12 Advantages and Disadvantages of People Working From Home

The work from home advantages and disadvantages is something that can affect us all on a daily basis while doing our shift from the living room.

Whether you’re an experienced remote worker or a newbie, here you’ll find the most significant benefits and cons of working from home that you should know about.

With over 5 million employees working from home at least half of the time in 2020, we think it’s essential to be aware of what’s waiting for us. In this article, you will know the 12 advantages and disadvantages of people working from home that you probably didn’t know about.

According to a study about COVID-19 and remote work by Robert Half, 63% of employees surveyed now realize that it is possible to execute their job outside their normal office. Also, 43% of them are more comfortable using technology, and that’s certainly a good part of working from home. This means that remote job opportunities will keep on increasing from now on.

Advantages of Work from Home

Working from home will definitely lead to some benefits that you didn’t have when working at the office. However, these are some ones that you might not have thought about before.

Whether it’s about saving money or time, going outside more often, or spending more quality time with your family, there are a lot of reasons why working remotely is great.

Discover here below the 6 biggest benefits of working from home.

Save Money While Working Remotely

Saving money is one of the most important and significant item in the remote work benefits list. In fact, we all work for the same reason, and having more money saved on our bank account is certainly a great motivation.

Research by Global Workplace Analytics revealed that the average employee working from home half of the time manages to save between $2,500 and $4,000 per year. Needless to say that this is an impressive number that could motivate anyone.

In addition, another study by Global Workplace Analytics said that 92% of American employees are concerned with the high cost of fuel, with 80% of them citing the cost of going to work only. Also, 73% of workers think that their organization should help in reducing overall costs of commuting at work.

Dave Ramsey, an American Radio Host, talked about the importance of saving money. He said, ”You need to have control over money, or lacking it will control you forever”.

Flexibility

Flexibility is one of the most important advantages of people working from home that makes their coworkers jealous at the office. Other than being free to work where you want, it might even give you the opportunity to work at the times you want.

Having a flexible lifestyle can help feeling more productive and to be happier in the long term. A research by Fundera found that ⅔ of managers who let their employees work from home say that they are overall more productive than their colleagues at the office.

Also, a free survey from Flexjobs found that 61% of surveyed employees left or, at least, considered leaving their job for the lack of flexibility in the company.

Ken Matos, Vice President of Research, talked about his flexibility at work. He shared “People value their flexibility and working remotely allows them to focus their energy on work and life, as opposed to commuting, for instance, due to geography.”

No More Traffic on the Road

If there was one thing that annoys many employees working from the office, that would certainly be the commuting and the traffic on the road. Apart from the fact that you can exchange the commuting time for yoga sessions or more, it has proved to make you happier and calmer.

A report by Regus found that 27% of employees working at the office regarding their commute to work as a waste of time.

In addition, a survey from Flexjobs discovered that 86% of participants said that no commuting to go to work would help them reduce their stress.

Sebastian Thrun, a famous Educator, once talked about commuting and said “The average American spends around 52 minutes per day in traffic. As much as I, and other people, love driving their car, commuting has personally never been fun”

To sum up, not having to commute to work every morning will certainly help you save money, reduce your stress level, and use that saved time for yourself or to spend some family time.

More Family Time

Family time is essential to many people, and unfortunately, many employees can’t spend as much time with their families as they would want.

The same analysis from Flexjobs mentioned above revealed that, since 2013, 44% of employees interviewed would want a flexible job to spend time with their families.

Other than that, the state of remote work 2019 by Buffer analyzed that 14% of employees find that spending time with their family is the biggest benefit of working from home.

In conclusion, family time is essential as a father, a mother, or even if you still live with your parents. For this reason, set your own schedule and keep some space to have some quality time for your loved ones, especially when considering work from home jobs for female who may benefit from the flexibility they offer.

You Have More Time to go Outside

Going outside and taking in some fresh air is extremely important to remain productive and fresh while working from home. Other than that, fresh air can provide incredible health benefits.

A study by RescueTime found that employees working from home save 2 to 5,5 hours per day without commuting and face-to-face meetings.

You can use that saved time to have your break outside, take in some fresh air, and stay connected with friends.

Caitlin Reddington, Junior Digital Editor at All Things Hair US once said “Sticking to my schedule helped me stay productive while working at home. I also enjoyed taking advantage of my free time. I feel like I’m always on the go, and it’s nice to catch up with friends I haven’t talked to in a while, watch TV shows I’ve wanted to see and exercise”.

