Part II. Get a “real” job, or work at home?

Yesterday I wrote about some of my perceptions about working independently or with a company. Some may view those ideas a little differently than I do. Today the topic turns to disadvantages of working from home and working from the office.

I participated in a conference call this morning to discuss a potential training opportunity. One of the things I miss about working in-office is the face-to-face interaction. It’s great to be able to shake hands with someone to establish rapport.

Working from home Disadvantages

I wish I didn’t have to…

Buy my own software—it gets expensive, pay for software upgrades myself, maintain my computer’s safety, watching for viruses that I normally wouldn’t be exposed to if I hadn’t decided to use the computer for various on-line jobs; work such long hours that I have to put in sometimes to get work done—there’s no quitting time; be the accounts payable, accounts receivable, marketing, scheduler, project manager, customer service, order fulfillment, sales and service departments when all I really get paid for is the order fulfillment (the rest is overhead!); lower rates of pay (* see previous post concerning pay), and finally; work with people I never get to meet in person so much.

Working from Office Disadvantages

Well, it has been a while since I worked full-time in an office environment so my memory is a bit fuzzy. What I liked least was having to…

Get to work at 7:00 a.m. and leave by 4:00 p.m. or after 6:00 p.m. to avoid traffic (this was when I commuted a long distance); less flexibility to choose working at home on some days (like days when it snowed and I didn’t want to slide off the road); catching colds and sharing germs with colleagues and clients; and what I liked least of all was office politics (need I say more?).

So what are your thoughts on advantages and disadvantages? Let’s share ideas!