Our lives have changed drastically over the past year as more and more people are requested to work from home. But as the business market is open and people are advised to head back to the office, many companies and workers are thinking about extending their work from home. The online platforms and strong Wi-Fi have made working from home more convenient and more manageable for employees. However, with all these benefits, some limitations come with this idea. Read on to uncover the advantages and disadvantages of working from home so you can decide for yourself.
Advantages Of Working From Home
From more economical commuting costs to increased efficiency, several benefits seem to arise from working from home. Some of the advantages are:
Childcare Cost
As most parents are professionals working five days a week, they’re likely to have an immense expense on childcare. As parents will be working from home, these school expenses are going to diminish. Whereas it can affect the productivity level but from a cost point of view, it is an effective way to save.
Job Applications
If you can work from home it may be easier to access resources such as an employment application. As you can work internationally due to the flexibility of working from home. This can benefit companies and they can hire a more efficient workforce who are built up of skilled individuals.
Productivity & Efficiency
Previous research shows that employees exhibit more motivation and efficiency while working from home. They feel fewer interruptions at home in comparison to the office. As productivity depends profoundly on the working atmosphere. Efficiency improves due to the cut in driving and travelling time.
Disadvantages of Working From Home
As there are benefits to the table, some people struggle with the idea of working from home. It includes management issues, due to lack of teamwork and working environment. The main disadvantages are:
Assessing Performance
It is difficult for management to monitor the performance of its employees regularly, as people are working from home despite having fixed daily tasks. Regular conference calls can resolve this issue; however, it can be time-consuming and reduce efficiency levels.
Working from home automatically reduces the task that necessitates teamwork. Resulting in less communication between the employees and may decrease the trust amongst team members. It minimises the opportunity of interaction between management and employees. Some people even commence feeling confined to the business culture.
Problem Solving
Simple problems such as network issues become difficult to fix when you are not in the office. It takes longer to fix a problem over the call than in person. Software issues tend to require expertise that can take some days to resolve.
There are lots of advantages as well as disadvantages when it comes to working from home. The mental strength and financial gains make working from home favoured by some employees. There are also disadvantages that make strong points against this concept.