You get to work comfortably

Being comfortable when working from home is not only great for your posture, but it can increase your productivity and make you feel better about yourself. Also, you can work and dress as you like, without having the pressure that you would normally get at the office with the dress policy.

While getting dressed professionally can help you be more productive and increase your self-esteem, having the option to wear more casual dresses when working from home is definitely a nice advantage.

Famous Facebook Mark Zuckerberg, CEO at Facebook, once said “I wear the same outfit or, at least, a different copy of it almost every day.”. We think it’s pretty fair to take him as an example, and being comfortable is extremely important while working from home.

Disadvantages of Work from Home

Work from home pros and cons come side by side and if you aren't careful enough the cons will eventually surpass the pros of work from home you are getting.

Working remotely can be stressful, distractive, and can make you feel lonely. To fix things, it’s essential to be aware of the problem’s source, and therefore, of the disadvantages.

John Doherty mentioned on his website not to hire remote workers. Even some studies found a steady decline of remote work statred taking place.

But why do people working from home get so demotivated?

Following disadvantages might explain it.

You Get Easily Distracted

Distractions at work are one of the risks and disadvantages that many employees tend to underestimate.

Research by Global Workplace Analytics stated that companies lose $600 billion every year in distractions only. This only shows that distractions in the workplace can be a productivity killer.

While working from the office can be distracting, there are some points when working from home that will definitely make you leave your eyes from the laptop.

Winston Churchill, Former UK’s prime minister, was once talking about distractions and said “You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks”. It is such a great metaphor and yet is so real and we should all follow it.

Loneliness

Loneliness is some of the biggest disadvantages for people working at home for a few reasons. First, of all, it can lead to health issues such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, a weakened immune system, anxiety, or even depression.

The state of remote work report by Buffer revealed that 20% of remote workers find loneliness to be their number 1 challenge, together with collaboration and communication.

Moreover, it can also be repetitive to be alone with no one to talk to, apart from group chats at work. Take the opportunity of team meetings or team building activities to socialize and fight loneliness.

To conclude, organize plans with your friends, have some video calls every so often, or even visit your neighbors.

Potential poor work-life balance

Having a poor work-life balance is a really bad thing for both your health and your productivity. You need to consider the downsides of a poor work-life balance and learn how to improve it on a regular basis. For instance, you might not have to commute to work and have the chance to spend more time with your family. However, you might end up working overtime, having difficulty to unplug, and eventually spending more time at work than with your family members.

A survey by Small Business Trends revealed that 66% of full-time American workers do not believe to have a good work-life balance.

However, the popular remote work report from Buffer revealed that unplugging after work is the biggest struggle for 22% of remote workers. In addition, collaborating and communication come third, with 17% of remote employees struggling to collaborate with their coworkers. Needless to say this negatively impacts employees’ work-life balance.

The lack of concentration

Loosing focus  is a disappointing disadvantage among the top challenges of home office. Concentration is a big thing in the corporate world at the office, and even more when working from home. In fact, it can make or break your day, and your shift, by deteriorating your productivity in remote work.

Staying concentrated is challenging depending on your working environment, but also on distractions at home which occur quite often. However, you can change small things and change your environment to stay more focused, and therefore be more concentrated.

For instance, dressing professionally, having a dedicated workspace, following your schedule, and making human contact are some of the best ways to stay concentrated when working from home.

Jai Madaan, a famous Astrologer, talked about concentration and staying focused. She shared “Staying focused is the solution to many of your problems. By focusing on issues and channeling your energy into them, you gather the strength to improve things. Remaining focused also helps you to keep calm in case of stress and struggle.”

Final Verdict on Pros and Cons of work from Home

These were the 12 pros and cons of people working from home that you should know about. Of course, working remotely is not always an option depending on the company you work for. However, we should all get prepared as more and more remote job openings will be published soon all around the world.

Other than that, the whole experience will also depend on your job and the tasks you have to do every day. Working remotely is nice and cool, but don’t forget to consider the distractions, the loneliness, and the lack of concentration. If you are managing WFH employees, you should also consider the ways to monitor employees working from home.

Finally, only you can decide if working from home is suitable to your needs on a long-term basis. While it can be fun and refreshing on one hand, it can certainly get less exciting over time, and that’s why you should act accordingly to remain motivated.

Now, when you get familiar with all the advantages and disadvantages of working from home, it is the right time to consider remote home-based job openings at Jooble.

Thank you for sticking until the end. If you have a friend who is currently curious about working online and is undecided because of the potential pros and cons, share this article with them so that it can make their decision easier.