Working from home. A good thing?

Archeron

Just wondering if I could have any opinions on something.

There is a possibility that I may be able to get a job that involves working from home. Now, when I sit for two looonnngggg hours commuting into the office in Dublin every morning, and near the same on the way home, I think to myself how amazing work from home would be. Likewise, as I drag myself out of bed at 6am on cold dark stormy mornings, I think how wonderful it could be to just roll out of bed at 8.50 and ramble down to the conservatory in your PJ's and start work.

Problem is, I am worried that it might be difficult to keep focused when you're at home. There arent really many distractions at home (no children) apart from the TV and the PS2 and the usual time wasting equipment. My attention span is not THAT bad, but its not that good either. Do any of you work from home, and when you first started, did you come across any unexpected challenges from it?

Any opinions are welcome! Thanks

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

this is only half an answer to your question -

there is very little in the way of home working at quality jobs. It seems that you need to be with a company and they then allow you on an ad-hoc basis to work from home.

you could try relocating to closer to home. Based on your travelling time, you probably live in Meath, so a good place to register would be at this website:

http://www.workinmeath.ie/

Hope someone else has a better answer for you!

damnyanks

You could also try a local business center for a hot desk facilitiy. Wipes out the commute but still in an office.

snb

I think you might find it very solitary and this in itself de-motivates you.

Im currently in a job where there are just 3 employees & no-one talks to one another. Its very depressing.

I think we all have a basic need for real human contact .

Your commute does sound awful, so perhaps a job with an occasional owrk from home opp or a job closer to home.

Lemon

I've been working from home for the last 11 months and only this week threw in the towel. At first it was great, getting up later than usual, working in my pj's, no one looking over my shoulder, working in the back garden in the summer etc etc. Quite recently though the disadvantages outweighed the advantages. Spending nine hours a day with no human contact other than talking on the phone or over email began to show in my moods. I grew quite depressed and lonely and really missed casual chit chat with colleagues, office gossip etc. If you are a sociable kind of person I'd say you would hate working alone eventually. Despite not looking forward to early morning commutes I am so looking forward to working in the company of others!
Perhaps a good option (if possible) for you would be to split your working week in two, working from home for a couple of days a week or something?

HelterSkelter

I have the option of working from home two days a week. I only do it if I am under pressure and need some peace & quiet to get some work done as our office is very noisy and it can be difficult to concentrate. Two days a week at home is fine but I wouldn't fancy it on a full time basis.

Kolodny

I was talking to a friend recently who has been working from home for about 6 months and has just decided to move back to an office based job. His reasons have pretty much already been mentioned here - particularly lack of face to face contact with colleagues/clients. He finds it hard to stay motivated all day and finds he tends to go out a lot in the evenings during the week and spend too much money, just to 'get out of the house' for a while.

j2u

i love it,i have been working from home for the past few weeks now and its great,i sometimes head out for a few hours during thae day with a friend of mine as he works night shifts and is up at about 2,it doesent matter if i wake up late and doss about cause i know i can make it up later and because i get up late i can work till later into the night and im still fine the next day.talk about flexable.for me its great

_feedback_

j2u wrote:

i love it,i have been working from home for the past few weeks now and its great,i sometimes head out for a few hours during thae day with a friend of mine as he works night shifts and is up at about 2,it doesent matter if i wake up late and doss about cause i know i can make it up later and because i get up late i can work till later into the night and im still fine the next day.talk about flexable.for me its great

Hi j2u

Do you mind me asking what kind of work it is you do or what kind of work at home jobs are available out there?!

TempestSabre

I did it a bit when I was contracting. It was fine once you were really busy with a project, but overall I thought it was a bit dull and easy to get distracted. I missed the interaction with other people.