working from home advantages and disadvantages presentation

Pros and Cons of Working From Home

Be aware of the benefits and drawbacks of working from home when considering your ideal work environment.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home may have seemed like a perk that only freelancers got to do. Now, many more full-time employees have experienced working remotely or in a hybrid role.

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According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the pandemic has resulted in over one-third of companies across a wide range of industries increasing telework for some or all of their employees. The BLS also reports that around 60% of the organizations that expanded their telework options are planning to keep them indefinitely.

If you recently joined the ranks of virtual staff, your visions of the remote working life may have been dashed by reality. Working from home may sound like an ideal situation, if you've imagined simply rolling out of bed and arriving at your home office in moments, without the hassles of first making yourself presentable and then commuting to a workplace with a boss and colleagues who may drive you crazy .

In reality, though, just like working in an office, remote work comes with pros and cons. The following pros and cons list emerged after conducting informal interviews with more than 100 people with remote jobs. Read on for some positive aspects of telecommuting and the challenges that come with a work-from-home lifestyle.

Benefits of Working From Home

Pro: more flexibility to take care of appointments and errands. .

• Pro: Fewer interruptions from meetings and chitchat.
• Pro: No commute time or expense. 
• Pro: More time spent with family.

Pro: You can often do your work when you're most productive.

Pro: you can get more done., pro: you can save money on your work wardrobe., pro: the ability to live where you want to..

One of the hardest things about committing to a 9-to-5 desk job is that it prevents you from being able to handle almost anything else that comes up in your life, whether attending a routine dentist appointment or picking a sick kid up from school. When you work from home, while you still have to meet your deadlines and be available when you say you will be, you generally have wider bandwidth to tend to other responsibilities without jeopardizing your job.

Pro: There are fewer interruptions from meetings and chitchat.

It's easier to get into a deep state of focused work when you're in your home office without colleagues dropping by and sitting down impromptu to talk about their weekends. Limiting unnecessary interruptions from your colleagues and boss is a big plus of working from home and is one reason many remote workers are often more productive than office-based workers. While you may need to dial in for specific meetings, you'll likely get a break from attending several others – many of which may be unnecessary to your role – that confront staff workers daily.

Pro: There is no commute time or expense. 

You can save a lot of money and avoid wasting hours spent getting to and from work when your office is right down the hall. Avoiding traffic battles tops the list of benefits for some of those who work from home. Many remote workers also mentioned saving money by eschewing a pricey professional wardrobe unless they meet with clients.

Pro: More time spent with family. 

Office workers must kiss their loved ones goodbye each morning when heading off to work; not so for virtual workers, who can work side by side with a work-from-home spouse or with kids who are learning in a digital classroom . By doing away with the commute time, there is more time to be spent with loved ones.

When you work in an office, your schedule is rarely your own. Between the aforementioned interruptions from colleagues and meetings, plus your boss hovering nearby with agenda items and to-dos, accomplishing your focus work may be a "catch as catch can" situation, grabbing time to think and compose important reports and communications between events that others have imposed.

It's still always essential when working from home to be mindful of your team's needs and be available to dial in for virtual meetings. But remote employees generally have greater latitude to select their time of peak productivity to do their most important work and – depending on who else is working at home with them – have more quiet time to hone in on tasks that require concentration.

A number of recent studies have confirmed the growing body of research that prove working from home can help you be more productive than you can in an office, with stats showing productivity increases of up to 77%. It makes sense when you consider the above points that you have fewer interruptions and can work when you’re at your best while working remotely.

In addition to saving drive time and gas expenses, the work-from-home crowd can generally save on clothing costs as well. While you may need to have professional garb at the ready for video calls (at least for your top half on camera), most who work from home have more freedom to wear what they want while they work.

While some employers have restrictions about where you can live as a remote employee and may change your pay according to the area you reside in, a huge perk of the remote life is the ability to choose your location without needing to worry about a daily commute. Even if you’re in a hybrid role or need to make occasional visits to the office for meetings, if you don’t need to drive in each day, you have a wider range of possible places to settle besides right near the office.

Cons of Working From Home

Con: no physical separation between work and leisure time. .

• Con: Easy to misread cues via electronic communications. 

Con: You have to make the effort to get a change of scenery. 

• Con: Less in-person contact with co-workers.

Con: You are not on-site for in-office perks.

Con: you have to be more self-motivated., con: some bosses may be biased against those who aren’t in the office..

Many who work from home lamented that they often find themselves working around the clock, since their labor has no definite start or end times; those lines can often be blurred. As a result, they sometimes feel as if they are always at work, making it difficult to shift to the post-work relaxation mode that many office workers take for granted.

The absence of an obvious division between the personal and professional realms means some remote workers get distracted by housework. Setting boundaries and sticking to them is important when you're working from home.

Con: It's easy to misread cues via electronic communications. 

While few who work from home expressed feeling "lonely," as is typically assumed, many did point to the difficulty of getting the tone right through digital communication systems, such as email, chat, social media and text. Without body language, facial expressions and other cues, remote employees have to put in extra effort to maintain positive communications.

What can be a blessing can also become a curse in the form of cabin fever. Some freelancers and others who work from home lamented that where they work during the day is the exact same place where they'll be sitting later that evening; getting involved in their work often translates to spending a huge portion of the day indoors. Pre-pandemic, many stressed the importance of scheduling lunches and other meetings to keep them in the mix and avoid the rut of never leaving the house.

Con: There is less in-person contact with co-workers.

While you may have more time with loved ones when working from a home office, the flipside is less opportunity for face time (minus a screen) with people at your company. If your co-workers drive you crazy, then reduced time on-site might be a perk for you. But if you enjoy office-based camaraderie and like to be able to socialize with your team in person, then the remote life might make you miserable.

You can't swing by the break room and grab a doughnut or hit the company gym if you're working from home. This may be more of a disadvantage for workers in industries such as tech, with impressive on-site offerings like game rooms and chef-made food among their company benefits. If there's a perk you like about being in the office, then working from home may make you miss it.

If you’re the type of person who procrastinates working unless a boss is breathing down your neck, then you might find yourself underperforming in a work-from-home role. Remote workers have to motivate themselves to get the job done, which puts more onus on people working from home to manage their time wisely to complete their projects, instead of having someone else setting the timelines and spurring them along.

A study by researchers at the University of California at Davis and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that “face time” – the amount of time that you’re seen at work either within normal business hours or outside of them – can affect how your boss and others perceive you at work. If you’re not in the office and others are, some managers may be either intentionally or unintentionally biased against you. You may find that your contributions aren’t noticed or appreciated as much by your team and may feel compelled to make extra efforts to keep on everyone’s radar screen.

Weighing the pros and cons of working from home has become even more important in the wake of the pandemic, since many companies are now giving their employees the option to not come back into the office. If you are given the choice to consider working from home permanently, be sure to think through each of the pros and cons of working from home to land on a solution that matches your priorities. Remote work has clear benefits, but no situation is perfect. Understanding the reasons to work from home – as well as the reasons not to – can go a long way in learning how to work from home successfully .

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The Realities of Remote Work

• Laura Amico

Work-life boundaries are blurring and managers worry about productivity. What can be done?

The Covid-19 pandemic sparked what economist Nicholas Bloom calls the “ working-from-home economy .” While some workers may have had flexibility to work remotely before the pandemic, this unprecedented shift to remote work looks like it could be here to stay in some form.

• Laura Amico is a former senior editor at Harvard Business Review.

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Working From Home: The Ultimate Guide

• Introduction

What is working from home?

Remote work vs working from home.

• Advantages and disadvantages
• Creating a work-from-home policy

How to work from home successfully

Best work-from-home software.

Before COVID-19 hit, the option of working from home was available to only 7 percent of the U.S. workforce , mostly highly paid white collar workers. That percentage has increased more than nine-fold to 66 percent of employees in the weeks since the pandemic barred everyone not designated an essential worker from going to their jobs. This abrupt change means that a lot of people accustomed to working in their offices are finding new ways of doing their jobs.

Working from home isn’t easy, even for those who have been doing it for years. There are distractions, from chores to pets, that you used to leave behind when you “went to work.” It’s also difficult to develop, and stick to, a new routine.

Collaborating with coworkers you’ve shared offices with for years is a challenge now that you’re no longer talking face to face. There are no more casual lunchroom conversations. Working from home can be lonely.

We’ve written this guide to help you successfully make the adjustment to working from home, whether you run a business or work for someone else. Here’s what you’ll learn:

• What is working from home? This chapter will explain what working from home actually means, why it was already becoming more common even before the pandemic, and current trends and statistics.
• Remote work vs working from home. There are some differences between remote work and working from home, and this chapter gives you a brief overview.
• Advantages and disadvantages of working from home. Like everything else, there are upsides and downsides to working from home.
• How to create an effective work-from-home policy. This chapter teaches employers how to set employee expectations, determine which positions are eligible to work from home, and decide on prudent security measures.
• How to work from home successfully. This chapter gives employees tips on staying focused, establishing a routine, communicating with coworkers, and managing distractions. You’ll also learn how to set up a home office.
• Best work-from-home software. Technology makes it possible to work from home. This chapter covers the software you’ll need to succeed.

Though this guide is intended for both managers and employees who are making the switch to working from home, there’s a lot here that can be valuable to work-from-home veterans, too. Whether you’re an employee, a manager, or a WFH vet, these tips can help you be more efficient and get more out of the experience.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the average American worker spent 4.35 hours per week , or 26.1 minutes each way, commuting to and from work. The commute in the notoriously congested Washington, D.C. metro area averages 43.6 minutes, one way. The productivity argument for working from home has gained a lot more traction now that “shelter in place” orders have limited the choices to working from home or not at all.

Working from home (WFH), also known as teleworking, remote working, or flexible workplace, has long been viewed as a benefit for a small percentage of employees. Many people think it’s an option made possible by the internet, but it’s actually been around for almost 50 years.

The history of working from home

The first work-from-home experiment involved 30 federal government workers in the 1970s , when the oil supply crisis resulted in long gas lines and expensive fuel. Farsighted employers considered ways to shorten commutes, such as building satellite offices instead of everyone commuting to headquarters, or eliminating commutes altogether. In the 1980s, JCPenney began hiring home-based call center workers .

Telecommuting grew after passage of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 prodded large businesses to address long commutes. In 1996, the federal government implemented the National Telecommuting Initiative to demonstrate its commitment to more teleworking opportunities.

Working from home today

Thanks to widespread high-speed internet access, video conferencing, and collaboration apps, a laptop is all an employee needs to do their job and stay in touch with colleagues.

Working from home today typically begins when employees set up a workspace in their homes where they can do their jobs — including everything from preparing presentations and reports to conducting phone interviews and developing software.

Many jobs lend themselves well to a work-from-home arrangement. Virtual assistants, for instance, communicate with their employers via communication apps to complete many of the duties an onsite administrative assistant would.

