Working From Home
Though I’m biased on the subject having worked from home for the past 2.5 years, Calacanis had this to say: “Offices are best at creating three things: politics, commutes, and distractions. Again, find great folks and do regular in person meetings, then let them go home and work. They’ll be happier, you’ll have less expense, and there will be much less drama.”
I think it depends on the situation, but for the most part, I believe this to be true. Do you agree?
[via Nicholas Roussos]
7 Comments
As a Self-Employed individual I completely agree.
Every morning I get up, I decide how much money I am going to make. At the end of the month it is always more than I would have been making as the employee equivalent.
Most of the people who I know personally have worked from home 10+ years now as self-employed business owners.
When the country was founded, mostly everyone worked from home and was self-employed; the Agrarian Age. It was the Industrial Age that changed everything to a ‘go to school and get a good job’ mentality.
I think it is evil when mom and dad have to work so hard for a living at the office they don’t have time to be a part of their children’s lives.
They want more for their kids and they think they can work harder for a raise, but the truth is their JOB keeps them Just Over Broke.
What I would like to see is families working together from home via Internet, like they did when there were farms in the Agrarian Age.
I love the idea. We should propose the idea to the federal gov’t. What a great way to cut down oil dependency. If you don’t have to drive to work… less money spent on gas.
It will help keep families closer too. You could do lunch with your spouse everyday. You can even sign your kid out of school and get lunch with them. FAMILY FIRST!!
What a way to create world peace.
There are some definite advantages to working from home. The reduction in commute time and car expense is a big win. But, there are problems, too. Distractions abound at home (although, that’s also true “at work” unless you have the luxury of a private office). Worse, though, is the blurring (or the complete loss) of the dividing line between work and home. When your office is at home, you can’t just leave your work at work and go enjoy your time with your family at home.
Having read the previous comments I should probably leave this comment without saying who it is from. For some reason I don’t get much done when I am working from home. I am the type of person that is very easily distracted. People at my office complain that I sit with my back toward my glass door, the reason why is that anything and everything makes my mind wonder. Having an office for me helps me focus on the tasks at hand. I guess I can end by saying that you know where you work best and you know that you have an obligation to your employer. Work hard if you can work from home and do better see if your employer is up for trying that out. I know that Jamis Buck from 37signals works from home and correlates with coworkers from around the nation. Obviously they are getting things done. so “to each his own”.
RM
Focus and Time Management are personal roadblocks that are easily overcome with the right attitude.
I love my family and I feel more comfortable at home than anywhere else.
I’ve known a couple contractors who traded services for free office space. A lot of small-medium sized local companies try to purchase entire buildings and end up with empty rooms.
I think that’s what I’d do if I was having trouble concentrating or if I had to meet with clients on a regular basis.
Of course I am self-employed; an employee would just go in to work.
I completely agree! Everybody who wants to work at home should be able to. I know I would benefit from it. I know some people need that inter-office communication, but I don’t really get into long conversations and the personal lives of my co-workers anyway. I’m super quiet, and people sometimes don’t even know I’m here in my little out-of-the-way corner office. I may as well be home!