Working from Home – 4 Advantages and 4 Pitfalls

July 20th, 2016

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If you currently spend hours every day travelling to and from a large office in a city centre, working from home is likely to seem like a very tempting prospect. More than 4 million people in the UK have already cut out the commute and turned their home into their workplace. Some are running their own small business from home, while others are freelancers or have flexible working arrangements with their employers.

However, although home working has its advantages, there are also drawbacks. Basepoint provides virtual serviced offices to many people running small home-based businesses, so we know the pros and cons of working from home. Here we look at 4 advantages and 4 possible pitfalls.

Advantages

1. Save Time and Money on Travelling – People working from home no longer have to spend large periods of each day on the way to and from the office. This means you see more of your family, which is the number one priority for many people deciding to work from home. It also means you save on the cost of petrol or season tickets, which can be very considerable. For instance, train tickets into London from surrounding areas can easily run to thousands of pounds annually.
2. Easier to Juggle Responsibilities – Every working parent knows that moment of panic when a child is ill and you have to call your employer to say you can’t go in. If you are working from home, however, it’s easier to juggle work with caring responsibilities. You can also arrange for traders to call more easily, for instance if you need an emergency visit from a plumber or electrician.
3. No Need to Dress Up – When working from home you won’t need to put on a suit or smart dress unless you are planning to meet up with a client, so this can mean savings on work wear and also lead to you feeling more relaxed. Being able to sit at your computer in your pyjamas is something which many people working from home find a tempting idea.
4. Less Stress – When you are at home you are in your own environment and it’s likely to be quieter. You will therefore feel that you are in control, can plan what to do in what order to maximise productivity, and won’t be distracted or put under stress by anything else going on in the office.

Disadvantages

1. Being Isolated and ‘Out of the Loop’ – Working on your own at home can easily lead to you feeling lonely and detached from colleagues. If the rest of your team is working together in an office while you are at home, you may find you are overlooked and not always notified of decisions you need to know about.
2. Difficult to Separate Work and Home Life – Although it can be an advantage to be able to fit chores and family responsibilities around work, the downside of this is that you may end up having to do the work in the evening or at weekends to make up the hours. Many home-based workers end up feeling as if they never get a chance to switch off. Your family may take it for granted you can drop work whenever they call round, while employers or clients expect to be able to get hold of you at all hours. Using your home as an office also has financial costs, such as round-the-clock fuel bills in winter.
3. Hard to Stay Motivated – If you are in an office, surrounded by colleagues, it is easier to stay focused on deadlines and on what needs to be done today. When you are at home, however, there is nobody there to urge you on. This means you need a lot of self-discipline to keep working and ensure tasks are completed on time without being distracted by domestic chores.
4. Inconvenient for Clients – Working from home means you don’t have a business address to meet clients, and you also won’t have a business phone number. You may have to meet up with customers in coffee shops, which means a lack of privacy, or invite them into your home, further blurring the division between your professional and home life. Your home may also be inconvenient for clients to get to and won’t give a professional impression.

If you are a small business owner who is currently working from home, arranging to rent virtual serviced offices from Basepoint can give you the best of both worlds. We offer a range of different virtual office services, depending on your needs. You will have a professional business address, which gives the right impression to contacts and customers, and can also benefit from mail collection and a dedicated phone number. You can meet up with clients in our welcoming breakout areas at your chosen business centre, in areas including Shoreham, Swindon and Exeter, or arrange to rent serviced meeting rooms when you need them. When the time is right for your business, you can also move into serviced offices at the centre, without having to change your address and phone number.

Virtual Serviced Offices – Follow the link to find out more about Basepoint’s virtual office packages.