Working From Home, con't

Continuing with my conversation about working from home, today I’m going to highlight the CON’s.

1.       People don’t believe you’re working. This is my number one pet peeve. People think that because you’re home you’re free to talk on the phone, chat on email or go out and do things. When you try to explain they get upset. Just because I’m working from home doesn’t mean I’m free to goof off all day long. Sure I’d love to have lunch with you once in a while, but don’t drop by unannounced and think we’re going to hang out and have tea.

2.       The job never leaves you. This is my second peeve. Because I’m home and my office is here, the job never leaves me. If I leave my laptop up, I can sit at my desk at any hour and work. I sometimes miss being able to clock out at five, walk out the door and leave it behind me until the next morning.

3.       Isolation. This is another problem for me, especially in the winter. The time you spend alone. Sure I’m on a ton of conference calls during the day, but it’s not the same as hanging out at a friend’s desk and talking about the latest office gossip. The other thing is in the winter there are times when I don’t go out of the house for days. Not healthy.

In the end the pro’s outweigh the con’s for me. Otherwise I wouldn’t be doing this for seven years.