Well-trained customer service representatives were some of the original work-from-home employees. Now many companies use a browser-based interface that enables home-based customer service representatives to answer calls and troubleshoot problems via live chat.

Technology is rapidly expanding the jobs that can now be done from home . Lawyers and paralegals have access to online databases like Westlaw to look up cases, as well as electronic case management systems, for example.

Home offices vary. Employees who primarily work from home typically have a dedicated home office space in a spare room. Those who work from home occasionally often improvise, using whatever desk or table is available. They might also set up on their couch and use a coffee table, or create a standing desk.

Why work from home

Working from home has become more common in recent years as technology has improved and more employers recognize the moral value of trusting employees. Employees treasure the flexibility and work-life balance.

A Future of Work survey of managers found that 78 percent ranked telecommuting and flexible schedules as two of the most valuable benefits for retaining employees. More than half of employers provide their employees with the necessary devices for working remotely, while 36 percent facilitate working from home by using cloud-based file management tools.

Businesses and employees both see the benefits of working from home. Employees appreciate the hours they gain from not commuting, while employers recognize savings when they don’t have to provide dedicated office space. Studies have found that office desks are vacant 50–60 percent of the time .

Working from home gives employees time to attend to their health, like exercising before or after work, instead of sitting in traffic. Employees appreciate the flexibility that working from home gives them; they can pick up their child from school, go grocery shopping, or start a load of laundry between client calls. The money they save on commuting costs is basically a raise that costs the company nothing.

Work-from-home trends

While COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of working from home, it was already on the rise. From 2005 to 2018, the number of employees who regularly work from home grew 173 percent .

Employees increasingly want to work from home. The vast majority ( 80 percent ) want to work from home at least some time, and 35 percent would leave their employer for another job if they could work from home full time.

Larger companies have long been more likely to offer employees the chance to work from home, but small businesses are increasingly allowing employees to work from home as well. Smaller businesses often look for remote employees for bookkeeping, human resources, marketing, web development, and information technology to reduce overhead.

Access to work-from-home opportunities varies by the type of position and the industry. Management, business, and financial employees have the greatest ability to work remotely, as do those who work for insurance carriers and professional services firms like advertising agencies and law firms. These tend to be knowledge workers who do most of their work on computers.

Five of the fastest growing work-from-home positions are therapists, virtual assistants, client services professionals, tutors, and state and local government workers. Some other common positions are teachers, writers, developers, analysts, sales representatives, and nurses.

Working from home is on the rise across a variety of occupations. The COVID-19 pandemic is showing employers that workers can be productive in a setting other than the office. It’s likely that working from home is here to stay for a lot more people.

The number of people working remotely increased 159 percent between 2008 and 2020. Many people use the terms “remote working” and “working from home” interchangeably for employees who don’t commute to work at the company offices, but remote work and working from home are not identical.

The two aren’t mutually exclusive, either. Someone who works from home can also work remotely, and vice versa, but both remote work and working from home are here to stay. Polling shows 80 percent of employees want to work from home, at least some of the time.

Here’s how remote work vs working from home stack up.

Working from home

Working from home is exactly what it sounds like: work that you do where you live, whether in a dedicated home office or at an improvised location, such as your kitchen table or out on the patio on a nice day.

Some people work from home because they’re caretakers of children or older relatives. Working from home lets them meet the needs of the people they’re responsible for while still doing their jobs.

Others work from home occasionally as a respite from the commute to a distant office. They can take care of personal responsibilities, like being home for their child when there’s an early school dismissal or letting in a repair person without taking a day off.

Working from home often describes a temporary situation, like what we’ve seen to comply with orders closing “non-essential” businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, or in ordinary times when an employee needs to be at home for a specific reason that day. For example, an employee might opt to work from home when they need time without distraction to complete a big project.

Remote work

Remote work typically refers to an employee who mostly, or entirely, works outside the company’s established offices. Usually the employee lives too far from the company’s actual location to commute daily. The employee may, or may not, work from their home, but they primarily work at a location other than the company offices.

Unlike working from home, however, remote work can be a little bit more like going to a traditional workplace. For example, some remote employees work from coworking spaces. This requires them to be in a semi-public environment and travel to the coworking space, which means some kind of commute and casual dress code.

Another type of remote work is when employees who work from home leave for awhile to work at a coffee shop or other public space. This is a more relaxed environment than a coworking space, but it does require leaving the house.

There are the employees, like field sales representatives, who have been doing remote work for years. They’re the “road warriors” or digital nomads who use their laptops and cell phones to work from diners and airport lounges between sales calls.

While it’s fine to use remote work and working from home interchangeably, it’s important to note the subtle differences between them. Working from home typically describes a situation where someone doesn’t work in the office, either for a day or more regularly. Remote work is done away from the office, but not necessarily at home. Remote workers often live too far away from the company’s offices to commute on a daily basis.

Both remote work and working from home can be used to increase employee satisfaction and possibly decrease overhead.

Advantages and disadvantages of working from home

Working from home can be both a blessing and a curse for companies and employees alike. On the one hand, employers can reduce turnover by 25 percent , saving $10,000 per year, and reduce unscheduled absences by 63 percent. On the other hand, 22 percent of employees believe some people will abuse the privilege and get less work done.

But as telecommuting and remote work become easier and more economical, both companies and employees need to weigh the advantages and disadvantages to determine if it’s a good fit for them. While 35 percent of employees would quit their job if they were offered a job that allowed them to work from home full time, only 27 percent of companies offer this option.

As you’re weighing whether or not to implement a permanent work-from-home policy, here are some of the pros and cons for both employees and employers.

Pro: Employees save money and time

Probably the biggest advantage for employees who work from home is how much money and time they save by not commuting. An employee can save between $2,500 and $4,000 per year when they don’t have to travel, park, or buy food during the workday. (In Manhattan, a sandwich can cost $15.)

Employees who work from home have a lot more free time. Working remotely even half time saves an employee, on average, 11 work days per year they would have otherwise spent commuting. If an employee has a very long commute, that time can triple. The time not spent commuting is time they have for personal care and family, and they can still get their work done.

Remote employees also save money on their wardrobe. Instead of dressing up for the office and spending money on dry cleaning, they can work in casual (and machine washable) clothes, and save their professional wardrobe for meetings with clients.

Pro: Employees are more productive 

While some associates who work from home take naps ( not that there’s anything wrong with napping ) and binge-watch television, good employees tend to buckle down and manage their time well. Remote workers are often more productive, and less distracted, at home than they are at the office.

Workers who don’t spend hours commuting can start work earlier and manage their time to work when they are most productive. Employees who are at their best first thing in the morning can log in while they’re drinking coffee and get started on the big tasks for the day when most people are still commuting to the office.

Pro: Employers can boost green initiatives

In 2018, 28.2 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions came from transportation. Companies that allow working from home help reduce emissions, a significant green initiative that resonates with employees.

Additionally, the energy used to keep offices lighted, ventilated, and climate controlled is another significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. As more employees work from home, employers can reduce the size of offices, reducing emissions and rental costs.

Pro: Employees have flexibility

Many employees want to work from home so they have more time for their other responsibilities, like caring for children or an elderly relative, or simply getting their grocery shopping and household chores done. Working from home basically gives the employee the time they would have spent commuting to deal with the rest of their lives. Allowing remote employees to manage their time lets those who want to start earlier have more time in the late afternoon to do homework with their kids or drive an elderly relative to a medical appointment.

Perhaps the biggest single benefit of working from home is the flexibility it gives employees to attend to their own needs. They can schedule their regular dental checkup or just pop out to the grocery store to grab some things for dinner, instead of spending that time commuting.

Pro: Employers can draw from a larger talent pool

Companies with work-from-home or remote work policies aren’t restricted to the talent pool that’s within driving distance of their offices. Those companies can tap into talent from anywhere.

This is an immense advantage if you’re located where the unemployment rate is low. You can recruit and hire far from your headquarters. You can also diversify your workforce. A good work-from-home policy opens opportunities to talented people who might otherwise be unable to commute to your location.

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Con: Employees may work too much

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many companies abruptly allowing employees to work from home, often because the only alternative is to temporarily shut down entirely.

Many have found that employees are working longer days. One study found U.S. employees were logged on for an additional three hours per day compared to pre-COVID-19 shutdowns. While this might sound like a boon for employers, it risks a burned out team that’s less productive in the long run.

One reason for the long hours could be that employees want the boss to see they are still productive when they work from home. However, working too much leads to employees making mistakes or burning out, which defeats the purpose of allowing them to work in an environment of their choosing.

Con: The line between work and home gets blurry

One advantage of commuting to an office is that you have a well-defined boundary between work and home. Sure, an employee might check their email from their phone in the evening, but for the most part, they leave their work on their desk when they go home.

Working from home blurs that line. For remote employees, and particularly those living in a small space, their “office’’ might be a table in a corner with their laptop that’s always in their line of sight, even when they’re trying to relax. The employee never feels they are really done for the day.

The result too often is an employee who works harder than anybody expects, and is stressed out and less productive because they are burned out.

Con: Less face time, less teamwork

Employees working from home simply don’t have as much face time with their coworkers as they do when the team is at the same location every day.

One survey found that 22 percent of telecommuters felt isolated and missed the company of their team. Another 17 percent said their interpersonal relationships suffered because they didn’t have face-to-face interaction with their coworkers. It’s hard to read another person’s nonverbal cues when you’re not in the same room.

Loneliness increases stress, harming mental health in a way that can result in depression, anxiety, and sleep problems.

Con: Employees may have technology issues

Don’t assume employees will have all the tech tools at home they need to be successful. They may not have second monitors and higher definition webcams that we take for granted at the office.

There may also be issues with the employee’s internet connection at home. During the COVID-19 pandemic, broadband internet service providers saw a 27 percent surge in core network traffic. In dense residential areas, these traffic spikes can strain the networks and cause connections to slow down.

Con: Employers may think employees are slacking

When an employee working in the office doesn’t answer a call or email right away, we assume they are in a meeting or otherwise busy. When an employee who works from home doesn’t answer the phone on the first ring, or doesn’t answer an email for an hour, coworkers and managers wonder if the employee is really working or just slacking off.

For every employee who slacks off while working from home, there are 10 who put in extra time at night. People who primarily work from home have the same engagement rate as the overall employee population, which hovers at 30 percent . Engagement has little to do with whether the person works from home or at the office, and far more to do with opportunities for professional development and the quality of their relationships with coworkers.

Working from home has its advantages and disadvantages, both of which are important as you explore allowing your team to work from home. Carefully consider whether the pros outweigh the cons for your company, and how your employees will adapt and perform if the situation is permanent.

