Pros and Cons of WFH
After the Coronavirus pandemic, people realized that they liked staying home for work. It just. . . works. Working From Home (WFH) is a new cultural norm that has proved popular by way of its staying power. According to a Forbes 2023 report1, 12.7% of full time employees work completely remotely while 28.2% of employees engage in a hybrid (both in-person and remote) schedule. Individuals may have the choice to determine their work style while others may have company standards for how many days per week the employees have to be in the office.
Whichever the case, WFH has been a huge shift in work culture. As a new and evolving concept, it has both pros and cons:
Pros
No Commute
Flexibility With Life Events (travel, families, home management, etc.)
Less Distraction by Coworkers
Relaxed Dress Code
Cons
Isolated Environment
Technical Issues
Less Structure and Lack of Peer Accountability
Non-Work Distractions (naps, TV, family members, etc.)
While these lists are not exhaustive, they do show that working from home has both its advantages and disadvantages.
Be More Productive
Whether you work from home as a personal or a company choice, you can use the tips below to increase your productivity on remote days. You will feel better about accomplishing your work while still enjoying the benefits of WFH.
Find Your Space
Whether a desk, a kitchen table, a home office, or floor space, designate at least one part of your home environment that is for “work”. Just as your body knows your bed is for sleeping, it will associate “working” with this designated location.
Traditional advice says not to work from your bed. While I mostly agree with this, I do believe that individuals have certain positions/paces where they work best. For example, in college, I did my best studying when I lay on the ground on my stomach. It is the most comfortable position for me to read and think, and I find that when I am completely comfortable, I can focus more intensely on the content.
My current job involves creative thinking and is writing intensive, so I use WFH days to my advantage by completing a lot of brainstorm work when I can be most comfortable.
Schedule Your Day
Create a regular schedule to keep yourself accountable. While you may trade your commute time for a few more minutes of sleep on WFH days, it is important that you don’t start your day too late. The later you start, the later you’ll finish. It’s best to get going early when your motivation and energy levels are up. Set your alarms so you’re ready to start your remote work at the same time as your normal work day. My team shares the expectation that we work from 9 a.m.– 5 p.m. on WFH days so I make sure I am ready to go by 8:55 a.m at my laptop.
Motivation
Working from home tests self-motivation and self-responsibility. Consider it an opportunity to set goals for yourself and achieve them without the need for constant management.
Connect with coworkers through technology to answer questions, navigate solutions, and motivate each other when necessary. A few coworkers and I usually check in with each other over a quick message and share what we are each working on that day. It’s a small act but it helps me remember that I’m not alone in my work and that I’m working for a bigger cause.
Take Smart Breaks
It is unreasonable to expect anyone to sit in front of a computer screen without movement for 8+ hours. You should not feel guilty for taking a break, so long as it is a smart break. Smart breaks have a determined length and plan of action. Use a timer on your phone or watch to set a small increment of time 5 to 10 minutes, and decide how you will use your break before the break arrives. For example, I’ll set a 5 minute timer and put in a load of laundry. Or, I’ll use a 10 minute break to make a cup of tea and check personal emails.
When possible, try to take an active break. Perhaps over lunch, go for a brief walk outside. While office jobs are not conducive to active lifestyles, even the small moments of a normal work day (filling up your water, walking to a meeting room, taking the stairs to another floor, etc.) are missing from WFH days.
Work Environment
Create your ideal work environment when you work from home. Do you like music playing in the background? Do you like having a candle lit? Use the pleasures of home to your advantage to create a calm, focused environment.
Ensure that your work environment is not overwhelmed by non-work distractions. For example, do the dishes and tidy up your room the night before so these tasks don’t distract from your work day.
Set Specific Goals for Work Content
At the start of each WFH day, make a list (either by hand or as a series of tasks on Google Calendar) of goals, tasks, and specific milestones to complete by the end of the day. Having this list is an accountability measure, and helps focus attention throughout the day. I find it best to add more work than I think I can accomplish because this eliminates too much down time or unproductive work.
These tips will help you be more productive when you work from home, keeping you AND your manager happy. My best advice is to remember that work from home is literally. . . work. . . from home. Compare this with work. . . in the office. The work part stays the same. Use the change of location to your advantage and don’t try to make your home too much like your office. Because then you might as well just work . . . at the office. Right?
Happy WFH! Thanks for reading! 🤓
~Katherine
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/remote-work-statistics/#:~:text=As%20of%202023%2C%2012.7%25%20of,to%20a%20hybrid%20work%20model. ↩︎
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