferred to work away from home because that was my time to get some me time away from the chaos and The Hectic lifestyle I had raising two boys and a little girl.

[amydoshier]

I have also had three kids. And I preferred to work away from home because that was my time to get some me time away from the chaos and The Hectic lifestyle I had raising two boys and a little girl.

[PlanetHauth]

I have no kids, though am planning to have them, and I'd love to work from home. I'm a homebody and love to stay at home. However, I'd definitely have to have a dedicated work space. Right now I work on OBC from my couch, but for some of my other ambitions I hope to achieve, I'd need to make myself a workspace in order to keep myself on track. I should probably find a new desk now (sold the old one in anticipation of moving in September) and set up a distraction-free space, though. I find myself getting distracted writing my reviews.

That said, if I do work from home, I think having some back up spaces outside of the house would be great when I'm tired of the same scenery. Maybe a library, a couple of coffee shops, or something similar would be a good backup.

[DATo]

I think ultimately the merits of this plan varies with each individual and each individual's circumstances.

There are many plusses to working from home:

1) Time is not lost commuting which can be significant if protracted in yearly terms.
2) Expense of transportation savings (fuel, lower auto insurance, parking fees, wear and tear on personal vehicle etc.).
3) Significantly reducing risk of being in a major auto, train, or bus accident because one is not publicly commuting daily.
4) Ability to work without distractions and interruptions (in many cases).
5) Ability to more easily coordinate personal affairs with work (example: do grocery shopping during "work time" and make up for it in the evening hours).

The negatives:

1) Working in isolation can be lonely and limits interactions of a social nature with other individuals.
2) It is easy to become lazy and fall into bad work habits when not in the presence of supervisors or coworkers.
3) As mentioned in some of the posts above, children and other distractions can result in poor work or output of work as relating to employer expectations.
4) If you are a very industrious person your lack of presence at work (the visibility of your industrious work habits) may not be noticed by supervisors and thus limit your candidacy for promotion.
5) More difficult to get help, input, data, or opinions with regard to the project you are working on.

[Vickie Noel]

I think ultimately the merits of this plan varies with each individual and each individual's circumstances.

There are many plusses to working from home:

1) Time is not lost commuting which can be significant if protracted in yearly terms.
2) Expense of transportation savings (fuel, lower auto insurance, parking fees, wear and tear on personal vehicle etc.).
3) Significantly reducing risk of being in a major auto, train, or bus accident because one is not publicly commuting daily.
4) Ability to work without distractions and interruptions (in many cases).
5) Ability to more easily coordinate personal affairs with work (example: do grocery shopping during "work time" and make up for it in the evening hours).

The negatives:

1) Working in isolation can be lonely and limits interactions of a social nature with other individuals.
2) It is easy to become lazy and fall into bad work habits when not in the presence of supervisors or coworkers.
3) As mentioned in some of the posts above, children and other distractions can result in poor work or output of work as relating to employer expectations.
4) If you are a very industrious person your lack of presence at work (the visibility of your industrious work habits) may not be noticed by supervisors and thus limit your candidacy for promotion.
5) More difficult to get help, input, data, or opinions with regard to the project you are working on.

wow, you really outlined it perfectly from the right angles...and made it even more difficult for me to choose! I really suck at picking between options so I'll just lean back on my default response of "striking a balance." I'm a homebody and wouldn't mind working from home but being completely cut off from social interactions with colleagues is a bit too much. So if I could get a job where I could have "work-from-home days" for a specific number of days, I'd grab that will every limb I've got.

[DATo]

wow, you really outlined it perfectly from the right angles...and made it even more difficult for me to choose! I really suck at picking between options so I'll just lean back on my default response of "striking a balance." I'm a homebody and wouldn't mind working from home but being completely cut off from social interactions with colleagues is a bit too much. So if I could get a job where I could have "work-from-home days" for a specific number of days, I'd grab that will every limb I've got.

Vickie,

I know someone who works from home three days a week (Mon - Wed) and then goes to work for two days for meetings etc. She is very happy with this arrangement. Maybe it could work for you.

VERY IMPORTANT SUGGESTION: Regardless of what schedule you decide, if you do something like this be sure you build in an escape route. Tell your employer that if this doesn't work out for you that you would like the option to be able to return to your original schedule with no hard feelings. As long as your employer understands that this is only a test and they have been informed of it in advance there is less likelihood that they would react negatively if you later changed your mind for any reason.

Good luck with your decision!

[Vickie Noel]

wow, you really outlined it perfectly from the right angles...and made it even more difficult for me to choose! I really suck at picking between options so I'll just lean back on my default response of "striking a balance." I'm a homebody and wouldn't mind working from home but being completely cut off from social interactions with colleagues is a bit too much. So if I could get a job where I could have "work-from-home days" for a specific number of days, I'd grab that will every limb I've got.

Vickie,

I know someone who works from home three days a week (Mon - Wed) and then goes to work for two days for meetings etc. She is very happy with this arrangement. Maybe it could work for you.

