Prior to 2020, the vast majority of the professional world was working in the office, all day, every day. A little thing called Covid-19 (not sure if you’ve heard of it) changed all that. The world had to figure out a way to keep on moving forward while still social distancing and staying safe. I personally have worked fully from home roughly 3.5 years of the 5 years since I graduated college, and honestly, I love it… most of the time. Here are some things I love and some things I don’t love about working from home.
The Pros
No Commute
With working from home, I don’t have to prepare myself to go to work every morning. Most days, I’ll roll out of bed ~30 mins before I get on my computer and go through my morning routine before I start working. When I worked in person, I’d wake up a little over an hour before I even left my apartment for work. Not to mention the money saved on gas and the time saved commuting to and from a work location.
Flexibility
One of the biggest draws of working from home is the flexibility. Without a rigid office schedule, remote workers can tailor their day to fit personal routines and energy levels. This autonomy can lead to better work-life balance, especially for parents, caregivers, or those working on their own side projects. The flexibility I enjoy gives me the time for mid-day workouts, library runs for my book holds, and cooking lunch for myself.
Cost Savings
The cost savings aren’t limited to just gas! Other things that people save money on when working remotely are meals and appropriate clothing. When I got my first in-person job, I probably spent $300 on clothes that were professional enough to wear to work. Additionally, during my work week, I spent around $40 per week on lunches. While experts vary pretty heavily on the actual number, most agree that working from home saves employees (and companies) money, with some studies suggesting up to $12,000 per year for employees.
The Cons
Less Human Interaction
The obvious flip side to not physically being with your co-workers is that you don’t see people! That leads to feeling a lot more isolated. For introverts, this is great! For extroverts, not so much. I will admit, it’s a lot harder to feel connected to the work you are doing and the people you work with without being in the same physical space. While that isn’t important to everyone, people spend so much time working that it’s just more difficult to be happy in life if you aren’t generally content at work.
Weakened Barrier Between Work and Life
One of the trickiest parts about working from home is figuring out when the workday actually ends. When your office is also your living room (or bedroom… no judgment), it’s really easy to just keep working—answering “one more” email or checking Slack at 7 PM because your laptop is still open on the couch. The mental shift from “I’m done for the day” doesn’t always happen when you don’t physically leave a building.
It’s not that remote work demands longer hours—it’s that the boundaries get blurry fast if you’re not intentional about setting them.
Distractions at Home
People love to joke about working from home in pajamas—and yes, it’s great—but what they don’t talk about as much are the random distractions that pop up all day. Whether it’s a neighbor mowing their lawn during your Zoom call, your dog barking at a squirrel, or the sudden urge to deep-clean your kitchen instead of getting work done, it adds up. It does take some trial and error to figure out how to best navigate the personal procrastination triggers everyone has. I personally will lose track of time if I start reading a book in the middle of the day, so I keep the book I’m currently reading in a whole separate room from where I work. My method is “out of sight, out of mind.”
There’s a constant battle between “I have stuff to do” and “I could get through a couple chapters right now,” and let’s be real—sometimes the distractions win.
Despite the few downsides to working from home, there are even fewer reasons that I’d consider going back to work in an office. I love waking up, making my coffee at home in the morning, and not having to go anywhere to start my job. I love being able to go for a workout in the middle of the day.
Like anything, it’s not perfect. It takes discipline, a bit of creativity, and the occasional reminder to actually leave the house, but overall, it’s a lifestyle that fits who I am and how I like to work. Remote work might not be for everyone, but if you can make it work, it’s kind of hard to imagine going back.