Today, making a career doesn’t necessarily mean slogging in the office from 9 to 5. Now, an increasing number of professionals are choosing to work from home, owing to the immense benefits provided by this efficient arrangement.
Currently, there are two camps in this, one who opposes the trend while the other considers it to be an efficient and comfortable way to increase productivity. However, our intense research was able to reveal some startling facts. India, being one of the most productive and populous countries in the world, has a huge population of working professionals and DINK couples who are opting to work from home rather than commute to the workplace each day. It is their choice to ensure a better work-life balance.
India, with its billion-plus population, is one of the largest and fastest growing economies today. According to a report by Regus, there are around 50% workers who work remotely or from any location other than office for about 2.5 days a week. The latest technology is the main driver in bringing this revolution. Apart from it, the younger generation finds it easy and more convincing to work freely, communicate and connect from anywhere in the world. Flexi working or work from home is becoming a norm in the world of work as it gives better work-life balance.
Still, there are different views and also, different working conditions that make working from home actually possible. As mentioned earlier, there are two sides of the coin to working in an office or working from home. We compare the pros and cons of both options and help you decide which one is the best.
Working From Home – The Good, Fair & Ugly Sides
These are the major factors that speak for, or against, the idea of working from home:
1. Not Having A Commute
When you work from your house, you obviously save a significant amount of time and money otherwise spent on commuting to, and from, your workplace. Apart from saving time and fuel expenses, you are also decreasing the expenses you may have to bear for maintenance of your car, such as oil, wear and tear repair, parking fees, etc. But again, getting up in the morning and rushing to work is an experience, working from home can lead you people opening their eyes to their laptops each morning.
2. How To Leave Your Work At Home?
Home is where the comfort is and when you start to work from home the comfort seems to have increased. Working from home also means people won’t being able to get away from work, think about checking emails at dinner tables or even during family time, it can be more of an exhaustion. Leaving work for some time when you work from home is next to impossible when you start working from home, hence there is no practical way of getting away from it.
3. Relationships Vs. Gossips & Politics
Distractions and demotivators such as banter amongst colleagues, office gossip, unnecessary interruptions, workplace politics, etc, which are common when you work at the office, are considerably lessened when you are home-employee. On the other hand, keeping in touch with clients/colleagues through virtual modes is not too helpful in forming stronger and more reliable work relations.
4. No Distractions OR Plenty Of Them
Your workplace may seem full of distractions, from colleagues chatting incessantly, to unwanted noises and voices, there are plenty of obvious distractions at work. However, working from home does not always mean that you will be working in a completely peaceful and quiet environment. Family obligations, house chores, traffic noise, children playing, there are numerous factors that can distract you at home too.
So, how do you decide which is the best option for you to work? Simply take into account the financial aspects and reduction of stress level you think will be gained when you work from home as compared to working conventionally from office. This will help you to decide better when considering working from home.
