Many people want to retire so they don’t have to work; there are even more people who want to retire early so that they can be at home and do whatever they want. Some are even living the dream and blogging about it.
Me? I don’t want to retire, I have never wanted to retire. Retirement, understood as not working, in my book, is close to purgatory – a place full of waiting with nothing much to do. I’ll be quite happy to work till I can; the thing that I am dreaming of is not retirement but freedom from employment. And not because I would like to work from home but because I would like to work from the other side of the world!
But then again, during my over twenty-five years of employment – in two different countries and different organisations – I’ve always been able to work from home. Heck, for the first seven years of my career, I was even expected to work from home. At my first job I didn’t even have an office and the ‘normal’ expectation was that we’ll have to be at the office two hours per week. And the rest of the time?
Well, for the rest of the time, there were libraries and the calm comfort of my apartment. Yes, this was a research position.
At the moment I have an office, and while it is a rather nice one it cannot compare with my study at home. Even the way in which I refer to my two working environments already tells you how I see them: the office is a place where I see students, talk to colleagues and have meetings on the research projects I run. But when it comes to writing and other parts of my job that need prolonged concentration my study is the place.
Just like chocolate is wonderful but contains too much stuff that is bad for you, working from home has its downsides. Here are the ones I find most irking:
- The kitchen is too near and the fridge is too well stocked; so when I am having a break it is all too easy to have a piece of toast. Not good for the waistline.
- We have an espresso making machine that is amazing; in fact, many friends claim that our house offers to best coffee in town (and Manchester is not exactly small or in want of coffee bars). Discipline is void and when I work from home I always end up having far too much coffee; and stomach ache.
- It is impossible to ‘leave your job at the office’ because your work is always nearby. I end up sneaking in and doing work when it is by right family time. Difficult to relax.
- People assume that you don’t work. About a month ago, on my way to the office and dressed accordingly, I saw a neighbour who has lived on our street for couple of years. He was very surprised to hear that I work full time – and the poor guy had a shock seeing me not in my baggy trackies or running shorts.
- Wearing clothes I wouldn’t want to be seen in; then going to ‘the village’ for a walk. Embarrassing!
- Members of your family forget that you work. You find that you are always the one to get the dry cleaning and everyone expects you to have prepared a great dinner; including cake.
- Don’t move enough!
But these are not enough to offset all the wonderful things I love about working from home, like:
- Having civilised meals and not having to scoff a boring sandwich at my desk.
- Having the flexibility to decide what do I do and where; if I feel like it I can lounge on the settee and write; or even simply think.
- Having high quality coffee whenever I want it at a fraction of the price of the coffee from the bar at the office.
- OK, this is a hard one but…not having to deal with people directly. I don’t dislike people and even need them from time to time. But as a borderline obsessive Aspersers’ syndrome academic I do need my space and my peace.
- I can go for a long walk/run to think.
- I can have a five minute break and do press ups; or practice my karate forms. Or just stare out of the window!
- I don’t spend time in traffic or on smelly busses.
- I can see my son’s face when he comes back from school and know what his day was like. Usually this is when we have our best conversations: before he has started to play games or do homework and I have gone back to my study.
- I can work in my PJs till lunch time; and even later.
Working from home is not without its problems. But, in my opinion, the pros by far out weight the cons. Working from home offers flexibility and opportunities that are particularly valuable for people who are carers; be it looking after young children or helping elderly relatives. For some, to work from home may be the only way to hold a job and earn their (and their children’s) living. In today’s information technology dependent economy this should be possible.
Me? I’ll continue to work from home as much as possible for as long as I can. How about you?
I find working from home a double edged sword! It requires discipline which I have plenty and a routine. I find I work way past reasonable and should stop much sooner or at least take a break. It is quite easy for me to put in 8 hours after I already worked 8 hours at my day job. I have to learn to stop before I am unproductive!
@Krant: Quit! I find the same and lack the discipline (or have too much obsession to stay away.
I don’t care either way for home or office working. I’d probably say it’s harder to concentrate working from home due to the distractions of tv + food = destination procrastination!
A tip though, get a small coffee maker for your office / desk you then have the highest quality coffee, you save lots of costabucks and all work with value is created after at least two cupops anyway imo!!
@Dom: I was thinking of getting a Nespresso one and now I just might. Thanks!
While I agree that I “can” work in my pajamas, I don’t like to do that because I always feel like I’m not “professional” enough (which is funny because I end up in a tee-shirt and shorts instead!). I’m with you on the downsides. Work from home to my family = I can do all their errands during the day. I have to constantly remind them that just because I’m at home doesn’t mean I’m not at work.
@AverageJoe: I do :)! There are few things that are more fun than having a telephone conversation about something very important with someone very serious and you are in your PJs and slippers. Love it! Don’t do the shorts but this is pure vanity; I’ve got into this ‘I am getting too old for this’ mood.
I don’t want to retire either, instead I would rather work with something that I LOVE.
@Michelle: Very important. In my case, I love what I do and have always done. I have just started to resent the conditions under which I am expected to do it.
Beautiful desk! I used to have a great wood desk, and I definitely miss it when I work at my fake-chrome plastic desk at work.
@Mike: Yeah, the desk is cool. But it is so big that if I don’t sort it out regularly it can become terribly cluttered (see, clutter is my life at the moment :)).
The home office looks comfy Maria! I find I drink way too much coffee when I am working at home also!
@Paul: I love it; my study has all I need – a nice settee, my books, a confy chair and all my gadgets. What more can a girl want?
I’ve only ever been able to work from home a few days here and there. I actually get more done because I am not distracted by other colleagues. That said, I can get distracted by other things in my house and would take away from my productivity. Like others have mentioned, I also think I might be less able to draw the line between work and home and “shutdown”. All of my jobs have involved managing people, so I don’t know if I will ever have the chance of working from home full time.
@Greg: I do have distractions as well – mainly human ones. In fact, last year I had to write something that was probably the most challenging text I’ve ever written. I needed complete focus and for a long time (the whole thing lasted about five months). So…I put a sign on my door saying: ‘Don’t disturb! I bite!’. Which is true but the sign isn’t working very well :).
I worked from home last year for awhile and it was great, but it is hard to stay focused. I loved being able to make a nutritious lunch and play with my dogs in my break, but I also missed seeing people other than.. well, my dogs. There are definitely pros and cons.
@Daisy: Have to say, being slightly on the Aspergers scale helps. I don’t dislike people but I don’t miss face-to-face contact with them.
For the most part, I strongly prefer working in the office. I like interacting with others, and the teamwork involved.
However, there are a select few people that I would strongly prefer to avoid dealing withm so working from home would have the advantage of allowing me to not see those people! Also, if a job had a long commute, I’d like the option to work from home regularly.