VERY IMPORTANT SUGGESTION: Regardless of what schedule you decide, if you do something like this be sure you build in an escape route. Tell your employer that if this doesn't work out for you that you would like the option to be able to return to your original schedule with no hard feelings. As long as your employer understands that this is only a test and they have been informed of it in advance there is less likelihood that they would react negatively if you later changed your mind for any reason.

Good luck with your decision!

Thank you so much DATo for this very detailed explanation. It's very smart and applicable. Will try it out. Thanks again!

[love_b00ks]

I have also had three kids. And I preferred to work away from home because that was my time to get some me time away from the chaos and The Hectic lifestyle I had raising two boys and a little girl.

I feel you! Kids can be a handful!

[love_b00ks]

I have no kids, though am planning to have them, and I'd love to work from home. I'm a homebody and love to stay at home. However, I'd definitely have to have a dedicated work space. Right now I work on OBC from my couch, but for some of my other ambitions I hope to achieve, I'd need to make myself a workspace in order to keep myself on track. I should probably find a new desk now (sold the old one in anticipation of moving in September) and set up a distraction-free space, though. I find myself getting distracted writing my reviews.

That said, if I do work from home, I think having some back up spaces outside of the house would be great when I'm tired of the same scenery. Maybe a library, a couple of coffee shops, or something similar would be a good backup.

A dedicated work space would truly be great! I have been working from home since 2009 and with 3 kids around, it can be really distracting but I somehow got used to the chaos.

[love_b00ks]

I think ultimately the merits of this plan varies with each individual and each individual's circumstances.

There are many plusses to working from home:

1) Time is not lost commuting which can be significant if protracted in yearly terms.
2) Expense of transportation savings (fuel, lower auto insurance, parking fees, wear and tear on personal vehicle etc.).
3) Significantly reducing risk of being in a major auto, train, or bus accident because one is not publicly commuting daily.
4) Ability to work without distractions and interruptions (in many cases).
5) Ability to more easily coordinate personal affairs with work (example: do grocery shopping during "work time" and make up for it in the evening hours).

The negatives:

1) Working in isolation can be lonely and limits interactions of a social nature with other individuals.
2) It is easy to become lazy and fall into bad work habits when not in the presence of supervisors or coworkers.
3) As mentioned in some of the posts above, children and other distractions can result in poor work or output of work as relating to employer expectations.
4) If you are a very industrious person your lack of presence at work (the visibility of your industrious work habits) may not be noticed by supervisors and thus limit your candidacy for promotion.
5) More difficult to get help, input, data, or opinions with regard to the project you are working on.

These are excellent points!

[love_b00ks]

I think ultimately the merits of this plan varies with each individual and each individual's circumstances.

There are many plusses to working from home:

1) Time is not lost commuting which can be significant if protracted in yearly terms.
2) Expense of transportation savings (fuel, lower auto insurance, parking fees, wear and tear on personal vehicle etc.).
3) Significantly reducing risk of being in a major auto, train, or bus accident because one is not publicly commuting daily.
4) Ability to work without distractions and interruptions (in many cases).
5) Ability to more easily coordinate personal affairs with work (example: do grocery shopping during "work time" and make up for it in the evening hours).

The negatives:

1) Working in isolation can be lonely and limits interactions of a social nature with other individuals.
2) It is easy to become lazy and fall into bad work habits when not in the presence of supervisors or coworkers.
3) As mentioned in some of the posts above, children and other distractions can result in poor work or output of work as relating to employer expectations.
4) If you are a very industrious person your lack of presence at work (the visibility of your industrious work habits) may not be noticed by supervisors and thus limit your candidacy for promotion.
5) More difficult to get help, input, data, or opinions with regard to the project you are working on.

wow, you really outlined it perfectly from the right angles...and made it even more difficult for me to choose! I really suck at picking between options so I'll just lean back on my default response of "striking a balance." I'm a homebody and wouldn't mind working from home but being completely cut off from social interactions with colleagues is a bit too much. So if I could get a job where I could have "work-from-home days" for a specific number of days, I'd grab that will every limb I've got.

I am also a homebody that is why working from home is a great thing for me. I do insurance part time to get to socialize or meet other people every now and then but mostly I do online writing and/or marketing, jobs that I can do whenever I want/can.

[Jgideon]

I am a mother of two amazing boys who won't let me concetrate on my work since they are always seeking my attention. I prefer working from an office--for now

[MostAmazed]

I rather work at home mainly just to be my own boss I wanna have the feeling of having to be reliable to people and being able to do what I want and my way and be able to support myself and my family and retire early haha

[Arronhardy]

I would rather work at home. The reason is, I am more productive on my own. The way most people do things I have ways of doing them faster my way without breaking or binding the rule's. In many Cases this has cost me Job's just because I am who I am. Another reason I would rather work at home is because, I live in a place where people speak other languages so in most cases people thank you can learn it one day or so. When you can't then you have the added stress that situation and the job including the stresses is a none understanding boss. There are many other reason but I don't want to write a book here.