Many people who hate their commute or don’t like the feeling of being boxed in at the office along with all their colleagues dream of working from home. But the reality can be very different from the idyllic view that people have.
Some of the upsides are undeniable. There’s no need to travel to work for a start; no commuter journey to add a couple of extra hours to the daily routine. And there is definitely the possibility of fitting in personal appointments mid-week that if you were working away from home you’d have to take time off to do. You can usually juggle being able to work around your children’s school hours too, meaning that you could no longer need to arrange (or pay for) after-school childcare.
However, you have to have the right personality to work from home. Before you make the leap to home working, think about your work personality and whether it’s the right career decision for you.
Do you have good work from home traits?
Self-discipline and drive have to be two of the most important character traits for successful home workers. Many people lose direction and become unproductive when they no longer have the formal regimen of the work place. With no manager or boss coming round the corner to keep an eye on what you’re doing, would you still deliver? However, for those who can keep motivated and meet their targets and deadlines easily, then there’s no reason why this can’t be achieved equally well at home.
Being organised is another key factor in successful home working. If you work for yourself, you’ll have to take care of all aspects of your business, including the accounts, invoices, and liaising with clients. Some people who’ve only ever worked for a big company can find taking on the back office tasks of running their own business an organisational challenge. That’s not a reason not to try though. You’ll just have to skill up on being able to juggle tasks and keep various plates spinning at once.
Won’t you miss the office?
Although you might be keen to leave office politics behind you, there’s a danger of feeling isolated when working from home. Many people don’t realise how much they enjoy the office camaraderie until they say goodbye to it. Working from home is mainly a solitary activity, and though you may have Skype meetings now and then, or meet people face-to-face occasionally, it’s a different dynamic to being in a busy office environment.
The key consideration when deciding whether to a) work from home and b) work for yourself is to decide first of all whether your personality is suited to it. Think it through and it may be that you actually decide you’re not an ideal candidate for home working.