Working from home full time: the negatives?

[bcm119]

This clearly falls into the 'first world problems' category, but I live in the first world and this is my problem:

I may be looking at a full time work-at-home job opportunity. I can think of several upsides to this, but there are some potential negatives. I currently work 1 or sometimes 2 days/week at home, and I find that it is sometimes difficult to draw the line between work and life. For instance I may plan to get out on the bike from noon to 2, but I get involved with work so intensely that I put off my ride until 5, and then 530, and then it's time for dinner, etc. I do computer work, graphics, some programming, some writing, etc., stuff that is very hard to snap out of in 5 minutes and be on the bike concentrating on a workout. Obviously better time management is required, but in reality does anyone actually find it too difficult to separate work from life, and prefer to be in an office? I've heard from some people that they simply can't do it. I live in an apartment with my s.o. who, luckily, works full time in an office, but I would not have the luxury of a separate office space. Also: social interaction, or lack thereof... Thoughts? Other negative sides to this?

[XJBaylor]

The biggest issue for me was that it was tough to do basic, necessary, job functions from home. The administrative stuff couldn't hold my attention with the freedom that comes in a home office. Creative work was easy, if not easier from home as you could create uninterrupted blocks of time to create. However, blocking the same amount of time for boring tasks was much harder. Luckily I had an office I could drive into if needed.

I also had client interaction daily (often too much) so I had some social interaction, though not quite the same as day in day out interactions with coworkers.

[Matthew Strongin]

I've done stints where I worked at home full time, and I now work at home 1-2 days a week. I also have people on my team who work remotely full time, so I have experience with it from a few different perspectives. First and foremost, your ability to be successful and happy working remotely has to do with you and style of working more than anything. If you're good at being organized, are naturally inclined to maintain relationships, and disciplined enough to shut down for the day when your colleagues in the office would be leaving, you won't likely find too many negatives. I'm an introvert, so when I was full time remote I struggled to feel like a part of the team and was too disconnected from my coworkers. At 1-2 days a week I have a great balance of casual interactions in the office and face to face meetings and time at home to be really productive. But that's me. One of the guys I work with who is remote has an always on virtual meeting so anyone that wants to check in can find him quickly, just as if he was down the hall. That would drive me nuts, but it works for him. The key is to figure out where your boundaries are with regards to being accessible and separating your personal and work lives. So there aren't really negatives to working at home, just risks that it won't suit your personality.

One other consideration that many people who work at home full time overlook when making the decision is how the rest of the company in general, and their colleagues in particular, view remote workers. If the entire company is remote, or it's a very small company, it doesn't usually present any challenges. For large companies where most people work in the office, it can be hard for the remote person to maintain a presence. This can mean anything from difficulty having a voice in a meeting all the way to being looked over for promotions and opportunities. So another consideration is how working remotely will impact your career aspirations. If you love what you do and want to keep doing it for a long time at a company that knows how to handle remote employees, you can be happy for many years. If you want to be an executive and lead a team of hundreds or thousands of people at a company where almost everyone works at the headquarters office, working remotely will make that path tougher. And, of course, there are ton of scenarios between those examples. Just some food for thought...

[aaronv]

I transitioned back to working from home recently. The reality was I interacted with my colleagues face to face less than 20 minutes a day. Before working from home my total commute time door to door was 1.25 hours each way. Now I travel into the office one day a week for team meeting and other office business. Clearly defining the hours you are on the clock while at home is critical for keeping sanity. Otherwise you will probably end up overworking since you "are still at the office" or end up wondering "I kicked off for a few hours for an errand, did I put in a full day?". I do my riding in the morning. I would also find it difficult to block out a two hour ride time in the middle of the day.

[Tom]

My company allows a lot of and in some cases requries at least 60% WFH so it's common practice around here. One thing that I don't understand is that quite a few people don't have a dedicated place for WFH set up - somewhere they can go and shut the door. Some guys work from their kitchen counter. I don't get that at all. I have a large house so maybe I'm just lucky but one room upstairs is the office and I share it with Karen, we each have our own huge desk.

I like it because I get my ride in first thing after I get up and I'm upstairs about the time I'd be leaving for work so I start earlier, I generally just get a bite to eat at lunch time and I'm back at it plus I can work a little later and not think about getting hung up in traffic on the way home. With instant messaging, IP phone agent on the laptop, screen sharing and the damn camera if I want to turn it on it's just about like being in the office without the hammerheads droning on about their golf game or whatever current event is leading the sheep herd this way and that.