How to create an effective work-from-home policy

Though the option to work from home has long been a coveted employee benefit, just 7 percent of employees enjoyed this benefit prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

The pandemic led to “shelter in place” orders that effectively forced companies to choose between shutting down entirely or shifting their teams to working from home. In the space of just a few weeks, 67 percent of companies began allowing employees to work from home. Millions of employees got a laptop, instructions on how to log in, and not much else from their employers.

Fewer than half of companies have work-from-home policies in place for their newly remote workers. The result is confusion and frustration as employees try to determine what’s expected of them. Work-from-home policies guide both companies and employees for the long term. Post-pandemic, employees may want to continue working from home occasionally, and a well-considered policy can help foster that.

What is a work-from-home policy?

A work-from-home policy defines what’s expected of both the employer and the employee when employees work from home. It covers the needed company-issued equipment and clarifies what positions are eligible to work from home, how to request that benefit , and how it gets approved.

The purpose of setting up this policy, like any other workplace policy, is to provide employees with what they need to successfully work from home. A good policy mitigates the disadvantages of working from home while making this option available to as many employees as practical.

How to set expectations for employees

Everyone who works from home will need to know what’s expected of them. When you create your work-from-home policy guidelines, make clear how many hours employees should put in, the communication apps they need to use, and how often they must check in.

Additionally, tell employees about mandatory meetings that they will have to attend. For example, you might set up a Monday morning check-in video call with your remote team to clarify the goals for that week.

The policy should specify the output you expect from employees who work from home. This should correlate with what the employees already produce, like the number of contracts a paralegal usually drafts per day when working in the office. A work-from-home policy should specify the technology employees will need to be trained to use, such as video conferencing and collaboration applications.

Make clear which expenses — such as upgrading home internet connections for employees — you’ll cover, so that employees can include them on their monthly expense reports.

Determining work-from-home eligibility

Not every employee is a good candidate to work from home. For starters, there are some occupations that require you to be in a physical location, like on the manufacturing floor. Others work in teams that require a higher degree of team collaboration than possible when they work from home. Some employees might handle sensitive information, raising cybersecurity and data privacy concerns if they work from home.

Finally, there’s also the question of how suitable the employee’s home environment is for work. How quiet is their home? If their job requires them to be on a lot of conference calls, they’ll need a space where they can be on these calls without being interrupted and, if they’re dealing with sensitive information, overheard.

Work-from-home security

Cybersecurity and data privacy are bigger concerns when employees work from home. All organizations need to institute security measures to protect both employees working from home and the company from potential data breaches.

A company’s virtual private network (VPN) can give users a false sense of security. Even if a VPN is installed, hackers can still manipulate it if there’s already malware on the home network. Consider how to protect all the data transmitted using security tools besides VPNs, like endpoint security software.

Secure forms for internal data collection, like forms created with Jotform , add an important layer of protection. For example, an employee might collect customer payment information during a video conference. That information needs to be encrypted so that the company complies with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS).

The importance of trust for successful remote workers

If working from home is new to you and your employees, you may wonder if they’re actually working. It’s tempting to install software on their company-issued devices to monitor them, or require them to check in repeatedly, but micromanaging often backfires.

It’s much better to build trust by setting clear expectations for your employees and giving them the autonomy to get their work done when they work from home. Tell employees how you want them to communicate their progress on different projects, like an end-of-the week email or a one-on-one call on Monday morning, and then trust them to do so.

Focus on the employee’s work product, not necessarily how much time they’re spending in front of their computer. Understand that employees who work from home will need to attend to other responsibilities. But if they’re still doing their work well, it shouldn’t matter if they’re parked in their chair from 9 to 5 with a lunch break at noon.

Establishing a work-from-home schedule

Remote employees still need normal working hours so that, for example, they’re available for meetings or to answer questions.

A work-from-home schedule will keep you on the right side of the U.S. Department of Labor. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires you to pay overtime if nonexempt employees work more than 40 hours per week. If your hourly employees are working from home, this can add up quickly.

Employees who work from home tend to work more hours, not fewer, than those working at the office. A work-from-home schedule gives them clear guidelines so they know when they are really off work. This is important for avoiding burnout.

Consider letting your employees guide some of their schedules. For example, they can be available for calls between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., and have a hard stop on their workday at 5 p.m.

The post-COVID-19 WFH world

If you find that employees successfully complete their work while working from home during the pandemic, you may want to consider making the policy permanent. You can ease into this by allowing employees to work from home on specified days of the week or allowing employees to telecommute one or two days of their choosing.

You could also create a policy allowing them to work from home as needed, like on school holidays when their kids are home or when they’re not feeling well enough to come into the office but aren’t sick enough to justify taking a day off.

Ultimately, a good work-from-home policy will help both you and your employees succeed when they’re not in the office. Be thorough, and use the policy to build trust with your employees by setting expectations. Make sure there are security protections so that your data isn’t compromised, and help them establish working hours. This will be beneficial for everyone involved.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, 42 percent of Americans have begun working from home. And now that they’ve gotten a taste of it, 24 percent say they want to keep working from home, either entirely or more often. Sixty percent of them say they’re just as productive — or even more productive — working from home.

But for those who are struggling to work from home successfully, or once the novelty wears off, it can be difficult to maintain the same level of productivity. Whether it’s a stack of dishes begging to be washed or difficulty collaborating with teammates, here are some tips for making the most out of working from home.

Set up for work-from-home success

Staying focused is a challenge when you’re working from home. Chores, pets, and other distractions abound. That’s why it’s so important to put in place a framework that will boost your productivity .

A basic way to do this is to make an action plan every day, separate from your list of projects. This is where you drill down on what you will accomplish just this one day. Break your big projects into discrete tasks you can do in daily increments. That way, you know what to work on every day and why it matters.

Build rewards into your daily action plan to make tasks more enjoyable and help you get them done faster. For example, if you have a tedious task on your list, “reward” yourself with your favorite coffee once you’ve completed it.

Establish work hours

Flexibility is one of the biggest perks of working from home, but it’s also one of the biggest pitfalls. Your employer’s work-from-home policy may require you to be available for certain hours of the day. But if not, or if those hours your employer specifies aren’t enough, you’ll need to establish work hours to stay productive.

One tip for establishing work hours is to consider when you’re at your most productive. For example, if you’re a morning person, you might start your workday at 7 a.m., then work until lunch and take a long break.

Also consider your other responsibilities. If you have children at home, your work-from-home hours need to accommodate their schedules. You might start your workday after you’ve gotten them on the school bus, then take a long break when they get home.

Maintain a work-from-home schedule

Set a work-from-home schedule that details what you do during working hours, including your start time, breaks, and when you end your workday. It helps to establish rituals that signal the beginning and the end of the workday.

For example, your workday startup and workday shut down routine can involve simple but necessary tasks, such as reviewing your calendar, responding to email and other communications, and making your preliminary list for the next day.

Start your workday at a set time, just as you would if you were going to the office. You don’t need to wear office attire, but dress in a way that signals you’re working. This can start another ritual, of dressing for work but also changing into casual clothes when you’re done for the day.

As you head to your work-from-home space, tell everyone you live with that you are at work and shouldn’t be interrupted unless it’s important.

Leverage remote communication tools

Collaborating on projects and staying connected with coworkers is what makes teams effective, but you can’t pop over to a coworker’s desk to ask for a second opinion on that client presentation when you’re working from home. Email is often clunky, and you don’t know when someone will read your message.

Fortunately, high-speed internet connections make this a bit easier with tools like Slack , which let you ping a coworker with a question or join a water cooler-type channel to discuss the latest binge-worthy streaming show.

Video conferencing software makes meetings far more interactive than telephone conferences. You don’t have to play “guess the voice” when you can see your coworkers’ faces. Some software, like Zoom , Microsoft Teams , and Google Meet , allow you to run presentations and share your screens.

Forms are a much more efficient way to collect end-of-the-day (or week) reports than email. Forms also are more efficient for requesting office supplies or IT help. Many employers use remote life surveys to see how their employees are adjusting to working from home.

Avoid distractions at work

Working from home comes with its own set of distractions : household chores, family members, and the temptation to take a short break that extends for hours. The flexibility of working from home can reduce the productivity you had when a manager was looking over your shoulder.

One source of distraction is the computer. No one is watching you check Facebook for the umpteenth time or read the latest celebrity gossip instead of working on a spreadsheet.

Fortunately, there are tools you can download to block distracting websites. Strict Workflow is a free plug-in on Google Chrome that blocks specific websites for 25-minute blocks of distraction-free work. Similarly, StayFocusd limits the time you spend overall on distracting websites. Once you’ve reached your time limit, you’re done for the day.

Another trick is to turn on the “do not disturb” feature on your mobile phone, then put it out of sight. This will help you resist the temptation to check social media or text messages while you’re working.

Earplugs are an inexpensive way to minimize distracting outside noise, or you can invest in a set of noise-canceling headphones. Many people find listening to music distracting, so a white noise app or a site like Coffivity that plays café sounds on a loop can help you focus.

Set up a home workspace

It’s tempting to curl up on the couch in your pajamas with your laptop, but that’s more conducive to taking a nap or watching TV than working. To be productive when working from home, you need a home workspace where you can get down to business.

A spare room set up as a full home office is ideal. You can bring in tools that help you stay productive, like a second monitor, a whiteboard, or a white noise machine. You can shut the door to enforce boundaries.

If that’s not an option, establish a discrete area where you work and only work. This can be as simple as a small desk in a corner of your home exclusively for remote work. If you can, get a roll-top desk you can close so that, once you’re done for the day, your work is out of sight and out of mind.

Get the right work-from-home equipment

A laptop and an internet connection are the basic tools you’ll need, but they probably won’t be sufficient. You should have the communications tools and productivity software you normally use at work. Check with your company’s IT team to make sure you have access to them, as well as security software to protect company data.

Make sure your home computer is fast enough to handle the software tools you’re using. Your company should issue you a device that meets this need. You need a reliable internet connection and a good wireless router to stay connected.

Comfortable work-from-home office equipment is well worth the investment. Treat yourself to an ergonomically friendly space, with a comfortable office chair and keyboard.

Working from home successfully will take planning. Set a schedule, manage distractions, and establish a workspace. Once you do, you’ll maintain or even exceed the productivity you achieved in your company’s physical office.

The hardware that makes it possible for many to work from home becomes far more useful when paired with the best available work-from-home software. If you’ve suddenly found yourself working from home, you have a lot to choose from. The market for collaboration and social software, including messaging apps and collaboration in cloud office suites, is projected to reach $4.8 billion by 2023, according to Gartner .

Using the right work-from-home software improves the performance of each team member and helps managers keep teams on track. These tools make it possible for employees who work from home to collaborate, share documents, and manage projects.

Working from home has many advantages, but you can’t drop by the desk of a coworker to chat about the status of an assignment. These work-from-home software tools fill the gap.

