Working from Home

I have been given the opportunity to work from home on a daily basis. at first i was said no thanks i like the daily interaction with people/office environment. however, the other night i was thinking about it again. the cost of my commute alone is about $300 a month. plus another $100-$200 for eating lunch out. also, me & DH have opposite schedules. he works midnights. we are trying to conceive and our schedules make it tough.

my company says we can order up to $1,000 for start up (printer, shredder, ergonomic chair) AND reimburse up to $150 a month for internet & phone.

ok now the catch. once i make the decison to do this. there is no going back. you have to give up your cube. they do have "drop in locations". i have been working in an "office environment" for so long & hoping i can adjust. not sure if i would go stir crazy every day. also, i'm worried of feeling a "disconnect" and "out of sight out of mind".

they are pushing this to all eligible employees. its a big cost savings. they have a whole website dedicated to this. you even can get a "virtual coach" to help you get started as well as forums.

anybody work from home & give some pros & cons?

thanks !!

Re: Working from Home

My DH did for over a year.

Pros:
-Saves lots of money on all the things you listed
-No commute
-Tax deductions on home office & expenses
-Don't have to see annoying coworkers
-Someone is always home for things like UPS deliveries, repairmen, etc.
-If you work well independently, you can be very efficient.
-Not as much morning prep time required since there's no need to dress up

Cons:
-Don't get to see fun coworkers/have the social aspect of working in an office
-If you work well with others, there's less opportunity for in-person collaborating
-I don't know any solid stats, but I've heard fears about "out of sight, out of mind" when it comes to raises, promotions, bonuses

Neither good nor bad, but things to keep in mind:
-You have to be focused and self-driven, since no one is around to look over your shoulder and make sure you're staying on track.
-You'll have to do something to mentally separate "work time" from "off time," since they're physically in the same location.
-You may feel as though you have to prove yourself, because some people may assume you're slacking (make comments about how you probably work in your pajamas, etc.)
-Your spouse may expect more of you around the house since you're there all day. (I have to admit, this was me. We eventually came to an understanding, but had some arguments over why he wasn't multitasking to do more household chores even though he was working the whole day.)
-If your internet connection or telephone service is prone to outages or interruptions, it will affect your job (might not be an issue).

HTH! Good luck with your decision.


Edited for spelling

Message edited 2/4/2010 6:55:32 PM.

Re: Working from Home

one more pro, if you own your own home.. you can take the home office deduction on your taxes.... it adds up quickly. (my DH worked from home for over a year... but he spent most of it on conference calls, always on the phone, 70 hours a week) he got his work done then.

Re: Working from Home

I work from home and have been for almost 2 years now. I spend 3-4 days a week at home and the other I have to go into the city for mtgs. Some days it is hard to motivate to do work but my job gives me the flexibility that I can work at midnight if I want....as long as I get things done it can be done at any hour of the day.

DH gets jealous sometimes and he also thinks that I don't do anything all day and can do all his errands. I also have had days wear I crave interaction with others but I'm not sure I can go back to working a regular job after this.

Re: Working from Home

I worked from home for a year doing Graphic Design..and i loved it. No more commutes to the city enabled me to move out east as well as save money. I could do things like laundry during the days so i had more time when i wasn't working. No interruptions while working, besides phone calls from the office made me more productive.

Some things you need to do if you decide to work from home is tell friends & family to respect your "work hours". Just because you work from home doesn't mean you can yack on the phone for an hour...i had to lay the law down with some people.

I did miss the office interaction but not having to commute in bad weather, and being able to wear sweats all day if i wanted made up for it. I now have my own business and work from home all the time now (when i am not out working some of my other jobs). I have a separate room that is my office...so once i leave...work is over. Good luck!!

Re: Working from Home

Thanks for all your replies & input.

right now my company has over 15,000 people on this program & seems like the norm to work from home. so i don't think people would make many wise remarks.

My commute is almost 1.5 hrs & when i hear on news that the MTA is hiking fares again i think that this is a no brainer. also it is un-nerving when i get to Penn & and i see the national guards with machine guns

i really do have formalize a working area where i can't be disturbed.

my other manager said i could drop into any of the offices 1x a week.

hmmmmm... right now i can't see many down sides

Re: Working from Home

I was in your position this August. My company is looking to have all employees that can work from home do just that. I didn't want to do it at 1st. I was worried about exposure to management (I just hit my 5 year mark) and getting lost in the shuffle.

Now that I have been WFH since mid August I love it.

Pros:
- Saving $ on travel and food
- No commute in the bad/hot weather
- Reimbursement for my internet
- Work provided me with a computer and internet phone
- **Better ability to manage work and home

Cons:
- Longer working hours (i sometimes log on at 7 (or before) and can work till 8/9/10 (but this is due to the nature of my global job function)
- Sometimes I felt that if I did not respond to an email/call/im immediatly my manager will think I'm goofing off. This is NOT the case. I probably felt this way more in the begining. now that I am in a groove I feel more comfortable and confident now.

Overall I do love working from home. When I need to go in the office for meetings I do.

Good luck in your decision, I know it's not easy.

Re: Working from Home

Are they hiring????? I would love to work from home...I am tired of commuting, working with others who don't want to work, but think they do everything. I say it definatly takes motivation....my best advice is to get up , shower and get dressed as you would going into the office...that way you will feel like you are ready to wrok...sitting in pjs all day, although comfy, will make you want to relax more than work! Good luck with either decision!

Re: Working from Home

Obviously this is a personal decision, but for me...I would jump on this!!! I HATE my commute (also an hour and a half, sometimes longer if delays)

When we think about having children, one of my main concerns is being out of the house for so long everyday. Dropping a baby off at 7am and not picking them up till 630-7pm everyday depresses me. Also, $$$$ for extended hours. Working from home would solve A LOT of problems for me. GL with your decision.

Re: Working from Home

Re: Working from Home

I have the option to work from home a couple days a week if I want. I try to get most of my big stuff done in the office, because I am not disciplined enough at home.

Not only that, but I have a 1-year-old and while I like having the option of being home with him, I really don't get much done when he's here.

I also cringe when I think my boss or a client is going to call when he's awake because I often cannot take the calls then.

You really need a back-up plan IMHO if you feel you are going to have kids and still be able to get a lot of work done with them at home.

Re: Working from Home

I have been working from home for 2.5 years. My office is in NYC and I live in Atlanta. I go up to NYC one week a month. It's a nice balance for me.

I appreciate all the flexibility that comes along with working from home. It's really a nice situation, however for me there is a down side. I do miss the interaction, having lunch with people, and getting dressed up everyday. I do try to make sure I am out and about either at lunch time or in the evening. If not, I tend to get a little depressed and lonely. Also, with regards to the out of site out of mind. I make a point to have weekly status mtgs with my boss, touching base weekly really helps!

I feel fortunate for my work situation, nothing is ever perfect!

Re: Working from Home

days like today & tomorrow make this a no brainer!!

i did pretty well today & got a lot done. did a get stir crazy. my car is buried & can't get out house.

i think i'll think about for a few weeks or so