Working from home - heaven or hell?
 

Coming from a corporate background, I initially found working from home to be liberating - no more commuting or office politics:winkwink:

However, after some 10 years or so of 'SOHO' working, I sometimes do miss working with a group, but GFY and other boards do act as a virtual water cooler, which helps.

One of the challenges I face are the weekends. After spending untold hours behind a PC, I just want to get out and about in the 'real' world - whereas my little boy Jamie (6), who has been at school all week, (understandably) simply wants to chill.

It seems we are going full circle. Thanks to information technology, more and more of us are working where we live, just like we used to before the industrial revolution.

Despite some drawbacks, there is no turning back...

BBC radio documaentary on this subject can be found here http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/workingfromhome

What are your experiences?

Very interesting, and I share the same desire sometimes. However, I DO NOT miss commuting. My friends tell me nightmare stories weekly of the "2 hour lineup" they were in, or the psycho who followed my ex to work the other day.

10 years ago, Vancouver traffic was much, much lighter. I used to drive trucks and at 2 pm, I could make it from Richmond, to Surrey, and back in under an hour. Now? try 3.

Yep, it can sometimes be hard, especially in the first year I got distracted alot by nice weather, friends calling and all those nice things, hehe.

I worked for 3 companies before, always in office, and although I sometimes miss the colleagues, I'm much more relaxed now. If I need to see people, I just get out and go shopping or something like this when I take a break around noon.

Yep, we should not forget that we are essentially in the information business and many of us can work ANYWHERE (internet access permiting).

Here is my 'other' office http://www.sheratonlacaleta.com

It's pretty liberating to work next to the pool whilst making money from countries like Brazil, India and China:thumbsup

Upside of this biz : open 24/7 (make money in your sleep)
Downside of this biz : open 24/7 (difficult sometimes to 'switch off')

The only thing I really see that's bad working at home (at least for me) is lack of exercise. I still work a retail job but it's a low-stress one (I basically sit on my ass there for the entire time) then come home and repeat the process... going to try and fit some exercise into my schedule because I'm killing myself one jalapeno-and-pepperjack-cheese sandwich at a time.

well every thing has its own good but working from home gives you more options :)

:pimp heaven and hell! :pimp

Yeah, that's one of my 2007 resolutions also. Health of body, health of mind as they say...

been 8 years for me and i still enjoy it, though i do agree there are downsides. it would be nice to have some company at work though im not sure how long i would say that if i actually did. i can't imagine myself getting out there and standing on the bus all the way to work because its so packed or stuck in traffic for 2 hours in the morning. i just look out the window and think im lucky. but i guess in another way im missing out on other things in life. makes you wonder if you're wasting your life sometimes when your day starts and finishes all at the same place.

I agree 100%

I love working from home. I do what I want when I want, no strict office hours if I don't set them. If its a nice day I can work at night and enjoy it. If I have plans coming up I can work harder to prepare and then I'm free for those plans.

The only thing which annoyed me in the beginning was friends and family calling and asking me to do things for them. They thought coz I worked from home and suited myself I was free to run around after them. I soon put a stop to that one tho.

It's all about work/life balance. Folks who work at home and occasionally go to an office arguably have the best of both worlds...

As anything else it has both sides: good and bad ones. I'm working for myself within many years, but I still haven't decided is it heaven or hell for me...

id have to say heaven and hell...nothing worse than getting up and going to the computer in your jocks, then loosing track of time, then some 30 minutes elapse and there is a knock on the door and your still in jocks :error

I did home office only for 3 years and it was great but I really missed being around people and the fact that working from home = living at work.

My Mainstream IT consulting gig has given me office space to use as needed and its fantastic to have the option to break out of the house depending on what I have scheduled that day with clients, meetings, or preparing for the next onslaught of projects.

The home office has become a joy again because its not just sitting here staring at work 100% of time and thats all I am focused on. I can put away the work and enjoy the home space for what it is ... home. :thumbsup

Great topic, been at home now for 8+ years, not sure why but has moved from heaven towards hell for me, lack of interaction I guess (never thought I would say that)...

Looking at buying a "real world" business now if I can find something nice and stable.... though probably do real work for one week and then run scared straight back to the home office LOL!