Jotform is unrivaled for ease of use and versatility. It allows you to quickly design forms for employees to request the support and resources they need. Jotform makes it easy for employees who work from home to submit help tickets to the IT department or file end-of-the-week reports.

Jotform includes powerful collaboration features. Multiple team members can work on the same form simultaneously, and all changes are saved automatically. You can also Assign Forms to teammates.

Jotform integrates with nearly all work-from-home software, including tools like Google Drive and Slack as well as the software mentioned below. It’s easy for employees to use Jotform alongside the tools they already use.

Make remote work a breeze with Jotform’s free telecommuting forms for Zoom meetings, employee feedback, time sheets, and more.

monday.com is a team management platform that lets you use templates and building blocks to set up boards to manage projects and workflows. You can use it to track project status and create action items from video chats.

monday.com offers board templates for daily task tracking, creating a company knowledge library, and resource management, among many others. The company also created communications planning and risk assessment templates for organizations to use during the COVID-19 pandemic.

monday.com includes automation capabilities for many routine tasks, such sending automatic email alerts when the status of a task changes.

Collaborating with team members remotely requires secure access to files and the ability to work on those files together. Dropbox is a cloud storage service that provides access to your files no matter where you are.

You can also make files available offline so that you can work on them without an internet connection, if necessary. Once you’re reconnected to the internet, Dropbox will automatically update your files.

Paper is a great collaboration feature baked into Dropbox. It lets you organize projects using to-do lists, timelines, and tables. You can add relevant files so that all the content you need for the project, like PowerPoint presentations and Word documents, is in one place.

Dropbox also lets you make notes directly on files and share feedback without downloading additional software.

Even companies working remotely require signed contracts before they will begin work. DocuSign integrates with Jotform so you can easily send forms to be signed by employees, vendors, or customers.

This saves time and money for everyone involved. Because the extra steps involved in printing contracts are eliminated, contracts are signed faster, and employees can start working on projects sooner.

Asana is a project management app that lets you create checklists, calendars, and boards to manage projects. You can choose the structure that works best for your team and set deadlines and priorities for different tasks.

Asana has features that track the status of projects and tasks. It also enables you to create visual product plans that help you map out each step and identify potential roadblocks.

Asana offers workflow automation tools as well. You can create rules for tasks, like assigning work and due dates. You can write your own rules or use automation templates, as well as create templates from projects that you do regularly.

Choosing work-from-home software

These are just five of the many work-from-home software tools available to help employees and teams collaborate and stay engaged.

When you’re choosing work-from-home software, consider what you’ll be integrating it with, the comfort level of your employees, and your own personal preferences. For example, both Asana and monday.com are project management tools. They have many similar features, so explore both to determine which you prefer, like checklists or boards to organize projects.

All of these tools minimize confusion so that, even if someone isn’t in the office, they have the same information as everyone who is. They can access the files they need to work and collaborate with their teams.

This software can help employees who work from home be as productive as they were in the office.

Working from home can keep a business operating during a pandemic, weather interruption, or any other situation that closes down headquarters. It can also help employees handle other responsibilities and perhaps be even more productive.

While working from home was gaining in popularity before the COVID-19 pandemic, very few employees worked from home routinely and few employers were prepared for the shift required to make working from home a success.

One way employers can set up their employees for WFH success is by creating a work-from-home policy. This provides expectations for employees, and helps them set their own working hours and establish a viable home workspace, as well as communicate and collaborate with their teams.

Technology is essential, and that means more than just a laptop. Collaboration, project management, and file sharing applications are critical WFH software. Providing employees with these tools will help them be more productive, regardless of their location.

Working from home is likely to be an important employee benefit after the coronavirus pandemic passes. As long as employees know what you expect from them and have the right resources, it can be a success for everyone involved.

Thank you for helping improve the Jotform Blog. 🎉

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4 Comments:

More than a year ago

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This is such an amazing and helpful article, I was fond of such an article. Thank you for sharing it.

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As a small business, we were woefully unprepared to send our employees home with laptops when the governor in our state issued a shutdown order. I found the section on setting a work-from-home policy particularly helpful, and with the help of our IT director and CEO, and using Jotform forms to get input from employees, we created a policy to help our employees better structure their days. I also posted a link to this guide on our Slack channel so that our employees could read the section on working from home successfully. Those tips — particularly the distraction-blocking apps — were so useful for all of us!

What are the Pros and Cons of Working from Home?

• 1.  What Is Remote Work?
• 2.  Benefits of Working From Home
• 3.  Remote Work Disadvantages & Challenges
• 4.  How to Write a Remote Work Policy
• 5.  How to Hire Remote Employees
• 6.  Virtual Onboarding for Remote Employees
• 7.  How to Manage Remote Workers & Virtual Teams
• 8.  Building a Positive Remote Working Culture
• 9.  Managing Remote Meetings
• 10.  Virtual Team Building Activities & Ice Breakers
• 11.  Avoiding Stress & Burnout
• 12.  Tips for How to Work From Home
• 13.  Setting Up a Home Office
• 14.  Remote Collaboration Tools & Software
• 15.  Remote Work Statistics
• 16.  What is the Future of Remote Work?
• 17.  Glossary
• 18.  FAQ
• What are the Pros and Cons of Working From Home?

Working in your pajamas and being free from the office is a dream come true for many. While working from home can enrich your life, it still comes with a considerable list of work from home advantages and disadvantages.  

Pros and cons of working remotely

When working remotely, it's crucial to have the right tools to seamlessly collaborate with teammates and deliver great results from home. If you're considering a transition to remote work, here are the pros and cons you can expect.

Pros of working from home

Increase in productivity : Unlike in the office with distractions like spur-of-the-moment meetings and chatty colleagues, working from home provides more control of your work environment, increasing your productivity level. In Airtasker's 2019 survey , remote workers reported that working from home eliminated time spent in daily commutes and increased overall productivity and happiness. 

W ork-life balance : Working from home brings flexibility to your life and schedule, allowing more time for family, friends, and hobbies. With a good work routine and habits, you would strike a better, enjoyable balance between work and life. 

S aves time and cost : When working from home, the time and expenses spent on commuting, lunch, and other miscellaneous work costs are out of the picture. You need fewer business clothes when you work from home. You can also allocate the saved time and energy to profitable work activities.

Cons of working from home

Possibility of burnout: When home becomes where you work and sleep, unplugging from work at the end of a day becomes difficult. In fact, 22% of remote workers said their biggest challenge when working from home was unplugging after their workday. The constant use of technology for everything: work, entertainment, learning, makes it worse as we switch from one screen to the other. 

Loneliness or social isolation: When you work from home, you may feel socially isolated from your colleagues, and opportunities for social interactions decrease. According to one report, 21% of remote workers believe loneliness is their biggest struggle of working from home. 

Difficulty in collaboration: Working from home can slow down collaboration, especially when team members work in different timezones. Asynchronous communication must be carefully planned to maintain communication standards. Unlike in-person interactions where you get to see raw displays of emotions, remote communication is often devoid of context, which can lead to misunderstandings.

Distractions: The flexibility that remote work brings is a double-edged sword. Unlike the office environment where you may focus more because you're being supervised, working from home allows distractions from people, pets, social media, or habits. It's easy to get sidelined by laundry, Netflix, or even grocery shopping on some days. 

The pros and cons of working from home lean towards the more favorable scale for most employees. By comparing the work from home advantages and disadvantages, you can decide what is best for you. 

Remote Work and Remote Jobs

• What is Remote Work?
• How Does Remote Working Work?
• Which Careers Are Good for Working From Home?
• What Types of Companies Allow Work From Home?
• How Do I Find a Work From Home Job?
• What is a Work From Home Program?

Pros and Cons of Remote Work

• Advantages & Benefits of Remote Work
• Disadvantages & Challenges of Remote Work
• Why is Remote Work So Hard?

Hiring and Onboarding Remote Workers

• How to Write a Work From Home Policy
• How to Hire Remote Employees
• Virtual Onboarding for Remote Employees
• What is a Remote Work Agreement?
• How Do I Set Remote Work Expectations?
• How Do I List Remote Work on My Resume?

Remote Team Management

• Building a Positive Remote Working Culture
• Managing Remote Meetings
• Virtual Team Building Activities & Ice Breakers
• How to Manage Remote Workers & Virtual Teams

Working From Home

• Tips for How to Work From Home
• How to Avoid Remote Work Stress & Burnout
• How Can I Work From Home?
• How Do I Ask my Boss to Work From Home?
• How Do I Prepare for Remote Work?
• What Work Can I Do From Home?

Remote Working Tools

• Setting Up a Home Office for Remote Work
• How Do I Access my Work Computer From Home?
• How Do I Access my Work Email From Home?
• Remote Collaboration Tools & Software

Remote Work Industry

• What is the Future of Remote Work After COVID-19?
• Why is Remote Work Important?
• Remote Work & Working From Home Statistics
• How Many People Work From Home?
• What is the Remote Work Revolution?
• Remote Work Industry FAQs

Remote Work FAQs

• What is Telecommuting?
• What is Telework?
• What is the Difference Between Remote Work and Telework?
• What is Remote Whiteboarding?

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Top 10 Advantages and Disadvantages of Working from Home

Table of contents.

Let’s be real, no matter where you’re working from, you’re still doing just that: working.

So, should you work from home or work from the office? It honestly comes down to the environment you’ll be most effective in, along with the industry you’re in. (And how nice your home office is.)

With that said, let’s take a look at some of the classic benefits of telecommuting!

Top 10 Advantages of Working from Home

• Flexible schedule. You can take breaks at any moment, feel no rush to hang up on your family members when they call, and eat lunch at any weird time you want.
• Custom environment. Set up your noise level just the way you want it — somewhere between insanely quiet to being at the front row of a Lady Gaga concert. And if you’re mindful of your workspace ergonomics , you can create a stronger rhythm for your workflows.
• Cozy clothes. You get to wear those sweatpants from college with the letters peeling off, or the leggings your friends don’t know you own. (And hopefully never will.)
• It’s easier to make calls. You won’t have to scramble to find a conference room or deal with a particularly chatty co-worker. (Granted, kids and pets at home can make this tough for some remote employees.)
• Knock off some weekend to-do’s. That Mt. Everest laundry pile waiting for you? That thing you set a reminder to get from the store 11 weeks ago? Cross. It. Off.
• No office distractions. Avoid co-workers debating the merits of cryptocurrency, sirens wailing outside your window, the AC kicking in as you hide your icicle tears.
• Zero commuting. From bed to … bed? Hey I’m not judging, it’s nice.
• Save money. Lunch is expensive if you work in a city or downtown. In San Francisco, it’s not crazy to see a $15 sandwich or $4 coffee. At home, you can save big time by going to the store and preparing food.
• Forget crowds and traffic. No stuffing yourself into a rickety transportation tube, having people scuff your new shoes, or walking behind agonizingly slow people who apparently don’t know what a straight line is. (Am I bitter? No … not bitter … )
• More time with loved ones. Take care of a sick significant other at home, be ready for your kids earlier in the day, get some extra snuggles in with your doggo, or simply get some quiet time to yourself!

