Whether you’re an experienced freelancer or working for a company, we’re here to tell you that working from home can benefit you and your career in a multitude of ways, from decreasing the frequency of anxiety attacks to putting more money in your wallet. Here’s how:
Do what you want to do, when you want to do it. How often have you sat at your corporate desk thinking of all of the home-life stuff you needed to take care of? Working from home allows you to take control of your own schedule and better prioritize tasks. Need to take a two-hour lunch for a doctor appointment? No problem. When you work from home, you’ll make up the work in no time—and you won’t have a supervisor breathing down your neck.
It allows you to break away from office drama. Let’s be honest: Working in an office can be a lot like returning to high school. You have cliques, you have gossip, and you have bullies. When you work from home, you get to avoid all of that drama—plus, you get the benefit of working in a quieter, more relaxing environment.
Save the planet—and money! If you’re tired of contributing to the cloud of smog hovering over your city, sitting in traffic for hours on end, and spending your hard-earned cash on gas money or metro tickets, you could most certainly benefit from working from home. Imagine waking up, getting a cup of coffee, and stepping into your home office—no commute necessary. Now that’s a beautiful thing.
Spend more time with your family. Are you sick of only seeing your significant other, kids or pets for just a few hours each day? Working from home might be a good solution, especially if you and your spouse tend to work opposite shifts. Plus, if you have kids in daycare, you may be able to save some money by working from home one or two days each week.
Rack up tax write-offs. If you’re self employed, you may be able to save some money on taxes by working from home. If you have a room in your home dedicated to a home office, a portion of your rent/mortgage and utilities may be tax-deductible! Laws vary by state, so be sure to check with your accountant.
Focus your attention on the job at hand. Unless you live in a literal (or figurative) circus, there tend to be fewer distractions at home than at the office. Fewer distractions means more productivity—imagine how much work you could get done instead of wasting time sitting in meetings! Maybe you can cut your eight-hour work day down to five.
You don’t actually have to work from home when “working from home.” Really this is just called “working remotely,” but it’s not as catchy. Anyway, instead of working on your couch, why not hit up your favorite coffee shop and use their wifi? Your latte and scone might be tax deductible, and you may even get to finally chat up the cute barista you’ve been ogling. Bonus!
What part of office life would you definitely not miss if you started working from home? Let us know on Twitter @starternoise!
Colorado Native. Concierge Extraordinaire. Startup Enthusiast. Seattle Living Mama & Entrepreneur. Team Coordinator and Content Contributor @StarterNoise