Over the past few months, many people who have never worked from home before are now being asked to do so for the foreseeable future. Here at Beyond, working from home has been our normal for quite some time. If you are struggling with the change in your work situation, here are six benefits to working from home that we enjoy. We find that focusing on the positive can help us a lot during these challenging times.
“I have been working from home so long now, and cannot imagine working any other way.”
Cindy
1. Convenience
Working from home is so convenient. My husband likes to say that I have the shortest commute of anyone that he knows. My commute to my home office is about 10 steps. It’s hard to beat that!
We live in the San Francisco Bay Area where traffic can be a big challenge. It is so nice to not have to commute to work. And I love the setup in my office with a comfortable desk and chair and all the tools I need.
2. Flexibility
Working from home has provided a lot of flexibility in my life. I started working from home when my children were preschoolers. Working from home and having the ability to adjust my workday meant that I could work around my children’s schedules. This allowed me to be able to volunteer in their classrooms throughout elementary school, go on field trips and the like.
My children are all grown up now but I still appreciate the flexibility of working from home. On many days I begin my day catching up on emails and then take a break and go for a walk in the neighborhood. This helps me to have balance in my life and brings me a lot of peace.
“Remote work has greatly enhanced my professional and personal life.”
Jessica
3. No More Commuting
Living in Northern Michigan, where there is 9 months of winter, you spend a lot of early mornings in subzero temps shoveling your car to get to work . The struggle is real.
When I switched to remote work, I no longer needed to drive. My car just sat in the parking lot, rarely used. Eventually, my husband and I realized that two cars were no longer needed, so we sold mine. Just from consolidating to one car, we drastically reduced our monthly expenses. Just two years ago, we became completely debt free!
4. Improved Mornings
When I had to work in an office, most of my mornings were spent getting ready to go to work. Now that my office is within my home, all the time I used to spend getting ready can be used more productively.
My mornings can now be used to do things I enjoy, such as:
- Early walks in nature
- Uplifting activities such as prayer and bible reading
- Eating breakfast in the morning as life intended (instead of scarfing down granola bars in a desk cubicle)
“The benefits of working from home far outweigh the disadvantages.”
Amanda
5. Home for Deliveries
Before the Covid-19 lockdown, my family would sometimes have their items that required signatures to my home because they were at work when deliveries were attempted at their home.
Since the start of Covid-19, I have been especially grateful for the flexibility that working from home provides. So as to reduce our chance of exposure, I have been having most of our groceries and other necessities delivered. Working from home means that I am home to accept these deliveries. Deliveries of perishable items can be quickly brought inside and put away during a quick work break.
6. More Time With Family
Aside from not spending time commuting to and from work, working from home enables my husband and I to spend more time together. He works nights so we are not able to have dinner together four evenings a week. However because I work from home, we can still have lunch together before he leaves for work.
This past year my grandmother’s health took a turn, as a result, she was no longer able to live alone. She needed people around and because I work from home we were able to offer her a home for nine months before she passed. Working from home gave me more time with my grandmother that I would not have had otherwise.
Whether you are new to working from home or have been doing so for some time, you are no doubt aware of many more benefits that can result from this work situation. Why not take a few minutes each week to list some benefits or positive results of the changes in your circumstances?