Top 10 Disadvantages of Working from Home

• Willpower. Gotta get jamming on this new project, but Netflix says you still have 4 episodes of Tiger King to watch…
• Difficulty sticking to a routine. The order you do things at work is almost never the order you do things at home. It can be tough to mirror your schedule and processes once outside the office.
• Missing important calls or pings. Oops, my phone was on do not disturb and I missed a meeting! Or my boss slacked me and asked to prioritize something else and now it’s 4:45pm …
• Calling UberEats anyways. You thought you were saving money, didn’t you? Blam-o! $20 minimum and a $5 fee for the higher rated Thai place. Should’ve remembered to buy bread …
• Power naps. This could arguably could be in advantages … unless it accidentally lasts 45 minutes after your delivered double entree Thai lunch.
• Boredom. Those office convos? Kinda missing Susan’s cat stories, eh? How long can you go without seeing another living human being?
• Working slowly. Sometimes the office has an energy. Sometimes your home does not.
• No second monitor. How did I ever work without two giant screens looming above me??? All 74 of my tabs are essential!
• Iffy WiFi. At home or in a cafe, when the wifi start to spaz and you switch locations a couple of times but honestly spend more time parking and ordering a 6-shot mint mojito coffee with coconut milk and 16 grains of sugar than doing work.
• Waiting for an answer. You need to ask a super quick question, but it’ll impact how you do something for the next hour or even the rest of the day. And there’s no response. (Cue “The Waiting.” )

FOMO at Home. FOMO at Work.

The grass is always greener on the other side.

When you’re at work, nothing sounds more amazing than a toasty day indoors with your favorite blanket. When you’re at home, you reminisce about making jokes with your co-workers and wonder if the coffee machine made good coffee that day.

Either way, it’s important to choose the environment you’ll be most successful in. After all, each person has their own unique experience with remote working and finding what works and doesn’t work. One person’s productivity booster can be another’s distracting disaster. As you begin to work longer and build more experience, learning to focus in any surrounding is a valuable life skill, and will only help your professional career in the long run — especially as remote-first companies are gaining traction. If you’re still newer to the remote workforce , start by simply finding out where you do your best work and why.

To Thine Own Self Be True

Some important things to consider are what environment you stay focused in the longest, how long it takes you to get back on track, and how you best communicate. If you’re self-motivated, adhere to a routine well, and enjoy minimal distractions, then working from home is the right choice for you.

If you thrive on social interactions, feel inspired by seeing others working, and stay on track best if others see you, then working from the office is the way to go.

Occasionally there are projects that require more quiet time or more collaboration and resource planning . It’s important to be able to mix it up, depending on where you think you’ll be most productive!

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News from the Columbia Climate School

The Pros and Cons of Working from Home

Steve Cohen

While the era of the 9-to-5, five-day work week was fraying before the COVID-19 pandemic, many believed that the era of face-to-face workplaces was put to an end by the discovery that we could operate many enterprises by Zoom. It looks like the death of the office was announced prematurely. According to a Labor Department report summarized by Gwynn Guilford in the Wall Street Journal :

“Working remotely is becoming increasingly rare a few years after the pandemic caused millions of Americans to decamp from worksites to their basements and bedrooms. Some 72.5% of business establishments said their employees teleworked rarely or not at all last year, according to a Labor Department report released this week . That figure climbed from 60.1% in 2021. The survey showed about 21 million more workers on-site full time in 2022, compared with the prior year… The share of business establishments with hybrid arrangements, where employees split time between home and worksites, decreased in all measured industries in 2022 from 2021, declining 13.4 percentage points across the private sector, according to the Labor Department.”

There are some businesses, such as those classified by the Labor Department as “information” businesses—technology, media, and communications firms—where a majority continue to include hybrid or fully remote operations. In contrast, finance and banking seemed to have returned more completely to face-to-face operations.

Looking at remote work from the perspective of management, one can see advantages and disadvantages, and I believe that organizations will continue to search for the balance of live and remote work that best fits their operation. If a person’s work is largely solitary with little interaction with co-workers, it doesn’t really matter where that work takes place. But most work involves engagement with co-workers and customers/clients, and place may well matter. Informal and spontaneous interaction by the elevator or coffee pot is not possible with remote work. A two-minute conversation is sometimes replaced by a 15- or 30-minute “meeting.” The body language of a three-dimensional interaction cannot be replaced by communication through a computer screen. Many managers find creative problem-solving and communication simply work better when people are in the same room. Business travel is increasing because there is no substitute for breaking bread when trying to build trust and close a deal.

On the other side of the equation, remote work saves hours of commuting time and the costs of commuting. It provides flexibility to enable workers to take care of household responsibilities, such as child and elder care, while also performing the tasks required for work. I am less persuaded by the “environmental” benefits of remote work since climate control and lighting 50 at-home workspaces instead of a single workspace with 50 people will certainly use up any energy savings gained by not commuting. The time savings of telecommuting can be quite significant and could increase worker productivity, although managers feel that home responsibilities often reduce worker focus on the tasks at hand.

The technology offered by companies like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Webex continues to improve, and people are becoming more familiar with how to work with these technologies. The creative adaptations that staff will develop to enhance remote work are impossible to predict, but will certainly arrive. People are already better at using these tools than they were before the pandemic. Even in face-to-face operations, Zoom calls often replace phone calls and can facilitate meetings that would otherwise be difficult to schedule. In offices where workers largely work in person, staff that need to deal with personal emergencies or medical appointments often work a few hours remotely on days that, in the past, they would have simply taken off.

One of the disadvantages of remote work is the difficulty of separating work from home. The internet and smartphone already ensured that work could follow you wherever you went, but when it came into your home, there was no confusion: work was in a place it didn’t really belong. When your main workplace became your dining room table or for some, a home office, you no longer had a sanctuary where work was not supposed to intrude.

I believe that we are heading into a period where a wide variety of workplace requirements by management, and worker preferences, will lead to flexibility and frequent change in work venues. Increased traffic congestion both discourages commuting but also stimulates efforts to locate work and home in closer proximity. Reductions in the need for office space in some cities could stimulate the conversion of office buildings to homes. This is not a new story. In New York City, some of the lofts of SoHo and TriBeCa that once housed factories have been converted to luxury homes. But another impact of longer commutes can be a preference for remote work. Where workers are highly skilled and in great demand, they often have the bargaining power to insist on remote or hybrid work. Remote work can enable someone to live in a place where housing is less expensive or the quality of schools and access to nature is better than near their brick-and-mortar workplace.

In all this discussion of remote work, a distinct disadvantage is at the societal level, where it may reinforce income and social inequality. Some forms of work, such as medical care and similar personal services, require a physical location but are high-paid and high-status occupations. However, most workers who cannot work remotely work in hospitality, delivery, warehouses, repair shops, retail shops, transportation, and similar types of occupations that do not always pay well and are often not considered high-status professions. During the pandemic, these folks were heroes, risking their health to enable the rest of us to work remotely. A definite “con” of remote work is that some people are prevented from working remotely due to the place-based nature of their jobs.

I personally have the advantage of living two blocks from my office. The choice of remote and face-to-face work was not difficult for me. During the pandemic, as soon as we were allowed to return to the office, I did so.  But many of my colleagues have long commutes and prefer the flexibility of hybrid work. Many organizations have begun to identify days of the week when staff must be in the office and other days when they have a choice of work venues. This enables consolidating meeting schedules and opportunities for personal engagement, leaving other days for tasks that might benefit from fewer interruptions and a less frenetic environment.

The issue of remote work is one of many issues that stem from the impact of technology on our daily lives and the culture of our society. We have been adjusting to new technologies for centuries, but the pace of change is accelerating and shows no sign of letting up. The technology of the internet, motorized transportation, increased congestion, and our service-dominated GDP has brought the issue of remote work to the forefront. We are adjusting our home and work lives to this new development. Along the way, we discovered there is something about live human interaction that we value and can be monetized in organizational productivity. Again, this technology-induced change is nothing new. For example, the development of search engines reduced the value and importance of fact memorization. That, in turn, changed the nature of education and learning. The development of AI and applications such as ChatGPT will be as significant as the development of the Web and search engines. I note this because it is characteristic of human behavior that we internalize the use of these tools, adapt, and find ways to creatively build with the tools we are given and learn to use. All of these technologies bring costs and benefits, and we shouldn’t panic about them but embrace them and learn how to integrate them into our work and home lives. Remote work is now a fact of life. Management and workers now need to consider this when they assess organizational needs and work-life balance.

Views and opinions expressed here are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Columbia Climate School, Earth Institute or Columbia University.

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Work From Home Benefits And Challenges

• by Refresh Science
• September 28, 2020 January 6, 2022

Due to advancement in technology now a person is able to work from home without going to office on daily basis. Let us discuss the benefits and challenges faced by the workers and as well as the employers.

Benefits Of Working From Home

• The most important benefit is flexible in working hours. It helps in managing the personal work as well as official work.
• For peoples working in metro cities most of the time gets wasted in travelling. So travelling time and cost is reduced.
• It is most beneficial for women employees especially one who is having kids, most of the women employees quit their job to take care of their kids. They can easily take care of their children and concentrate on their work.

Work from Home

Challenges While Working From Home

While there are some benefits obviously there will also be more challenges in working from home.

• It is very difficult to build a good rapport with the team members when they are working in a team.
• One can easily be distracted. Because not all peoples have an office set up at house.
• There is no one to supervise and direct an employee.
• It feels like socially isolated.
• Major challenge faced by employees are network failure or power failure. Without network or power back up the process in works gets lagged. There is a chance of communication failure with the team members. It affects the works when instant results are needed.

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How do companies benefit from working from home.

Without benefits no company allow their employees to work from home. Let us see some of the important benefits a company gets from work from home

• Maintenance cost is reduced.
• There is no need to spent on Transport and Water for the employees.
• Internet charges, EB charges and phone charges are reduced.
• Company can hire a person who is far away and not able to attend office daily if the person has vast knowledge on their needs. If the employees are spread all over the country they are able to work in more time zones and complete the work effectively and efficiently.

Why Employees Should Not Work From Home

Even though there are many benefits some companies doesn’t allow their employees to work from home because of the following reasons:

Some confidential data’s should not be shared with other persons. Security and trust is the main issue because the employee is using the laptops and company data’s at home.

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Are People Who Work From Home More Productive

We can say there is a 50-50 chance regarding productivity. It depends on the nature of the person and the higher officials they are reporting with.

Some person take it as easy going and concentrate on their personal work and keep their official work as secondary . It results in lack of productivity and hence the efficiency of the work also decreases.

