The Perks of Working From Home
The 9-to-5 grind can take a lot out of anyone, especially if you don’t enjoy what you do. But when you work from home you can work in the comfort of your PJs, avoid the long and jammed rides to and fro, as well as the other many benefits of setting your own “office rules”. Here are some of the perks of working remotely that you may not have been aware of! If you’re tired of the daily grind and are thinking of quitting your office job, work from home today.
Design Your Own Office
When you work from home, you have the autonomy to design your own workspace. No more cramp desks or uncomfortable office chairs. You don’t even have to mimic the “traditional” office space by setting up a corner of your living room with a huge monitor and rolling chair. Be creative with your office to suit your own needs! You can even try using your kitchen breakfast bar as a standing desk for the added free health benefit, or utilize your bedroom walk-in wardrobe for a more private and enclosed office.
Blessings to Your Bank Account
With the reductions of commuting to work, you’ll definitely see your wallet getting fatter as you don’t have to spend much on transportations anymore. Additionally, you will find yourself saving up on work apparel. This means it’s a lot less likely for you to need to wear polished shoes or formal wear as often. Lastly, you can also save up a lot on your meals as you’ll find yourself spending less time with your colleagues at pricey restaurants for lunch, and more time whipping up your own lunch and coffee at home.
Flexibility in Your Schedules
Most work that can be done remotely can be done on your own schedule. For example, a content creator can write at any time as long as they manage to hit their deadlines. For all the night owls, this may come as good news to you as you can still be productive and put in your work hours without starting your day at 8 in the morning.
If you still need to work at specific hours due to ad hoc meetings, you still have the opportunities to have your own break times however you wish to. You can take a 15-minute break dancing some salsa moves or take a refreshing power nap which may not have been possible when you’re in the office. Have you considered using a timer for your tasks, assignments, and most importantly breaks? Here is an online tomato timer which helps you stay on track. Timers can even help improve your attention span and concentration. This allows you to feel more refreshed as compared to just spending your breaks at your desk surfing on your social media sites.
Train Your Independence
One of the downsides of working remotely is not having your colleagues just beside you to help you out. However, this also means that you will find yourself being more proactive to find the answers yourself and learning new skills on your own. You can still ask questions to get help but there are other alternatives such as checking out your company’s guide or simply doing a quick Google search for your answers.
Some other skills can also be honed because of this new environment. You’ll find yourself writing more concise emails and being more sensitive to the different schedules of your team. At the end of the day, working remotely gives you more flexibility over your working style.
Efficiency is Key
Most of us actually really dislike meetings for various reasons, and working remotely may alleviate some of the stress points that come with it. The simple things such as choosing your own favorite breakfast instead of the standard coffee and donuts can do a lot in making these meetings more tolerable. Your meetings will also be more efficient as many functions can help you to quickly share documents or add important comments without interrupting the flow of the meeting. Soon, your meeting that usually stems from 45 minutes to an hour will be concentrated into just a 15 minutes meeting. There are also no worries of your colleagues being late and dragging the meetings out as well.
Communication Can Be Fun
Many employees may fear being left out socially when working remotely. However, there are many communication tools available to spice up the time you and your colleagues have together. Chat room “bots”, funny AR background effects in video chats can help make your experience a lot enjoyable as you can bond together while utilizing them. You’ll no longer spend a colleague’s birthday singing an out-of-tune song and a calorie-filled cake but celebrate it by virtually wearing a Google Hangout top hat. Do a quick search on what your platform provides and you’ll be surprised to see how much more fun working with your colleagues remotely can get.
You Can Stay More Focused
This perk doesn’t apply to everyone but only to those with steady willpower and fixed routine. As long as you’re not easily distracted by your TV, you can actually have better control of your work situation. Your colleagues (which may actually be the top distraction) will no longer be physically there for you to have less meaningful water cooler talks that you may feel obligated to continue with. When you really need to focus, you can also change your status to “do not disturb” to ensure you have more time later on to enjoy.
No More Office Politics
You may not be the best of friends with all your colleagues when working remotely, but the reduction of idle chatting also prevents your colleagues from gossiping just like in traditional work settings. This may be a good perk for everyone involved.
If you are suffering from burnout at the office, you might want to consider working from home. Working from home doesn’t mean that you have to be alone. You can always choose a different location such as your neighborhood coffee shop or library to help change up your environment. Remember, it’s up to you on how to make the best out of your work experience and the remote working environment provides you not only with flexibility but also enables you to personalize your work routine.