Never considered switching to some physical job? It helped me lose the belly (well...almost) and it makes the sittingsessions at home more pleasant.

I like working in the office, the comradarie and rhythm you get into with coworkers helps the day go by and you feel a little more secure about the work you are doing as you don't entirely feel alone. However rolling out of bed, working till noon, taking a shower and eating lunch, going back to work until the spouse comes home or whatever can be great. Until, however they are home and tired and you've been home all day and want to get out of the freakin house! Cabin fever sets in a little bit, you can get antisocial or stressed about going out for no apparent reason.

I like a mixture of both.

Interesting but worrying quote!

Well where I'm working now has pretty good insurance, I have great hours, and the work is literally easy as cake (which I eat tons of because I'm a fat ass). I just have to set aside a hour or so a day and do some exercise and I think it'll be a great start. Going to go running this morning for at least thirty minutes (or as many minutes as possible) before I goto sleep.

When you work at home you do not value weekends, because you can go out in any day of the week, which is more comfotable, as there are not many people in public places.
I started to miss those weekends....

I do have to say working from home is quite enlighting, especially since ive made it here and im only 23 years old. However, drama tends to take over from time to time as shit happens in the household and there is an uncontrolable urge to go out every night to get away from the office, which means more spending money.

I'm not complaining tho, life is grand and I wouldnt want it any other way.

both have it's advantages i quess...

Heaven for sure!

We've worked from home for 7 years now. It's been good in many ways and bad in many ways. The positives are obvious.. but

One frustration we have is our families assume that we don't actually work when we're at home so we should be at their disposal any time. We work more hours than any of our family members but they think we live leisurely. Don't get that!!!

We had several years where we worked 7 days a week 16 hours a day and got depressed, ate too much, never had any fun. A time warp happens at your computer. The day goes by and you've missed it! Years go by and you don't mark them or even remember them!!!

Last year we got healthy and set boundries for our work. We schedule exercise and fun as though it's mandatory so we don't go fall back into old habits.
Mentally it's a much better place.

sometimes i think im in jail
i mean i get up early go right to the computer...im there until it gets dark.
if im good that day i had excercise..lol

when i go out..it is so rare that i sometimes feel i act a bit strange...it's almost like im saying in my head...i am amongst you..lol

so when im out..im really out...makes for a goodtime anyway

I enjoy working from home. Currently, I am in my lovely robe, working away, just about to make some breakfast, shower and head to the salon :)

However, I do miss social interacting, sometimes. I go to school on Thursdays, so I get a bit of that there. As well, I have a broad friendship base and someone is always available to do something :)

aah, I'm glad Im not alone. I have the same problem of my boyfriend coming home from work and wanting to stay at home, while I want to go out.

Also the thing about people thinking you aren't really "working" if you're at home drives me crazy. The other day, my boyfriend's sister needed to do something (it was very important, but, still...) and so she asked if she could drop off her two toddlers here for a while. First of all, I don't like kids, second of all, my house is about as anti child proof as it gets, third of all i was WORKING and fourth... I couldn't even have them in my office with me because there's PORN all over my screen. I ended up doing it over my lunch break, which was nice, but then the 1.5 year old found my 5 inch razor blade scraper that I was using for some aquarium projects. Not fun! We've now instated a no one under 18 rule in our house.

lol - can relate!:)

Eight years of doing SOHO it after college, I know exactly what you are saying. I miss the social aspects at times. But other than that, there is not a single thing I miss about Ameritech/SBC/TDS (telco) and the office politics, drama, and so on.

However, for me I had to make some changes to get the blood flowing. Running on the treadmill, and this semester I am taking some classes. Partically to help me in understanding of some stuff computer, and programming for other projects I am working on. But also to get me out of the house, and away from the computer. So I have full time school, and then work when I get home. So I get the best of both worlds. Some social, out of the house, and sight seeing. Plus dollas.

That said, you could never pay me enough to go back into a real office, and SOHO life of micro management and drama.