On the other hand there are some peoples who is more productive and engage more time in building their career irrespective of the place they are working.

How Do One Overcome Challenges Working From Home

To overcome all the challenges the person must be able to work without any disturbance.

They must be able to work in free space with less noise and easy access to network.

They can maintain to do list and fix time for their personal work and office work separately.

Hence we can conclude that at current scenario (due to COVID-19) most of the employees got an opportunity to work from home and many companies are encouraging it too. Work from process becomes success depending on the rules followed by the company such as an employee must log in at time and they must report the work they have done at periodic intervals on daily basis. They must communicate with their higher officials and team members to complete the work given to them at time.

Home office: advantages and disadvantages for employees

Working from home has become more and more popular lately. In U.S. alone, home office work increased 12 times in 2020-2022, as per the Economist . Working from home has become more and more popular lately. In U.S. alone, home office work increased 12 times in 2020-2022, as per the Economist. But is it as great as it seems? Here, we closely look at the home office's advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages of home office

Working from home comes with a variety of employee benefits. We have compiled these for you below.

No need to commute

Employees benefit from working in a home office since they no longer have to travel to work and experience stressful situations like traffic jams, searching for a parking space, train delays, and so on. Without these challenges, the day starts stress-free in your home office. According to  Eurostat,  Europeans can save over six full days of travel time per year by working from home. Eurostat also reported that the average annual expense on transportation for Europeans is €2,000, with individual countries spending varying amounts. For instance, in Germany, the average German worker spends approximately €1,510 per year on transportation and commutes roughly 28 minutes to work each day, as reported by the  German Federal Statistical Office  recently. On the contrary, these German workers could save on transportation expenses and other costs, such as meals and work-related attire, if they work from home. 

On another note, working from home has potential environmental benefits for the environment as it reduces carbon emissions from travel. A  study by Stanford University  found that remote workers had a 50% reduction in their carbon footprints compared to their in-office colleagues. Also, a  report by the International Energy Agency , published in 2020, suggests that remote work could reduce carbon emissions worldwide by 107 million metric tons annually by 2030. Thus, by adopting remote work as a practice, companies can positively impact the environment and improve the quality of life of employees and beyond.

More free time

The fact that commuting is no longer necessary also means that employees have more free time. For example, they can sleep longer if they do not travel to work in the morning. Home office employees have a stronger sense of time and time management. A study by ConnectSolutions showed that 30% of home office workers do more work in less time. 24% do more work at the same time. Furthermore, workers at home have more free time in the afternoon or evening for hobbies and personal interests as they do not have to take the bus, catch a train or drive to get home.

Decreased expenses

Employees also save on costs if they do not have to commute. Due to rising gasoline prices, this is an attractive proposition for car drivers. Those who use public transport also save money on monthly bus and train passes, rarely covered by employers. In concrete terms, home-office workers save themselves, as per FlexJobs, $ 2,600 to $ 10,000 a year.

Peaceful and comfortable working environment

In many cases, home offices offer more peace for actual work. It is especially the case for employees who otherwise work in an open-plan office, where there are often high noise levels and distractions. And less noise is productive! A study by Stanford attributed an up to 13% increase in productivity and a 50% decrease in attrition rates to a quieter home.

Organizing working day in line with personal biorhythms

Working in a home office enables employees to organize their workday closer to their biorhythms. If, for example, employees feel unfocused in the morning but particularly productive and fit in the late evening, then they can adjust the workday accordingly. It is not only healthier but also more effective.

Greater freedom of choice

Working from home offers greater freedom of choice. In the home office, for example, there is no dress code. Instead, employees are free to decide what they wear without being judged or criticized by colleagues. Furthermore, everyone is free to work from where concentration is highest. It can be the desk, the couch, or even a place outside in the fresh air. Employees remain free in setting their work environment since productivity does not decline.

Disadvantages of home office

Working from home comes with its caveats. We have compiled some of these for you below.

Easier to follow if you are not disciplined

Working in a home office requires a high degree of discipline, time management, and independence on the part of the employee. Not everyone is inherently structured or organized in this way. Those who cannot discipline themselves accordingly are less productive in the home office than in a shared office.

More exposed to distractions

In a recent study, 63% of home office workers cited distraction harmed their productivity. Some employees face more distractions when working from home than in a shared office. That is especially true for those who have children at home. Additionally, many find themselves distracted from work by pending household tasks such as hanging up laundry, unloading the dishwasher, etc.

Lack of spatial motivation and inspiration

According to a survey conducted by OnePoll, the average home office worker went through three different at-home workspaces before finding the best setup since they began working from home. That is because finding that ideal spot at home is not easy! Those who do not have a separate office room at home tend to do their work at the kitchen table or in bed. Such a tendency may seem comfortable but can affect the constructive balance between work and private life. For example, those who work in bed may have difficulty falling asleep in the evening. They have conditioned their body to be alert and focused in bed after spending an entire workday there. Relaxing on the couch can also become more difficult if you associate that place of relaxation with work. Bottom line? Many employees ultimately find their home not as relaxing in their private time when they spend the day working from there.

Digital overload

According to a recent study of 2,000 U.S. home office workers, 73% felt more digitally connected than ever. Yet, 60% of those same respondents reported being less productive. A significant number of home office workers go through a digital overload. Home office employees get bombarded with digital information such as email, chat rooms, and video chat tools. Unlike the office, at-home employees are more attached to digital tools leading to low performance.

Working from home has become increasingly popular, especially among younger generations. And there are plenty of good reasons: from avoiding the daily commute to having more control over your working environment. However, it's not all roses – there are some disadvantages too. So before making the switch or committing to a home office, individuals should weigh the pros and cons.

FAQ: Home Office - Advantages and disadvantages

What are the three advantages and three disadvantages of having a home office.

Three advantages of having a home office include better performance due to spatial separation, higher motivation due to a more stimulating environment, and reduced financial costs. Disadvantages of having a home office include the need for greater discipline, higher exposure to distractions, and digital overload.

Does working from home get lonely?

Working exclusively from home can lead to a lonely life, especially if the worker lives alone.

Are introverts more comfortable working from home?

Many introverts work better from home because they avoid the inherent drawbacks they suffer in-office while still maintaining their natural due diligence.

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Ratings and Reviews

by Drew Alvarado

April 5, 2022

by Richard Scott

More From Forbes

If you work from home, here’s 6 tips to create the perfect wfh office.

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The right workspace is comfortable, personal, and ergonomic.

The widespread work from home movement was born of necessity during COVID-19. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , between 2019 and 2021, the number of people primarily working from home tripled — from 9 million to 27.6 million. Years later, working from home continues to be a way of life with some still at home on a full-time basis, and millions more engaging in a hybrid model, dividing their time between home and office work.

Working remotely provides the opportunity to live almost anywhere, allowing renters and homeowners alike to move out of expensive cities and into more affordable regions — and some buyers are even rejecting suburban McMansions in favor of minimalist, simple-sized homes that require less upkeep and provide more peace and quiet.

Another advantage of working from home: commute time savings. A report by the National Bureau of Economic Research reveals that globally, people who work from save an average of 72 minutes a day that would have been spent commuting (in the U.S. the average daily commute time is 55 minutes). Working from home also results in less wear and tear on vehicles, and reduces clothing costs – and this extra money will come in handy now that they need a six-figure salary to comfortably afford a home .

Admittedly, some companies are beckoning their employees back to work, even though a report by Hubstaff reveals that remote workers experience fewer interruptions and spend more time on focused tasks, compared to office workers (22.75 hours/week versus 18.6 hours/week).

Photo courtesy of

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A home office, or a space that can be used for a home office, is now a feature that both homeowners and potential buyers consider an advantage. I previously covered the most popular home projects , according to the 2024 Houzz and Home Study, and in 2023, homeowners spent 6.6 months planning how they would renovate their home offices, and an additional 3 months on actual home office construction/remodeling. On average, survey respondents spent $2,000 renovating a space to convert it into a home office.

“Working from home can be super relaxing — sometimes even a little too relaxing,” says New York City interior designer Emma Beryl . However, she tells me that creating the perfect WFH space can help you stay motivated and get your work done.

But this entails more than just a cool design and stylish items to make your home office look good. “Proper home ergonomics can help prevent degenerative disc problems at L5 from prolonged sitting with a poor work setup" explains Dr. Allen Conrad at the Montgomery County Chiropractic Center in North Wales, Pennsylvania. "With a proper ergonomic home workspace setup, you can help prevent degenerative spine conditions which could lead to painful sciatica,” he says.

Whether you want to renovate, or just furnish and decorate your office space, these are some helpful tips to create the perfect WFH environment.

If you’re building or renovating your home, Jay Kallos, SVP of architecture at Ashton Woods in Atlanta, Georgia, recommends putting the home office in a quiet, remote part of your home. “In new construction, you can add sound insulation to aid in creating a quiet sanctuary,” he says. However, Kallos advises against using a barn door if you need to keep noise out of the office (although it’s fine if noise is not a problem).

One of his personal preferences is to use daylight to help keep track of time, but window placement is crucial. “If your office is in the front of your home, I recommend a window on the side or rear of the office – but not in the front, because you could be distracted by what is going on in front of your house.”

Ariana Lovato, owner and principal designer at Honeycomb Home Design in Arroyo Grande, California, agrees that distractions should be kept to a minimum. “The best case scenario would be to dedicate a spare bedroom to your work space so you can close the doors and have privacy for phone calls and meetings, but for most, space is limited, and usually work from home happens in a small corner of a living room.”

Design Look

But if you have space to create separation, Leigh Spicher, Orlando, Florida-based national director of design studios for Ashton Woods , tells me that similar to the concept that bedrooms are for sleeping (and other stuff) only, home office spaces are for work only.

“Thoughtful design can ensure this space is free from the stress of mixing work with family time,” she says. “Move the home office out of a secondary bedroom or the dining room into a dedicated space that is for work only.” And Spicher likes a space with doors that you can close either when you’re working or when you’ve closed up shop for the day.

Christopher Grubb is an interior designer and the founder of Beverly Hills-based Arch-Interiors Design Group. “The majority of the time, we approach the design of a workspace to have a much different look from the home to create the psychological effect that you have ‘gone to work,’” he tells me.

Before the pandemic, Grubb says the emphasis in a workspace was to create as little clutter as possible, based on the theory that without a lot of stuff, people could focus and not be distracted. “But now, we have exceptions of the clients that want dramatic wallpaper that they say gives them energy for the workday, and an appreciation of accessories they can look at while on calls, which make them feel happy and more relaxed.”