I don't work every day from home because I am not letting vendors know where I live.... plus sometimes the hardware on the second floor needs a laying on of hands to work right.

[Christian Fox]

I work for myself, but I keep an office about 12 miles from my house. It's handy being able to work from home sometimes, but the reality is I get way more accomplished at the office. It doesn't help that my 'home office' is located next to my bike work bench; I lack the discipline to avoid distraction. There are a million other things around the house to distract me too. The real benefit to me is leaving the office at 3pm and having the ablility to tie things up at home if necessary. Also, my house has an auto generator, so my house has served as a nice disaster recovery site when I've lost power at the office.

[AngryScientist]

make sure you still get the happy hour invitations...

but seriously, as Tom mentions above, i think it would be difficult to work from home without a dedicated work space. i think of my kitchen table as the place i eat, and the couch as the place i lounge and watch TV, it would be hard to transition those physical areas of the house to WORK spaces, for me anyway. plus then there is the daily clean-up, storage of work materials issue, etc. For me, a home office would be critical to working at home.

[Eric Estlund]

At one point Pandora had 40 free hours a month. I discovered this policy within the first 48hrs of a working week.

There are many benefits to working from home, but I would have to put some real thought into it before giving up an off-site shop.

[aaronv]

At one point Pandora had 40 free hours a month. I discovered this policy within the first 48hrs of a working week.

There are many benefits to working from home, but I would have to put some real thought into it before giving up an off-site shop.

+1. And for $35 a year, no ads. This is my default gift for Pandora listeners I know who get tired of the ads. Give the gift of the best personalized, ad-free radio - Pandora One - to someone you care about. - Pandora One Gifts

[jacked]

Negatives? Managing your VSalon time on your own ISP/device.

[RickM]

I know I couldn't do it. By the end of, say...week #3, you'd find me sitting there unshaven/unshowered...in gym shorts and ancient Megadeath t-shirt....ashtray piled high....and hey..who is to know if you DO crack a Rolling Rock at 11am....channel-surfing for anything Nigella Lawson...it'd be bad.

Seriously...for me and for what I do at this point in my career, it wouldn't work, and I like/need the actual human contact. For anyone working in a management position in a large concern, "work at home" is the paperwork and phone calls you do at night or on weekends just to keep current. That probably applies to many folks who run their own show, too. Back when I was strictly a programmer/systems admin..I probably coulda' done it, but it wasn't part of the culture then. I did that stuff back in the day when they gave us geeks stuff like a fully stocked bar and fridge, pool table, etc.. to keep us on the job. Think; 1985 or so.

Guys I know that do do it successfully carve out their own workspace or office and guard it zealously. Don't let it become an additional playroom for the kids, or have your wife popping in every half-hour, etc.. When you are at work..really be at work. Give it a solid 8 hours like you would in the office. As far a "creative work" goes...John Updike once said that you have to treat writing like a job; 8 hours a day every day exclusive of any distractions. Many writers, who could easily "work from home"...actually have their own separate space to do their writing. Just like being in the office.

And Matthew Strongin makes a very good point about the difficulties of maintaining an influential presence in the office while being a remote worker. Depending on what your job is..you can miss out on a lot by being remote. Remember; The most important meeting is the one you are not at!

[steve garro]

Obviously better time management is required?

Complete time management is required.
Make yourself a schedule, to be your own boss ACT like a boss, not like your own best buddy.
"Should I dick off on my bike & go out for a beer, or should I file brass for 4 more hours?"

Those people who have their hand up in the air 1st when they ask who wants to go home early are not cut out for self employment.

You need a real office - plus, this allows you the tax write off associated with having one.

I get up at 7AM, do computer stuff, paperwork, call in orders, talk to clients, inventory, pay bills, chat with you fine folks, spew pics across the WWW, eat breakfast - all that - then go to metalwork at 11AM and do that as long as I can in my chair, usually until 3-5PM while also answering e-mails throughout the day when some thing has to cool down.

I do this about five or six days a week, and then take my time off in big chunks.

Best to keep your head down & work as there are hungry people who will gladly take your spot in a sec.
- Garro.

