An employee works from home on a bean bag chair with their laptop.
Representative only.
This morning, as I sat back in my comfortable chair of choice and sipped my morning coffee within the cozy confines of my own home, I couldn't help but think about how pleasant an experience it is. How, if I were going into the office, I'd either be grappling with greasy handholds on public transportation or otherwise staring at a sea of brake lights.
If you have to work, and chances are you do, then there are far worse ways and places you could be doing it than right there in your own home.
This is, of course, a privilege for those of us who are fortunate enough to have jobs that don't need to be tied to a specific location. But, as there always is, there are some notable trade-offs for having a job like this. But, admittedly, one of the worst things about having a job you can do from anywhere is still having to do that job from a specific place all the time. Tied to the confines of a desk in an uncomfortable chair in an always too-warm or too-cold room.
But there are invariably some other major downsides to working from home or working remotely. Namely the isolation and blurring of the lines between your work and the rest of your life, but let's just ignore those for a wee while. Shall we? This is about the perks of the job. We'll save the rest for another day.
Beyond being my own personal preference, working from home certainly has a long list of benefits. While some are well known, others remain understated. I did my best to trim them down and combine them into 5 categories that I feel, personally, are what make working from home so worthwhile.
Even with the downsides, the benefits of working from home outweigh those costs for many of us. Being tied to a desk for 8 hours a day, in uncomfortable clothing, in uncomfortable silence, where every movement and bathroom break is subject to silent judgment and supposition, and the food at the surrounding cafes is way too expensive!
But what about the "collaboration," efficiency, and "culture?" Your boss is probably asking. Well, since certain global events of 2020, which caused a flood of people working from home, many studies have shown that teams are actually more productive per hour than their office-bound counterparts. Pretty neat, but good luck convincing your boss of that.
5. Fewer casual interruptions
No Office Small Talk
Not getting distracted by traditional small talk and "water cooler" talk. You know: "You catch the big game this weekend?" "Some weather we're having!" "What are your plans this holiday with the family?" "How did the ____ go this weekend?"
While I think there is unseen value to these baseline almost ritualistic conversations, the fact remains that not having that distraction alone increases your productivity and efficiency dramatically. Your boss might think that all of this leads to some magical collaboration multiplier super-bonus, like when you hit enough notes in a row in Guitar Hero. But the reality is that whenever anyone is talking, it's not about work, and the office is totally silent apart from these non-productive conversations.
Even when you're not getting roped into these conversations directly, having them going on around the office periodically is distracting, and that combined with all the other random noises people make when they're trying to act like they're busy and working can get old quick and make it hard to work.
Studies show…
Besides, studies have shown a range of results for working from home, with one frequently quoted study showing a 13% performance increase in at-home workers. Even those studies that don't find that remote work is more productive or more efficient have found that working from home is just as productive as working from the office. Even though your manager thinks otherwise.
4. Comfort
Clothing
For those who were once bound by even semi-formal attire rules in a corporate workplace, finally being able to work in sweats and a T-shirt is some sort of sweet relief. Sure, you might throw on a nice shirt for an important call with your boss or clients, but the rest of the time that formal office wear stays tucked firmly in the closet.
The Office… again.
And, at risk of repeating myself too much here (a lot of these fall into multiple categories), the benefit of not having to sit in those uncomfortable, broken-down office chairs and getting to choose your chair at home instead can not be overstated.
3. Privacy
Ok, so maybe this one could have been wrapped up into comfort. But not having prying eyes upon you every hour of the day is a sweet release, and I argue it deserves its own category. No more gossip, no more supposition, and no more political drama.
Again, we have overlap with efficiency here too because you expend way less energy when you don't have to put energy into "performative working," where you try to look as busy as possible, frantically typing as loudly as you can on your keyboard so that everyone knows you're working hard. Instead, you can actually take the time to work through complex problems that you need.
No more bathroom stalls with massive gaps between panels and the door, and a door that is always propped open for no reason at all, leading right into a silent office space.
Yeah, enough said here.
2. Time
Wouldn't we all like to save a little time? (I'll show myself out.)
No Commute
Roll out of bed. Login. Start working.
Shut your computer, turn off your work phone. Go out for a walk.
No traffic, no navigating unpredictable timetables (and people) on public transportation. As soon as you finish work, you're just... home.
No commuting means more time for you to do the things that you need to do, want to do, and never get around to doing at the beginning and end of your day. Check. Check... and check.
While spending time with pets and monitoring children can be a considerable distraction from working from home, getting to spend more time with them is nice, even if you're sitting at your computer while your dog sleeps in the corner of the room.
Apart from this, using your breaks to take your pup for a walk or trading off watching the kids with your spouse saves a lot of money on pet and child care, sometimes literally an entire paycheck for the household.
Basically, time is money, and having more time is like having money back in your wallet.
Speaking of cost…
1. Cost
Cheap Food, Coffee and no Transportation
By far, this is the number one most measurable and notable benefit of working from home. Leaving your house and going out into the world just costs so much money these days! You almost feel like you can't even go out to go for a walk in the park without spending at least $50 for whatever reason. It's so much less expensive to just stay at home!
Ok so maybe this one isn't so cut and dry. While you do save a lot of money not commuting, and food and coffee not going to the cafe all the time, you do pay more for power when you're working from home, especially if you have a setup as I do with a dock and several screens. I definitely notice a difference in my power usage on the days I am working from home, especially in the winter when the heater needs to come on to keep my hands from freezing.
Still, the cost of transportation alone adds up to a sizable amount of money per week. More if you have to drive, and even more if you have to pay for parking when you get there.
At the end of the day, earning money is what having a job is all about, so saving money on costs is basically like getting a raise. A dollar saved is a dollar earned, after all.
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