Also, during the pandemic, some people worked outdoors in the fresh air and post-pandemic, exterior workspaces are still popular. “For them, we install in-deck waterproof power and data outlets underneath an outdoor dining table used as a desk,” Grubb says. “We also install outdoor waterproof outlets with USB connections at outdoor cooking areas or seating zones, which are also ideal for a guest who wants to charge a device.” In fact, his firm has even used motorized outdoor umbrellas that include lighting and heat at the dining table ‘desks.’

Functionality

You want a stylish office, but functionality is also important. “The Europeans included it for years, but the American market now appreciates efficient and versatile organizational details in drawers and in cabinetry,” Grubb says. For example, he says printers and shredders can be hidden in furniture with slide-out shelves.

“If you do have a built-in, make sure to get extra shelves, which provides the possibility to store smaller items, instead of having objects stacked awkwardly high because of fewer shelves.” And if you don’t use the extra shelves, Grubb says you can just put them in the bottom of the cabinet, but this is much easier than trying to order additional shelves later.

Beryl also likes the idea of furniture as storage. “I recommend a cabinet or credenza for storage options to keep clutter off your work surface so it can remain stylish and organized,” she says.

Interior designer Tama Bell in Sebastopol, CA, tells me that she likes to use a large desk or table with beautiful lines for the main work station. “There is nothing that makes working from home harder than not enough space to spread out.” Bell often uses an L-shaped configuration with some type of console with file storage. “I find that when it is easy to file as one works, it helps to keep things looking tidy and functioning well, and it also allows for a second surface for your computer or laptop.”

In addition, she likes a pair of tall bookcases, within easy access of the desk area. “This is used to store all the necessary working items that one needs, but to also decorate or style with photos, books and accessories.” Bell says that having a space that is personal and beautiful makes working from home a happy necessity.

According to Grubb (and confirmed by many awful virtual meetings), most workspaces are not conducive for audio and video calls and they also tend to have an echo. “A go-to is an area rug on tile or wood floors, which provides one layer that absorbs sound.” He’s also using more decorative acoustical panels with a thick felt-like quality, and they’re available in solids, shapes or a material that looks like it’s woven, and other dramatic effects. “The panels come in a variety of colors, and the acoustical paint is white, and any color can be painted over it.” Grubb explains that blue tones tend to work best behind the person on a call. “It is a peaceful color, gender-neutral, and gives the viewer a nicer feeling than a cold gray.”

Here’s another tip: Grubb reveals that the more soft surfaces you have (including upholstered furniture or drapery), the more sound absorption in the room. “One client even opens closet doors that have clothes hanging in them to absorb noise when they are on calls,” he says.

Lighting is also an important WHF office component, as the right light can help to prevent eye strain. “Light rings are a must, and most rooms have downlights or a chandelier as the light source,” Grubb says. “Put all of your lighting in a room on a dimmer to control the intensity and avoid a ‘hotspot’ on top of your head during a video call.” If you have windows, he says the natural light is excellent for its wellness quality. “And we like using motorized shades that are on a remote control and operate from a battery pack to give you additional control of the natural lighting coming in.”

Beryl recommends placing the home office in a space by a natural light source if possible. “You want to be able to choose if you close the curtains or blinds to limit light, or keep them open to let the sunlight in,” she says. “If you work in a dark space, the second you step out into a room with sunlight, your eyes are going to feel tired.”

Lovato adds that it’s important to invest in a comfortable chair and a large monitor so you can work comfortably. Dr. Allen Conrad at the Montgomery County Chiropractic Center in North Wales, Pennsylvania agrees, noting that the right ergonomic workspace can lead to reduced pain and less eye strain headaches.

“Many of these problems arise from a poor WFH ergonomic computer workspace — which may have begun out of necessity, but if working from home is something that will be part of your regular routine, then it’s time for proper ergonomics.”

For example, if you’re sitting in a chair that’s too low, Conrad says it will cause you to lean forward more than usual. “This can lead to neck or back strain, and limit how long you can be on the computer doing work.” Depending on your height, if you have a taller chair, he says you may need a shorter desk, and if you have a shorter chair, he says you may need to raise the monitor to accommodate it.

“When you can sit longer without pain, you can get more done, since less strain on the back and shoulders will allow you to sit for longer periods of time and not lose your train of thought,” Conrad explains.

Dr. Sapna Sriram, chiropractor and injury expert at Integra Health Centre in Toronto, Ontario, recommends using adjustable standing desks or standing desk converters, as they offer a range of benefits:

Improved Posture: “Standing encourages better posture as it reduces the likelihood of slouching and promotes a more upright position, reducing strain on the spine,” Sriram says.

Enhanced Ergonomics: The ability to adjust the height of an adjustable standing desk or standing desk converter lets you customize your workspace for optimal ergonomic comfort, and Sriram says this reduces the risk of musculoskeletal problems.

Increased Energy and Productivity: “Standing can boost blood circulation and energy levels, potentially leading to increased productivity and focus during work hours,” Sriram explains,

Reduced Health Risks: “Prolonged sitting has been associated with various health risks, including obesity, cardiovascular issues, and back pain,” Sriram warns. However, she says that using a standing desk or standing desk converter can help mitigate these risks by reducing sedentary behavior.

These are some of the items that can help you create a stylish, comfortable, and ergonomic office space.

Adjustable Standing Desk

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The Eureka Ergonomic Two-Drawer Electric Standing Desk has a genuine leather finish. The quiet dual-motor lift system can increase the desk’s height from 34 to 52 inches. The desktop is 55 inches in length by 23.6 inches wide and has a maximum weight capacity of 220 pounds. It includes a built-in outlet, built-in USB port, wireless charger, two drawers, and a movable monitor shelf.

If you’re looking for a smaller option, the Burrow Copilot Standing Desk is 27 inches in length and 43 inches in width, and has a height range of 28.5 to 48 inches. The desk drawer is large enough to hold a 17-inche laptop, keyboard, and mouse, and the desk also has a cord organization compartment on top, as well as a 6-inch monitor mount opening on the back. The solid beech desk, which has a weight capacity of 300 pounds, is available in walnut and oak.

Ergonomic Chair

The Humanscale Freedom Task Chair is unique in that it doesn’t need a lot of levers or dials. It has a dynamic headrest, self-adjusting recline, and synchronous arms attached to the back of the chair. Everything works together to automatically adjust to body weight and seated position. The one lever on the chair is used to adjust the height from 34.6 inches to 41.7 inches. The chair, which has a weight capacity of 400 pounds, is available in leather, woven upholstery, and knit, and in several textile colors.

The X4 Leather Executive Chair is available with or without an headrest, and it also includes optional massage options, such as a heat and massage insert, or a cooling, heat and massage insert. The chair comes standard with 4D arms, but you can choose 360-degree rotating arms instead. The seat’s height can be adjusted from 18.5 to 22.5 inches and the seat depth can be adjusted as well. Maximum weight capacity is 275 pounds. Leather color options include cognac, black, brown, red, and white.

Available in mesh, digital knit or leather, the Haworth Zody Office Chair has a dual posture option that supports you whether sitting down or in a perch position (partially-standing and partially sitting), which is common with adjustable standing desks. It comes with an optional lumbar adjustment system. Both the seat height and seat depth can be adjusted, and the chair also has a forward tilt, tilt tension, and back stop. It has a weight limit of 400 pounds.

The Serene Executive Napa Leather Office Chair is made of full-grain Napa leather, available in black, off-white, black/red, and orange. The headrest has an arc-shape that gently supports the neck and head while relieving pressure. Also, the three-dimensional lumbar pillow supports the spine and eases lower back fatigue. The chair reclines from 90 to 135 degrees, and the seat height and depth are adjustable as well. The weight limit is 300 pounds.

External Monitor

If you like to keep dozens of folders open on your desktop, the Innocn 34” OLED Curved Ultrawide Monitor has plenty of screen real estate and is also large enough to keep you from having to squint. The WQHD monitor has a 175Hz refresh rate, and it can tilt, swivel, and includes a height-adjustable stand — although it can also be wall mounted. There are several inputs, including two HDMI 2.0, DP1.4, two USB-A 3.0, USB-B 3.0, Type-C 65W, and audio out. The monitor also has a 15W phone charging pad.

Another option is the QHD MSI 27" Gaming Monitor , which has a 16:9 aspect ratio, and a LCD panel with LED backlight. It also has a 165Hz refresh rate, and a 1ms response time, which makes it a good choice for gaming as well. The curved monitor also has a tilt adjustment feature. Hardware interface includes HDMI, and DisplayPort.

Portable Monitor

Portable monitors are an alternative to external monitors. They provide the advantage of being easy to transport, so you can also toss them in your laptop bag when traveling. The FHD ASUS ZenScreen Ink 14" Portable Monitor is a touch screen monitor with a stylus pen (with 4096 level pressure sensitivity). It has an integrated stand, along with two USB-C and one micro-HDMI input.

The generous size of the Espresso 17 Pro Portable Monitor and Stand can make it easy to add a second screen to your laptop, smartphone, or tablet. The touch screen monitor has 4K resolution, 450 nits of brightness, and 1.07 billion colors. It’s also ultra-light, weighing 2.4 pounds and is only 0.35 inches thick. The monitor includes a USB-C cable, but also has ports for HDMI, and mini DisplayPort. The display stand, which attaches magnetically, can be adjusted as needed.

Dual Portable Monitor

Dual monitors are a way to extend your laptop screen even more. The 1080p KYY 14" Dual Monitor attaches on both sides of your laptop (and has a built-in kickstand), for a total of three screens. In addition to extended mode, the dual monitor setup can be used in portrait or presentation mode. The IPS LCD monitor is compatible with 12-inch to 16-inch laptops and has a low blue light feature. It comes with a Type-C to Type-C/USB-A Cable and a Type-C to USB-A cable.

Another dual monitor option, The Portable Monitor Flex 14” has two 14-inch LED screens (1920 x 1080), 300 nits of brightness, and a 60Hz refresh rate. The thin and feather-light monitor is easy to swivel 180 degrees and it can be used in both portrait and vertical mode, as well as in presentation mode. The integrated stand is also adjustable to 90 degrees. The monitor includes a USB-C to USB-C cable, and a USB-C to USB 3.0/2.0 cable.

Standing Desk Converter/Portable Table

In lieu of an adjustable standing desk, you can use your existing desk and put the Flexispot Standing Desk Converter on top of it. Available in a variety of sizes ranging from 32 inches to 42 inches, it can be used on standard, L-shaped, and compact desks. The desk converter can adjust in height from 5.7 inches to 19.7 inches, and has room for your laptop and monitor(s) on top, and your keyboard on the second shelf.

For those times when you want to sit on the sofa, the Haworth Elements 4-Function Table can be used to hold your laptop — either horizontally as a lap table, or vertically as an end table (and you can also use it as a standing desk converter to make your desk taller, or as an ottoman for your feet). It’s made of laser-cut solid steel with a powder coat-finish, available in charcoal, smooth plaster, desert rose, terra cotta, moss, and stone. The table in 24.5 inches in height, 15.5 inches, and 11.74 inches in depth.

