Long before Covid was part of our everyday vocabulary, CyberLancers was following a remote based worker model. Our reason behind this is that we didn’t have the overhead cost of a centralized office. The savings we incur we then pass on to our clients in the form of lower rates. We are able to attract and hire developers who have the desire to work from home and have the flexibility that it offers.
Now that many more people are working remotely due to the ongoing pandemic, there’s a lot of comparisons that have arisen regarding whether working from home or working in an office is better. What it really boils down to is individual circumstances and preferences.
At the beginning of the pandemic where people used to working in an office were now working from home, it proved to be a really big adjustment for a lot of folks. If you had young children that were at home as well, the adjustment and trying to make it all work was probably harder than if you didn’t have children at home or if they were older and independent. Working from home and being productive or successful at it really comes down to your own personal circumstances as well as your preferences.
For instance, a woman I know who began working from home at the beginning of the pandemic also had a preschool aged child who normally attended daycare. The daycare was shut down and left her without childcare so she was not only trying to adjust to working from home, but had a 4 year old hanging out with her and that proved to be very distracting. For this mom, working from home was less than ideal until she found alternate childcare, which took quite a while. Her individual circumstances did not fit well with working from home.
Now take an individual who either has no children or children old enough to look after themselves and they still had to adjust to working from home, but their distractions weren’t in the form of young children to tend to. Their adjustment to working from home would be a lot easier.
Depending on your own circumstances, working from home or remote working can offer a lot of benefits.
Perks:
For those who would usually commute to work, the cost savings in gas and wear and tear on a vehicle would be greatly reduced. Not having to drive in frustrating traffic would also be beneficial. The time saved in commuting could allow for more time to work.
Staying home to work allows flexibility and more time to be with family. Some even take vacations and continue to work while they vacation. Not everyone can do this but for some it works great.
Depending on your individual circumstance, working from home can be less distracting than being in an office where you get interrupted when trying to work. Many people who work from home report that they don’t miss the “office politics” one bit.
It’s easier to take breaks at home than in an office environment. Many people say that they take walks, go work in their garden, run a quick errand, start the laundry, or walk the dog. These types of breaks give them a refreshed feeling and they actually feel they are more productive.
Not all those who work from home find that it’s better. Let’s look at some of the negatives.
Pitfalls:
It’s been noted that people who work from home have a harder time “turning off” their work and feel like they’re “on call” at all hours and days. This is probably due to the nature of the individual or the nature of their job or a combination of both. If your work is always there in front of you, it can be tempting to just keep working even after hours.
Without co-workers in the same working space, there is no one to talk to or bounce ideas off of. If you’re an extrovert who likes the social aspects of working in an office, then this could be a downside for sure. People used to being around co-workers can have a hard time being all alone working from home.
The mere freedom of working from home can actually be a distraction. This can be especially true for people who have only ever worked in an office setting and are trying to adjust to a new environment where no one is looking over their shoulder. This new found “freedom” can really trip some people up and cause their production to be a lot less than if they were in an office environment.
Working from home isn’t for everyone, but for some it’s quite ideal. The ongoing pandemic has brought to light the perks and pitfalls of working from home. At CyberLancers, we will continue our remote working model because it allows us to keep our costs low and we pass that on to our clients with rates that are reasonable.