Pyjamas: Some work-from-homers are sticklers for a regular work routine, including business casual, even when sticking close to home. I, however, am of the school that believes, “Thou shalt have pyjamas.” I work better in flannel: it’s a fact of nature. Everybody’s different and it’s hard to accommodate those differences with a corporate dress code. Having the ability to wear whatever my little heart desires allows me to focus less on the runs in my pantyhose and more on what’s important: my work.
Savings: It’s truly incredible the money (and time) you can save by avoiding transit to and from work, a coffee here and there, a food court lunch. In the context of my spending habits, working from home is equivalent to about $65 a week or $3250 a year in savings, plus the time saved in interminable commutes which I won’t even begin to calculate. It’s practically like getting a raise (which is not to say I wouldn’t still accept a real one…).
Pets: Speaking on behalf of my two cats and two rats (yes, rats), working from home is really the best. They’re happier, I’m happier. There are tons of studies that say that animal companionship helps regulate mood and is good for general health. Those studies may not have dealt specifically with rats, but I’m sure they would have, had they realized how cool rats are. For people who don’t have pets, the same principles apply to plants. A very scientific study (conducted by yours truly) concluded that plants tend to die less in the care of work-from-homers, with the exception of cacti, which seem to die more, from overwatering.
Solitude: I don’t remember the last time I was able to sit quietly and reflect at the office. “Kate, can I ask you a question?” (Internal dialogue: That WAS a question.) Happens all the time. But when I’m working from home, I can take fifteen minutes to truly dedicate my grey matter to a particular strategy or report. Some of my best work happens in solitude. As one my favourite Telaxers likes to say, “No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.” I can’t give him full credit: it’s Voltaire. We’re cool like that.
Flexibility: I couldn’t possibly list the pleasures of working from home without touching on one of the most appreciated of them all: flexibility. Particularly for people with kids, the flexibility of working from home is an amazing gift. Of course there are still deadlines, meetings and expectations of availability that must be met. But if you have to run out for an errand or an appointment, the time is easily made up in the early morning or late afternoon from the comfort of the home office. It’s magical and a MAJOR perk, not to mention the fact that cloud-based solutions like Telax Hosted Call Center allow you to access that kind of flexibility from anywhere with an Internet connection and a telephone. Working holiday, anyone?
I could go on a great deal longer about the benefits of working from home, but the rats are dying for celery snack and I’ve got an appointment with some sustained thinking. Telax remote worker, over and out.