Being a consultant with Fenwick Software, I have been fortunate enough to experience “Working from Home” (WFH). There is a stack of articles out there explaining the pro’s and con’s – some more accurate than others. I’m going to share my personal view on WFH and whether or not you should incorporate this option into your business.
At this stage of my life I really appreciate the opportunity to work from home. I have a house, two dogs and an amazing girlfriend. I have many goals and ambitions that I wish to achieve, and I thoroughly enjoy my work. I don’t take WFH for granted and I have experienced the many advantages it can provide:
- Fewer interruptions
- Eliminates time spent commuting to work
- Flexible schedule
- Improved relationship
- Better work/life balance
These advantages provide Fenwick with increased productivity and employee satisfaction. I gain approximately three more hours in a day when working from home through not having to commute. This allows me to accomplish a myriad of domestic tasks: washing clothes and dishes, grocery shopping, going to appointments at places that are only open during office hours, and so on. I would normally do these things on weekends, cutting into my social life. However, with the power of WFH, I manage to get all this domestic stuff out of the way and still get more work done than I would normally (mainly attributed to good organisation and state of mind).
I’m not sure WFH would have worked when I was young, single, and didn’t have many goals or ambitions. The temptation would have been to go out with friends, regardless of whether or not I had work the next day, then sleep in, knowing that as long as I answered emails to let people know I was alive I’d be ok. This would have brought about all the cons normally associated with WFH – loss of routine, distractions, degradation of social skills, and ultimately a decrease in productivity. So perhaps WFH needs to be a privilege that rewards maturity.
I definitely don’t recommend working from home for the entire week – you need the social interaction with your colleagues and clients. Imagine what would happen to your corporate culture if the majority of your employees worked from home. Working from home is not for everyone and may result in more drawbacks than improvements. However, for those with the right mental state, maturity, discipline, and love of their job, WFH may well provide a boost in productivity.