I've been working from home for 2 years now, I love it, I wear boxers at work until 1pm, I listen to loud music, I can take a break whenever I want, etc. As for the "getting lonely" aspect, I try to see some of my friends once or twice during the week on Tuesday and/or thursday nights, weekends are always packed with parties/hockey/work around the house

been working from home for the last 6 years and i think from being inside so much i've developed somewhat of a phobia for being out in public :helpme

I don't know of anyone who works at home from 9 to 5 and then locks their home office until the next day. It's very easy to fall into a routine where you work here and there over a 16 hour period. That in itself leads to problems.

totally agree with this.....

I for one would not trade in anything to work in an office...
at home we have no office drama...lol.....if in need of drama...i come to the boards...lol JK....
but, seriously working at home almost requires MORE discipline than working at an office...one must be more committed to keeping a good balance of all things....work, exercise and socializing. I think if organized well ones quality of life can be real good.

Interesting to hear what everyone thinks about working at home. I've never had the luxury, but I think that I'd be more productive working at the office because there are fewer distractions and plus I'd have a hell of a time getting out of bed in the morning if I knew i didn't have to go anywhere. But, I could see how it would be super sweet to not have to deal with the morning commute

I'm relatively new to working from home, so this post has been great to read. Thanks for all the input.

Overall, sounds like most options in life- depends on what you make of it.

Glad to have a forum like GFY to keep me sane!

I have worked from my home office for the past 4 or 5 years and I do not miss the commute whatsoever... I also find I get alot more work done here since in an office there is an internal clock telling me 5pm time to go home!

now I work from 9am sometimes until midnight and if an emergency should develop I am here - with the new baby I can help out the wife and stay connected to my webmasters.

though I don't recommend it for everyone since there are those that do not have the self discipline to work from home and turn the tv on and get carried away - but I feel happier, work harder and save more money

I miss throwing things into the other cubes, from my 1.2 years of corporate life, and I need to get out on weekends, and any time I can. But it is great.

Ooops, alarm bells, yes, you should get out more... Ever tried working from Starbucks?

I rent a small office downtown for $600 a month that I share with a few other people. Since I'm on my own time I'm able to avoid rush hour traffic and if it's just a shitty day, I can work from home no problem. truly the best of both worlds :thumbsup

I've been working at least part time from home starting in 93 and went full time in 96. I'm in the process of going back to school and while I'll eventually be able to do the work at home, I'll have to prove myself in an office first. I am freaking DREADING it :(

Comparing almost 9 years in the corporate world to working at home I can say I'm at least 30% more productive at home.

Thankfully where I'll be working I won't have to wear suits and pantyhose, lol :) After doing that for so long, I had 56 suits to give to the Welfare to Work program.

Sometimes I miss it, the people the socializing. As with working from home, your always working. When I had a office job, when I went home it was over or when the weekend came it was over. Now the work never stops, there is just breaks basically. Also I couldnt imagine doing this single, making friends sitting at home is very hard.

It just depends on your own personal situation.........

I've made MANY friends in this biz over the last 10 years. Some I've still never even met. Others I would, and have, literally trusted with my life.

Working at home or an office has nothing to do with making friends.

It's actually been beneficial because a lot of my old HS friends are stay at home moms. I've been able to spend more time with them over the years, even the one who left us and moved to Chicago, BECAUSE I work at home and pick my own hours :)

I have always missed the office. Most of my life it was my own office, so I suppose that makes a difference, but I also miss the people, their ideas as well as the social side of things. Since I have always been a workaholic, most of my "friends" were really acquaintances from work.

What I miss most though is contact with the customers: I always learned a great deal from watching their reactions to things and listening to them. Much faster than waiting around and then (mostly) guessing at what statistics mean.

I work from home and i like it...

Grass is greener. Just do your work. :)

Good luck with that. Not sure after so much freedom if I could handle being in an environment for 8+ hours a day where if I pop out someone asks "where are you going?":mad:

Mostly heaven.

I have been working from home for around 4 years now and i have to say there is nothing like it.

It takes a certain type of person to be able to stay sane and still work from home, but i have alot of friends in this city that constantly are there to annoy me if i need someone around.

Sometimes i miss meeting new people in the office place but then i remember 99% of people in this world are complete losers in the first place.