Working from Home

In order to save my coworkers from being buried under my germ-infested kleenexes, I'm working from home today. It made me think - why don't more people do this? Truth is, plenty of occupations have potential to let you work from home for example: Administrative Assistant, Market Research Analyst, Paralegal and Desktop Publisher. Employers are also becoming more flexible in allowing their workers to stay home. As glorious as having a career at home sounds, it has its pros and cons...

Thumbs Up:

• No Commute means less money spent on gas, parking or public transportation and more sleepy-time
• Dress Code... what dress code? You'll save a bundle on clothes. But maybe wearing business formal clothes will help with your productivity?
  It's all up to you!
• Flexibility. Decide what your hours are - unless of course if you have online meetings with coworkers
• Extended Family Time - save money on daycare and give grandma a break.

Thumbs Down:

• Distractions ie. phone calls, nostalgic tv reruns, neighbours, the sudden urge to do chores etc.
• Communication with coworkers is somewhat restricted and you could miss out on developing friendships
• Productivity may decrease when you're watching Ellen Degeneres in your sweats. It's too easy to get comfortable at home, so if you don't have self-motivation your competitive spirit could diminish.

If you're people oriented and thrive off of other's energy it's probably best to work in a team environment and keep involved. If you're disciplined and not big on office gossip, working at home could work for you! Where do you see yourself working 15 years from now? By understanding your values your career decisions will be made much easier.

It's only noon, and although the day seems to go by faster I admit I'm not as focused... looking forward to getting back to the office tomorrow!

- Sneezy Samantha