Although working at home has a variety of
advantages, there’s always the flip-side to a good situation. If you’re
considering a freelance career, you’ll need to review the negatives, as well as
the positives. So before you start planning your home office, review the
disadvantages.
Not
Right For Everyone
Some jobs just won’t work in a home
environment. This may be because of the nature of the job, but it’s more likely
that your house is just not the most ideal location. Loud homes are the natural
enemies of work.
Relationships
In an office, you’ll have a wealth of
people to build relationships with. You may find a new friend and enjoy the
social benefits of a corporate environment. Personal benefits aside, it’s
important to network with skilled colleagues. Working at home is lonely. You’ll
start talking to yourself! Can you handle the isolation or do you thrive off
human interaction?
Improving
The skills you pick up in an office are
important. Alone, it’s hard to identify aspects of yourself which need
improvement. You've no opportunity to learn from others. When you’re in a
people-heavy atmosphere, you’ll be able to spot trends better.
Hidden
Costs
When you begin working from home, you’ll
need to fork out for office equipment. This means a good desk and an
ergonomically-sound chair. There’ll be a range of gadgets you’ll need to back
up your files or organize your work, so budget for this.
Availability
Whereas before, you were left alone because
you were trapped in an office building, now family and friends will interpret
your ‘work-at-home’ status as an opportunity to drop by whenever they feel like
it and disrupt you. From calls to personal visits, this jarring schedule will
make your concentration and work suffer.
Procrastination
An obvious disadvantage of working at home
is the temptation of sleeping-in or doing whatever you want. To get your work
done, you’ll need a routine, but without an angry boss breathing down your
neck, you’ll be more likely to hit your snooze button all morning. Sure, a
little lie-in is fine – especially now that you don’t have to commute or change
out of your PJs – but your working hours should be roughly the same.
With no eyes on you and no office firewall,
procrastinating on the internet is so easy. Especially when you start rationalizing to yourself that you’re still doing work by chatting to your
friends on social media platforms.
Expenses
Freelancers don’t get paid for their
holidays, nor do they get sick leave. Although you’ll be able to take holidays
whenever you like, you’ll take them at your own expense. If you fall seriously
ill, there’ll be no sick pay. There’s very little security involved, so you’ll
have to create some heavy-duty savings to cover you. This fund should also
protect you from the times when you’re struggling to get some work. Your source
of income may completely dry-up at times.
Post by Tony, a UK based blogger writing
for Warrington Accountants;
Brookson.
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