THE PROS & CONS OF WORKING FROM HOME

As a mum of four, should I not have the option of working from home, I wouldn’t be able to work at all. With child care costs so high, even more so for larger families, it would be physically, and financially, impossible for me to go out to work each day. For that reason, I am incredibly grateful that I get to work from home and I can imagine it must be very difficult for those who are not allowed that freedom.

I found it interesting that a new survey by Seareach, of 2000 office-based workers, revealed that less than half are allowed to work from home.

The findings reveal that:

• 53% of workers are not able or not allowed to work from home;
• 21% are allowed to work from home;
• 17% can work from home but with some restrictions; and
• 9% are allowed to work from home due to health reasons.

I think particularly with an office-based job, should an employee have adequate facilities to do their job at home, this should be granted. And yet the surgery revealed that 36% of those polled claimed security issues had been cited as the main reason that staff cannot work from home. Fairness was mentioned by 26% with many claiming that although they could well do their job from home, not all employees could and it would be unfair to allow certain staff to work from home and not others.

Stuart Jailler at Seareach, said: “Thirty years ago … it was predicted that many office-based staff would be working remotely now. With the advancements in technology this is possible, however it seems [that] many businesses just aren’t wanting to let go of their staff and allow them to work outside of the office. Our study shows we still have a long way to go … which is a shame as the benefits can be huge.”

Stephen Duignan, VP international marketing at LogMeIn, said: “There’s a common misconception that ‘working from home’ is code for ‘watching TV all day while occasionally refreshing your email’. This statement did make me smile as should anyone see what I do at home all day, they would discover that actually I work harder, and longer hours, at home than I ever did in a work place.

Research show that working from home leads to hamper, healthier and more productive employees and I think there are so many pros, and admittedly several cons, to working from home each day. For me, working from home allows me to be flexible with my child care, cuts out any commute or travel expenses and, even better, at this time of year I can work in the garden and escape the four walls of my office.

Of course there are still cons – I find it hard to motivate myself some days, I find it impossible to work during school holidays, and I find myself trying to juggle work, the housework and the children far too often.

That said, I think having the option to work from home is so important and although I am sure many people would turn down that opportunity, there are many for whom working from home is not just an option, but it is the ONLY option.

** This is a collaborative post **