Why Working From Home Could be Wrong For You?

A few years ago, the start of a typical working day would have meant that you wake up, take a shower, dress up according to a corporate dress code, and hurry to the office. Partly because the economic hardships and massive budget cuts, more and more people start their day like this: they wake up, have a quick coffee, turn on their computers, sit down and start working.

For those who never tried it, working from home is like a dream. Everything seems to be so simple and natural: you can work in whatever clothes you want, you are free to make your own schedule, and you don't loose time chatting with co-workers. However, those who tried it say that working from home has quite a number of pitfalls. So why working from home is bad?

You never leave home

Before, you spent at least 8 hours away from home. As you start working from home, and there is no real need of leaving your home, you will notice that you spend more and more time between the four walls. After a few months, you will not even feel the need to leave your comfortable couch and take a walk.

You never see your friends

As time goes by and you get accustomed to write e-mails and make phone calls for everything, you might see that your personal relationships are starting to deteriorate. After your office hours, you don't feel like going out to have a beer with your colleagues or your old friends. Soon you will discover that sometimes you don't meet anyone for days. Except your family, of course.

You are always working

Because your daily schedule is more relaxed, and you usually take out a few hours at noon, you  never finish your daily work at 5. And if you do some overtime (who doesn't?) your working day can easily slip into a working night. Even if you are done, you will check your e-mails before you go to bed, and even reply some of them.

You are not spending quality time with your family

As time goes by, the boundary between your work and family life can totally disappear. You are answering the phone when you are supposed to play with the kids. You check your mail every few minutes, and you find always some stuff you have to do. Because you were unable to finish everything on time, you will be tempted to work even on weekends.

You loose your creativity

Nothing can replace a good brainstorming session with your old team. As you work from home, you will soon discover that your daily work tends to be less and less creative. You will start to prefer the simple, routine tasks over the more complicated ones that need real intellectual efforts. 

You loose your ability to focus

No matter how interesting your job is, you spend more and more time watching funny clips on YouTube, playing on-line poker, or commenting endlessly on blog posts. Because you are totally alone, and you don't have any human interaction, you will find that it is increasingly difficult to keep a tight working schedule.