The Benefits and Obstacles When Working From Home
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The Technological Revolution
The technological revolution has changed the way we work. People now have the freedom to work from home as the rise of laptop/computer usage and mobile phone communication at low tariffs means that all communications are readily available. The majority of companies that operate on a large scale are more focused on the results achieved as opposed to the hours put in. Therefore working from home is not seen as a problem but merely an easy solution.
Obstacles
If you choose to follow this path, there can be a few obstacles to overcome as the working environment will inevitably change. It could prove to be rather difficult to hold a business meeting at home. If you have a family and children, there may be significantly more noise or on the contrary, you may feel isolated if you are in a solitary confined space.
You may also encounter distractions as your partner or spouse may need you to run a few errands or take messages on their behalf. They may want more control of the house so you may have to work around whatever else is going on with regards to the daily running of your household. The arrival of unexpected guests may also throw you off track and to accompany this, your family may think that you are no longer in work mode.
Benefits
On the counter argument, working from home enables you to take care of your family whilst working so the work against leisure balance becomes more neutral. It can become less stressful to operate from home as it alleviates the stress of driving to and from work, especially on days when encountering severe traffic jams.
You can feel more relaxed at your home as you do not have to dress in a particular manner, you are able to dress as you see fit. Your time can be spent more productively as instead of travelling to fast food shops to get lunch, you can simply learn to cook at home. This means you have room to exercise if you wish to, as you can take breaks on your own time. There are also no rates or rents, resulting in cost effective working conditions.
Solution
Working from home is not however, suitable for all jobs and in order to reach a compromise, many large companies now allow you to work from home a few days out of the week, so long as you also attend the office the rest of the time. This has a positive effect on overall results as you are able to participate in important meetings but can also avoid a few days of traffic mayhem by working from home.
Some companies have not adapted to this newly found working structure and still persist that an employee must be within their view and working coherently at their desk. They fail to recognise that home working can be very powerful in terms of the productivity rate and focus on the project at hand. If employers work together with their employees to integrate both working from home and attending the office, it may prove to elevate the level of success achieved by the entire company.
Naz Daud is the founder of CityLocal. This Franchise Opportunity is for people who would like to work from home and be their own boss.
