Over the past two years, working from home has gathered a lot of momentum with many people, both employers and employees, seeing its benefits. If you’re wondering whether you should also join the fray, here are some compelling reasons why working from home may work for you.
Create Your Own Work Space
With the average workstation for an individual having shrunk from 80 to 39 square feet since 1992, it’s easy to see that most offices will be very cramped. While this is necessary in order to improve the costs borne by employers, it can unintentionally have a negative effect on staff. When you work from home, however, you can pick from different spaces within the house that you will use as your office. You can also decorate it as you please and enjoy the whole space by yourself. Customization is definitely a major plus!
Enjoy More Time With Your Family
Another plus of working from home is the ability to spend more time with your family. Since you don’t have to commute daily to an office, leaving the house early and getting back late and exhausted, you enjoy more time surrounded by the people you love. While you will have to map out the hours you need to work in order to stay productive, you will be less exhausted at the end of each day. You can take breaks at times when the rest of your family is also socializing to maximize the time you spend with them, improving your bond.
Maintain a More Flexible Schedule
As people who have been working from home for a while know, it’s extremely easy to keep a more flexible schedule. The 40-hour workweek, which was established by the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, does not have to govern you in strict confines. This is because you can put in your required hours of work in any format you please, and as long as you fulfill your quota, you’ll be good to go. You will be able to work during the hours in which you’re most productive and not be forced to follow the set hours unless it’s for a meeting or a specific task. This flexibility gives you a better work-life balance that you will enjoy a lot, especially if you have to balance working with parenting.
Improve Your Comfort and Health
When you work from home, you can set up your home office any way you want to. This gives you the freedom to stand or sit however long you want. Working at an office cubicle doesn’t grant you this freedom, as you often have to use the furniture you’re supplied with and in the positions it’s been installed. This can be uncomfortable for different people, as some may prefer to stand longer than others while others may prefer to sit for long hours.
You Won’t Miss Out On Company Culture
A recent study shows that organizations that have inclusive cultures are six times more likely to be agile and innovative than those with non-inclusive cultures. Just because you work from home doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the benefits of a stellar culture in your workplace. You can still communicate with superiors and your coworkers using a vast number of chat features on your computer. Companies with good cultures put in an effort to ensure all workers feel a part of the work family no matter where they work from.
With the pace of life getting faster and living a fulfilling life becoming harder for people around the world, working from home can offer a welcome respite. Try a remote opportunity for your next job, and you may not want to set foot in an office ever again!