The Positive and Negative of working from home.

As many people begin to return to their ‘normal’ work environment it is good to look at a few of the positive and negative aspects of working from a home office.

The Positive

It’s positive from a health & safety perspective for the employer and employee as it lowers the risk of contracting the virus through the office environment or via public transport.

It can reduce the overhead costs for the employer and significantly reduce the cost and stress of the daily commute for the employee.

With the flexibility of working from home there is a greater work life balance with more time to spend with family, more time for your daily exercise and hobbies. You may also have become accustomed to a lie in!

Apparently, most of us are more productive when working from home, even if we are easily distracted!

The Negative.

Personality can play a big part. If you are a business leader, or someone who is naturally sociable and enjoys engaging with people in person; working from home on a long-term basis could have a negative impact.                Video calls are great but can never replace interacting with people in person.

People do miss the opportunity to swap ideas and knowledge and the camaraderie of the work environment.

A more introvert person may of course love being able to focus on work without general conversation or office politics!

You may not have adequate space to work from home comfortably, which could have a longer-term health impact.  Not everyone is fortunate to have a room that can be used specifically as an office or studio, and  if you do is the table and chair the right height?

For most people career /work clothing is different to their leisurewear and that means you may miss dressing for work and the differentiation between work and home.

It may be difficult if you have children schooling from home or you may be someone easily distracted by different household chores.

One last thing. Are you guilty of snacking more frequently due to working from home ?!  Yes who isn’t ?!