Working from home has its advantages: You can work in your pajamas, your longest commute is from your desk to the fridge, you get to feel sorry for those who need to be in their workplace every single day, come rain or shine, the flexibility with your personal obligations is tremendous, and you can keep your own timings. However, there are some special considerations that you may need to address to make your home office the best it can be.
You always work. A good work/life balance is one where you can close the door to work when your working hours are over. This is not possible when you work from home. Things get even worse when you use your personal bedroom for your work area. The lines between work and rest are really blurred. You don’t know when to stop.
What to do: Set yourself a time limit for what you need to get done today / this week – and stick to it. Create a work-life balance consciously. Stop working at the end of your allotted time, and participate fully in family life. It will get better with practice.
Privacy issues. You might want to discuss sensitive professional issues with someone in authority but then your dog decides to bark, child starts crying, or your teenager begins playing music loudly in the next room. You will need to make sure that unprofessional sounds do not interfere with your ability to conduct professional business on phone.
What to do: Try soundproofing or white noise machines. Keep your workplace out of bounds for family and pets.
Feeling isolated. With no co-employees in your workplace, it’s often difficult to adjust to a solitary work environment. No chance to brainstorm, no office gossip, or laughter at the coffee machine. The isolation is far more pronounced for those adjusting from a corporate white-collar job to a home business and for those who are social in nature.
What to do: Call colleagues regularly to keep your network strong. Go to a coffee shop or organise a weekly meet with other people who work from home. Discuss common issues and goals. You will meet up with other people, and perhaps find solutions to problems you had not thought of.
Being taken for granted. When you work from home, people sometimes forget that you are working. Neighbours, friends and your family take for granted that you will be in the home during work hours. You don’t want to be called on for multiple errands when you’re supposed to be doing your job.
What to do: Set rules for yourself as well as others. Discuss with the other members of your household that even though you are at home, you do not appreciate being disturbed while working. Request their support.
Health issues. You munch mindlessly all day without even realising. You are hunched over the keyboard for days and you are drained due to unnatural working hours.
What to do: Make specific times for food instead of grazing through the day. When you’re working, you may be too distracted to check how much food you’re eating. Stand up and stretch, or walk around instead of sitting hunched over your keyboard all day. Get your blood flowing. Even a 10-minute walk can be enough to supply a feeling of energy.
Your home office is a real office, not a pajama party. Get up at a normal hour to start work, stay off social media and other personal sites except for lunch. At the end of the day, do what you would on a normal workday – pick up the kids, go for a walk, be at the gym, happy hour, whatever. Technology today gives people more freedom to carve out their own work-styles and career paths. Don’t let these pitfalls deter you. Just be mindful that there are unique challenges associated with working from home. The good news is, all of them have solutions.
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