The Disadvantages of Working from Home

For some people, setting up an office in their homes is a viable choice rather than having an actual office space. While it can present many opportunities such as flexibility and the ability to take care of your family while working, it cannot be denied that there are also many disadvantages of working from home. More often than not, work-at-home advocates ignore these since they are blinded by the benefits they are enjoying. At the end of the day, however, it should be noted that working from home is not a win-win situation.

Distractions can have An Impact on Your Productivity

Yes, there are distractions in the office. However, what one may fail to realize is that there are more distractions at home. Your family, for instance, especially kids, can make working at home more difficult. Your attention is going to be divided, and hence, your productivity is going to be compensated in one way or the other. Aside from family, your neighbors can also be a big distraction. More often than not, doing household chores like laundry and house cleaning can also divide your attention. The mere fact that you can set up your home office space even in the living room where you can turn on the TV anytime can also be a distraction from you working.

The Feeling of Being Isolated and Lonely

This is another common problem amongst people who are working from home. Your social interaction will be lessened because there is no one you could talk to. More often than not, your only form of interaction is through formal means of business communication, such as through phone calls and video conferences. On the other hand, if you are working in a traditional office space, you will have a more social environment where it is possible to have chit-chats with your colleagues. Your coworkers can help you forget the stressful nature of the job through the simple act of just going out for lunch or just talking to them about the problem.

Overhead Cost of Services

Another common disadvantage of working from home is the fact that you will be the one to shoulder the overhead cost of services instead of the company. Offices have printing, copying, and even shipping stations, which means that you will never have to worry about the costs associated with such. You also do not have to pay for IT-related costs as it is part of the services provided by the office.

Lack of Opportunities for Promotion

When you are working from home and when your colleagues are in the office, there is a high probability that you will be ignored by your boss because of not seeing how you actually perform, aside from the outputs you submit. Skills like teamwork will matter in getting promoted, which you might not be able to show if you’re not always in the office. Nonetheless, this problem can be resolved by making sure that you visit the office regularly to be more visible and to prevent being ignored by your superiors.

Limited Access to Resources

In a traditional office space that is set up in corporate headquarters or any other formal business environment, there are more resources available, which can help in being more productive in your work. For instance, the internet connection can be faster because it is made to handle the demanding nature of the business. When at home, you may just have a basic internet connection, which can sometimes be too slow to complete various business processes. At home, you might not also have a proper working area, such as a good desk and an ergonomic office chair. Most of the time, you will end up working in the couch or at your bed. Doing this can be generally bad for your posture.

No Office Culture

For anyone who has not yet worked in a traditional office, it is impossible to understand what office culture is all about. Simply put, it is the sense of community you get when you are in the office. There are common areas where you can meet your colleagues and talk to them. There are also possibilities to increase your network with the people you meet day after day. The lack of office culture is one of the disadvantages of working from home since you can find a lack of people to talk too. You are on your own or with your kids and family. This can limit your personal and corporate growth in ways more than one.

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