[aaronv]

I know I couldn't do it. By the end of, say...week #3, you'd find me sitting there unshaven/unshowered...in gym shorts and ancient Megadeath t-shirt....ashtray piled high....and hey..who is to know if you DO crack a Rolling Rock at 11am....channel-surfing for anything Nigella Lawson...it'd be bad.

What comes to mind of some managers when you mention working from home :). Workspace and keeping solid hours are key, big-boy pants are of course optional but I usually dress as I normally do. I found myself in a situation where I was travelling several hours a day to essentially type on a computer in another location. It pretty much was an artifact from the age of factory work. I write software. My tasks are measured in weeks of effort, many meetings are usually an interruption from actual work getting done. Commuting was making a me a less effective worker. In a small organization would quickly be apparent if I wasn't getting anything done during the day. Definitely not for everyone though, some people need adult supervision.

[Chad]

Worked from home in two different capacities. First job, work came to me, no option to screw around. Loved it. Second job, i had to motivate myself, definitely a little more difficult. Had a work area with desk, etc, in basement. No separate office with door.

Did this for 2.5 years, I'd do anything to do it again. The pros far outweighed the cons for me, ymmv.

[RickM]

What comes to mind of some managers when you mention working from home :). Workspace and keeping solid hours are key, big-boy pants are of course optional but I usually dress as I normally do. I found myself in a situation where I was travelling several hours a day to essentially type on a computer in another location. It pretty much was an artifact from the age of factory work. I write software. My tasks are measured in weeks of effort, many meetings are usually an interruption from actual work getting done. Commuting was making a me a less effective worker. In a small organization would quickly be apparent if I wasn't getting anything done during the day. Definitely not for everyone though, some people need adult supervision.

In your situation it makes perfect sense to work at home. If the productivity is there....why not?

[mainemike]

i've worked from home the last 3-4 yrs and i love it. i have an office w/a day bed for the occasional nap. i get up pretty early and have time to swim, bike, or go catch the sunrise. the owners of my company trust me so there is no big brother and the harder i work, the more money i make, thus motivation is not an issue. during the day i do lots of things that aren't work related but are productive, so it all flows nicely and keeps me engaged. i'd hate to go back to commuting and i'd hate not having the time and place (mine) for daytime quickies and not so quickies. all in all, i'm happy w/this arrangement!

[christian]

I did it for a year. Couldn't pay me to do it again.

[caleb]

I've done it both ways. I'm finishing a year right now working from home full time. After Labor Day, I'll be back to working on-site M/W/F and from home T/TH.

This past year I've found I really miss the stimulation of interacting with colleagues. Skype only goes so far. I'm looking forward to being back in my office a few days a week.

That said, I don't know that I could ever go back to having a 8-4:30, M-F set of work expectations. I'm responsible for my own results, and I like having significant flexibility in how I produce those results.

Working from home can be great, but don't immediately discount the social and intellectual interaction of a conventional office environment.

[rfj1862]

I've worked from home (well, excluding the 100k in travel/year) since 2000. My wife works from home as well.

I can't imagine ever working in an office full time. I only had a regular white-collar job for about 6 months, so I can't provide much in terms of comparison.

The key to working at home is to maintain a completely separate workspace with a door. And don't fall into slovenly habits like doing teleconferences in your underpants. Treat it like a job. Don't work on a tiny laptop at your kitchen table, that's a recipe for disaster.

One of the best things about working from home is you can set up your office in a much better way than any company would ever provide. I have three giant monitors, a huge desk, every telecommunications device you could imagine, a printer within arm's reach, and the best office chair I could find. Even though it would make tremendous sense from an efficiency standpoint, no company is ever going to make that kind of investment.

[theflashunc]

As others mentioned, you have to be incredibly careful about standards.

I worked from home for three years. Had a separate space for the office which helped tremendously. But its very, very different.

For me, the biggest change was my personal standards slipped tremendously. I suddenly found it okay to walk to the corner store in sweatpants. During my busiest periods, I found I had to force myself to leave my apartment, otherwise I started feeling like I was in prison. I was surprised how much I missed things like that annoying co-worker who sits a cubicle over.

Other downsides: Your neighbors will think you're a drug dealer. You'll hear your neighbors have knock-down drag out arguments that end with you calling the cops.

But it wasn't all bad. I could set my own hours, and you get a lot of freedom you might not otherwise have to get the work done you think best.

Overall, I wouldn't do it again full time.

I think the ideal mix is WFH a couple days a week, a couple days in an office.