The Pros and Cons of Working from Home [by a Work from Home Mom]

I have been telecommuting since 2009 and a lot of people tell me that I'm so lucky to be working from home. I agree. There are so many reasons why I love working from home, but there are also moments when I feel like I just want to throw myself back to the days when I still worry about what to wear and getting stuck in traffic.

That's why there's what we call, Work-Life Balance.

Contrary to what most people think, working from home is not as awesome. There are also things we wish we can do, and things that we envy from people who work in an office. Here are just a few of the Pros and Cons of working from home.


The PROs:

1. Savings! No need to set aside travel allowance. No need to worry about food.... in fact, most of the time, I can smell my Mom cooking something brilliant for lunch.
2. No hassle. Travel time from home to Makati, Ortigas, Eastwood or anywhere in Metro Manila is RIDICULOUS. Traffic is simply horrendous. Now you can't complain that when you work from home. Travel time from bedroom to your office can take less than a minute, 10 minutes at most if we include the stop overs. ;)
3. Less guilt. I can spend as much time as I want with my kids. I can breastfeed my 3 month old while I work. I can easily pause from my job and see how my kids are doing. I can quickly prepare snacks for Euan, change Euri's diaper or put the kids to sleep.
4. Flexible Schedule. Some people who work remotely may have a fixed schedule, but luckily, I have flexi-sched. This is perfect for someone who aims that "work-life balance". With a flexible schedule, I can log in at 9am, 10am or whatever time I want. I can log out around lunch time and come back again at 3pm and then work in the evening. I can work 3 hours in a day and fill the hours later in the week. Though I discipline myself to log in at 9am and work straight until 6 or 7pm, it's comforting to know that I can succumb to being slothful once in a while.
5. No Dramas. Yes. You read it right. Less office drama. Less politics. Nuff said. 

The CONs:

1. No "real" Office. Yep, I miss the office setup. You know, having that old desktop monitor that we often dream to smash, especially when the job involves a lot of accounting or tedious admin tasks. Having no "real" office means no colleague to talk or whine to, no IT personnel to assist you when your internet is acting like sh*t or your computer screen decides to celebrate Black Saturday with you -on a Monday! Yes, I miss the fun office environment.
2. Distractions. Who said there are less distractions in a  home-based work setup? WRONG. I say there are more. I know some mothers can relate to this. My major headache is my 4 year old toddler walking in the room (like every hour) to ask for his missing toy, handing me the remote control so I can turn on the TV, asking for snacks, read a book, etc. Then there's also the little baby crying downstairs (so hard to resist) and relatives/friends calling in to ask for favours because they are under the impression that since I'm working from home, I have all the time in the world.
3. Seclusion. Cheesy, but true. Working from home makes me feel kinda isolated. I have colleagues who also work remotely and I can chat with them via Skype, but nothing beats the idea of having a colleague a few tables away. Since I started telecommuting, it felt like my socialization skills are starting to rust. Lol.
4. Flexible Schedule. It is a PRO but can also be a con when it promotes procrastination. It takes an insane amount of my "will" to wake up at 8am to start the shift. There's always the inner devil telling me to snooze or reset the alarm clock an hour later. Also, since you have a flexible schedule (and regrettably, your family and friends know that) people are less likely to care if they are disturbing you while you work. (See #2).
5. The Commute. I am 100% thankful that I don't need to wake up 2 hours earlier to get a bath, dress up, put on make-up, choke on my breakfast, and hail a cab every freakin' morning. Traffic in Manila is notorious, but somehow, I miss the experience. The idea of meeting other people, having short conversations with strangers in an FX or bumping into someone in a train or MISSING the train -I miss the thrill.
6. Benefits. Most home based jobs don't have benefits.  Fortunately for me, the company that I work with now, includes HMO, 20 paid leaves and 13th month pay aside from the yearly out of the country team building. :) My previous bosses didn't offer HMO, paid leaves, holidays and 13th month pay. I know these benefits are available for people who work in an office, but not always for people who telecommute.

Monthly team lunch. Yes, we meet up to avoid the feeling of Con #3.

Weighing it all down, I still love working from home. Some people may agree with me, and some people may not. Oh well, to each his own.