Once the exception for hard working people, working from home is now becoming commonplace. Working from home is a trend that is unlikely to be a passing fancy because for most people its pretty much win-win whichever way you look at it, and for a moms this doubly true. If you are wondering whether this is an option for you to explore, let us look at the many reasons why people are working more from home and perhaps these will make your decision easier.
1. Spending more time with your family, as a mom what could be more important? If your workday starts at 7:30 or 8:00, you must first get your kid to childcare, which is invariably on the opposite end of town than your job. This of course increases your commute by at least a half hour. Although you may not be able eliminate use of a daycare entirely, you ought to be able to decrease the number of hours. This can only benefit your relationship with your children. You love your career, you love your family, but the family comes first does it not? Setting up an office to work from home will help you to put your family at the top of your list of priorities which is where they belong.
2. Think of the money you will save on your wardrobe – this has to be at the top of the list of motivating factors right! Between no longer budgeting a good portion of your paycheck for appropriate work attire and dry cleaning costs, you can save a bundle. Though, you will not want to donate all your suits just yet. The occasional meeting with your company’s or your own clients, having a nice wardrobe that you have already invested in will come in handy. Although it might be awkward initially to transition from a suit to sweats, it won’t take long to embrace the freedom.
3. Commuting is a bear, let’s face it! Between fluctuating gas prices and the expensive upkeep of your vehicle, the money saved by working from home is considerable. As people continue to move further out for affordable housing, commutes of 30-60 minutes are not unheard of. The longer the commute, the more potential there is to be stuck in traffic, become the victim of ‘road rage’ or to fall asleep behind the wheel. Most commuters find themselves leaving earlier in the morning to try and ‘get a jump on rush-hour’ and while it might shave off a few minutes, you are still spending a minimum of 30-60 minutes on the road each way. Think of all you can accomplish with your family when you get those hours back.
4. Surprisingly, it doesn’t take a lot to be connected and up and running. Whether you have volunteered to work from home and telecommute – perhaps showing up to the office once a week or only bi-weekly – or you are starting a home-based business, the requirements are simple. A phone, be it a cellular or an extra line added onto your home phone, a computer, reliable Internet and a comfortable and sturdy desk are all you need to start. Many companies have an electronic way to ‘dial in’ to their server.
5. Ask yourself how much work you got done in your average day at the office. For many in the workforce, a typical day looks like this:
- Arrive to work stressed out from traffic
- Drop your purse or belongings in your desk, go get coffee
- Meet up with five colleagues and exchange in-depth analysis of the previous night’s reality show
- Discuss ad nauseam your co-worker’s dogs and your kids
- Meander back to your desk and start to work
- An hour later another colleague must discuss the minutia of his date with that Miss Universe look-alike
- Get a little more work done
- Check email and Facebook and get lost in a political discussion
- Go to lunch for an hour and a half (the boss won’t notice)
- Return and work for two more hours, making several phone calls to break up the monotony
- Check your email and Facebook to see if that ‘person’ responded to you. This time you are going to let him have it with both barrels!
- Call it a day and get back in the car and commute home
Total work accomplished? Three hours out of the 8.5 you were paid to work
Part of the reason we need so many distractions at work is that most of us are genuinely bored, stressed out and otherwise checked out. Working from home is not stressful and provided that you can keep your fingers out of the cake in the refrigerator, you can get more work done.
6. Did you know that on average those who work outside the home spend $50 or more per week on lunch? Eating your lunch at home saves you money, time (your kitchen is a lot closer than the deli, pizza place or company cafeteria) and you have more control over what you are putting into your body. Leftovers, a sandwich, vegetable crudités? These are all much healthier and less expensive options. With all that time saved, take your dog for a walk.
7. How many times a day do you fight with coworkers over the temperature or what to play on your own radio? Although you want to be cognizant of the cost to heat or cool down your home, you can add layers or strip down. And if you want to listen to heavy metal or classical, turn it up; provided you can concentrate, that is all that matters.
8. Make more of your breaks from the desk – why wait until the weekend to do your laundry, vacuum or spend time with your dogs? Surprisingly, doing all of those during your workday offers a needed break and allows you to make better use of your weekends. Believe it or not, your productivity will increase.
9. That vending machine at work offers nothing more than expensive corn syrup. You can stock your refrigerator with healthy snacks and save money at the same time.
10. You can make the most of your day. Not everyone is at his or her most productive between 8:00 and 5:00. Provided you can still meet the needs of your employer or clients, set your own hours.
Lloyd Burrell started his business career as an auditor in the City of London. He now publishes the leading office desk furniture website on the internet which features an extensive range of inexpensive office furniture. Lloyds reviews cover all manner of desk, not just traditional wooden office desks but also more modern glass desks, metal desks and executive managers desks.
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