What people don't often realize is the reality of working remotely. Although this doesn't cover it all, it's probably the top reasons I hear from people who want to work from home.
You get to wear pajamas all day! This is totally true. I do get to wear more comfortable clothes than skirts and heels. After almost eight years in an office five days a week, I didn't have ANY "normal" clothes to wear besides business attire. Now you're probably thinking, I wear my fancy yoga pants and corresponding tee. To be honest, it's usually my pajamas from the night before, and I don't ever match. You can bet there is some sort of ink and/or coffee stain. I hardly ever "get ready", and when I do, my husband or mother says, "Wow! you put on real pants today!"
Can you do me a favor? Run an errand, pick this up, etc? No, no I can't. Do you know why? I have a REAL job and things to do. Yes, I work remotely, but that doesn't mean I have any less of a workload or job. Most days I am lucky to even feed myself. In office, I was more apt to walk away and take a real lunch or break. I still have deadlines conference calls, resumes to review, and emails to answer.
You don't have to deal with coworkers. Well, this is also true. I don't have to make awkward chit chat and ask about your weekend wasting twenty minutes of time. Without this distraction, I am able to be a lot more productive. On the flip side, the majority of the time there is very little interaction beyond a brief call or email. There's days I crave real human interaction. My husband works nights, so our scheduling doesn't allow a lot of time for full conversations. I'm usually waiting to talk to him when he comes home, at which point he stares blankly because he just worked a 12 hour shift, and it's 6AM. I sometimes chat with the cats, but they are never interested in what I have to say.
You get to work whenever you want! I still work a standard work week- Monday through Friday 8AM-5PM. I think the hardest part of working from home is learning to clock-out. I struggled with this for the longest time, but doing better. In my job, your work is never done There's always one more place to source, one more candidate to contact, one more resume to review. Supporting managers across the world, also means I am working in literally every time zone.Before or after my work schedule, I catch myself thinking, "Well, I'll just hop on a moment." Or, "Let me answer this email really quick." Two hours later, I'm still working.
So, yes, working remotely does have both pros and cons. Believe me when I say it takes an incredibly organized, self-motivated, and dedicated person. Why would you like to work from home?