To bring your monitor to eye level, the Vari Desk Shelf is a modern desk riser that’s 4 inches tall. It’s also 40 inches wide, with enough space to hold two monitors. The matte black shelf, which has a 50-pound weight capacity, can also hold other desk accessories neatly and out of the way.

If you prefer more color choices, Grovemade Desk Shelf is available in matte black, solid walnut, solid maple, solid oak, matte blue, blackened walnut, oak plywood, walnut plywood, maple plywood, and matte white. The desk shelf comes in small, medium, large, and extra-large sizes, and with and without a desk tray. Each shelf supports monitors up to 50 pounds.

The Energy Star-certified Humanscale Nova Task Light has a customized optical lens to reduce glare, and counterbalance arms that rotate 180 degrees. It uses only 7 watts to produce a 3000k (warm) to 4000k (cool) temperature range. The light has touch dimming and occupancy sensor to turn off 15 minutes after no presence has been detected. Color choices include jet black, light gray, and arctic white.

If you prefer a floor standing option, the Dyson Solarcycle Floor Lamp can be used as a task light at your desk to reduce eye strain, but you can also rotate the optional head when soft background light is preferred. It can also be used to create indirect light, and feature lighting. In addition, the magnetic docking system can emit a soft, orange glow when you want ambient light. The lamp, which has a light output of 850 lumens, can be controlled manually or via the MyDyson app. It’s available in black, black/brass, and white/silver

Mouse/Keyboard

The Logitech MX Master 3S Wireless Mouse has an ergonomic silhouette that’s designed to provide support for your fingers and palm, and the tilt angle creates a more natural posture. It’s wireless, and a full charge can last for 70 days, while a 1-minute charge lasts for 3 hours. Color choices are graphite, pale gray, and black.

The Logitech MX Keys S Keyboard is an ergonomically-design wireless keyboard with spherically-dished keys for an efficient and comfortable typing experience. A full charge lasts for 10 days, and the ambient light sensors can adjust the brightness of the backlighting. The keyboard comes in three colors: black, graphite, and pale gray.

A desk pad can instantly make your desk look better, and also protect it from scratches and spills. The Harber London Leather Desk Mat is made of 100% full-grain leather on one side, and has 100% natural wool felt padding on the other side (although you can also choose a microfiber padding instead). The desk mat has a cut-through cable pass to help corral all of your cables. Color choices include tan, black, and navy, and in several sizes.

Another option, with a natural cork backing, is the Grovemade Leather Desk Pad , which is made of a premium vegetable-tanned leather. It comes in various sizes, including small, small plus, medium, medium plus, large, and extra-large. Color choices are black and tan.

Listening to the right music can increase your work performance. The Klipsch Nashville Portable Bluetooth Speaker is small enough that it won’t take up much space on your desk. However, it has dual woofers and dual tweeters for rich, 360-degree sound. One charge powers the speaker for up to 24 hours, and the speaker itself can also recharge a phone. Also, the built-in microphone lets you take hands-free phone calls.

If you prefer a speaker that looks like a work of art, Balmuda The Speaker has a glass display with three tubes containing LED lights that synchronize with the music. The cylindrical structure has a 77mm speaker, and a 3D sound driver that diffuses sounds upwardly for an omnidirectional experience. The speaker is lightweight (weighing 2.2 pounds) and provides 7 hours of listening time on a single charge.

Working from home can create a more sedentary lifestyle, and a smartwatch helps to monitor your health. The Polar Grit X2 Pro Watch can track how many steps you take, monitor your heart rate, and provide reminders to drink more water. The guided breathing exercise helps to relax your body and calm your mind when you’re stressed, and the sleep features can track the length and quality of your sleep and identify factors that negatively impact sleep quality. The touchscreen watch has an AMOLED display, over 150 sport profiles, dual-frequency GPSm and offline maps. Battery life is up to 10 days, and color choices are night black and stone gray.

If you prefer a more elegant choice, the Withings Scanwatch Nova Smartwatch has an oyster metal bracelet (and also a fluoroelastomer sport band). It provides smartphone notifications, health heart tracking (including average heart rate and atrial fibrillation), respiratory insights such as blood oxygen levels and breathing disturbances, menstrual cycle tracking, and 24/7 temperature tracking. The watch also tracks movement in over 40 activities, and provides a sleep quality score. Battery life is 30 days.

The Motorola Razr+ Flip Phone has a 3.6-inch pOLED display, which makes it easy to look at photos and videos, access the built-in keyboard, and view notifications without having to open the phone. The sleek design of the lightweight phone also unfolds to a 6.9-inch screen, and has a 165Hz refresh rate for playing games. Dolby Atmos audio with Bluetooth experiences optimized by Snapdragon Sound combine to create all-around sound, and Ultrawide Macro Vision lens can captures everything from wide-angle shots to close ups.

The OnePlus 12R Smartphone , which is available with 8 GB RAM and 128 GB of storage, or 16GB RAM and 256GB of storage, can charge from 1% to 100% in just 31 minutes, and the 5500mAh battery is long-lasting. Powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the phone is designed to be powerful, and the Dual Cryo-velocity cooling system keeps the device cool when gaming or during other types of graphics-intensive activities. The phone has a triple camera system, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, and a fingerprint sensor.

A portable projector can be used for virtual presentations and also for entertaining. The FHD XGIMI Halo+ Projector has 700 ISO lumens of brightness, along with auto focus, auto keystone correction, intelligent screen alignment, and intelligent obstacle avoidance, to adjust the display as needed for clear and sharp images. And those images can be cast in sizes ranging from 60 inches to 120 inches. Audio consists of two 5W Harman/Kardon speakers with Dolby Audio for distortion-free Hi-Fi sound. The projector has a 2.5-hour battery life and Android TV is built in.

Another option is the ASUS ZenBeam L2 Smart Portable Projector , which has 960 LED lumens. The projector has FHD resolution as well as 4K compatibility. It projects images from 40 inches to 120 inches. Autofocus, four corner correction, and auto geometric correction features are also included in the projector, which has a 3.5-hour built-in battery, and built-in 10W Harman/Kardon speaker. Also included is a Google-certified Android TV box, and preloaded Netflix. The leather carrying handle makes the projector easy to transport.

Headphones And Earbuds

If you work from home, noise-cancelling headphones are a must. However, some people prefer earbuds instead. The Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 Earbuds feature active noise cancellation to block unwanted sounds and also provide clear phone calls. The hi-res earbuds also have two-way drive units in each of the earbuds to create sound that is rich and full. The app also lets you stream and browse songs, and control your headphones. Battery life is 5 hours with ANC off, and the charging case provides an additional 16 hours. Color choices are midnight blue, satin black, and canvas white.

For a longer battery life, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 Earbuds can provide up to 30 hours of playtime. Using adaptive noise cancellation, the earbuds, which have a 6-microphone system, automatically adjust to noise based on your surroundings. The TrueResponse transducer system is designed to transmit all of the fine sound quality details and multipoint connectivity lets you switch between two connected devices. The app can be used to manage connections, control noise cancellation, and customize other features. Color choices are black graphite, black copper, and white silver.

Docking Station/Power Bank

Whether you use a Mac or a PC, the Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Multimedia Pro Dock has enough inputs to handle everything. The 16 ports include 2 HDMI, 2 DisplayPort, 1 Thunderbolt 4 (host), USB-C 3.2 10Gbps, 3 USB-A 3.2 10Gbps, 2 USB-A 3.2 5Gbps, USB 2.0 (charge), SD and micro SD, ethernet, and audio jack. The dock can support laptops, phones, tablets, monitors, keyboards, mice, and other devices.

If you don’t need as many ports, the UGREEN 145W Charging Bank is a portable charger with three ports:, USB-A, USB-C1, and USB-C2. Capable of charging a 13” MacBook Air in 90 minutes, it easily charges other devices as well. The charging bank helps to free up your wall outlets, and the last-longing battery makes it ideal for tossing in your backpack or laptop bag and using it at the airport, café, or even when camping.

Portable Power Station

If the power goes out at home, you can continue to work with the Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus Solar Generator , which has a 2042.8Wh capacity, and can, for example, power a desktop PC for 12 hours, a refrigerator for 3.1 hours, a projector for 14 hours, and a microwave for 1.5 hours. It’s more than capable of powering a laptop, monitor, tablet, smartphone, and other WFH items as well. While you can charge the solar generator using six 200-watt solar panels in 2 hours, you can also charge it via an AC outlet in 2 hours as well – and it can also be charged via the car auxiliary port.

For even more power, the 6,000 Wh Anker Solix F3800 Portable Power Station can power, for example, a Wi-Fi router for 40.1 hours, TV for 20.1 hours, refrigerator for 14.9 hours, and microwave for 4.3 hours. It can power a projector for 24.3 hours, and provide 454.4 phone charges and 61.6 laptop charges. The portable power station can be charged via AC outlet, solar panels, or car auxiliary port.

Working from home, you may miss the free and endless supply of bottled water. However, with the Breville InFuzz Fusion , you can add some pizazz to your tap water, and also add fizz to soda, juice, tea, cocktails, and wine. The carbonator doesn’t require batteries or power – just use the fusion cap. And the 34-ounce bottle allows you to carbonate and then store your favorite beverage in the refrigerator. The stainless-steel carbonator is available in brushed stainless steel, black truffle, sea salt, damson blue, and olive tapenade.

Depending on how far you are from the kitchen, it may be inconvenient to go back and forth from the home office. However, this Hamilton Beach Wine Cooler Fridge is compact enough to store in your office, and it can hold 43 bottles of wine – but can also be used to store bottled water, soft drinks, energy drinks, and fruit. The stylish appliance is 5 cubic feet, and has wooden shelves and interior lights, in addition to the touch control temperature display.

Backpack/Tote/Briefcase

For those occasions when you need to go to the office, Expressions NYC makes a variety of stylish backpack options, including the tan vegan leather Lenox Ave Backpack , which has adjustable shoulder straps and can also be converted to a cross body bag. The backpack has a top zipper, two exterior front zipper pockets, and an exterior zipper pocket on the back. The black Upper West Side Backpack , also made of vegan leather, has a detachable top handle and adjustable back shoulder straps. It also features a zipper pocket and a slide-in pocket.

The black Harber London TotePack is made of recycled plastic bottles fabric combined with full grain leather. It has a padded compartment that can fit up to a 16-inch laptop, and another padded compartment that fits up to a 13-inch tablet. The totepack has a zippered main compartment, zippered inner compartment, and 2 inner side pockets, along with a trolley sleeve. The tan Everyday Leather Briefcase has a padded laptop compartment, padded tablet compartment, dedicated charger pocket, dedicated slots for pens and cords, pockets for notepads and passports, detachable magnetic key chair, trolley sleeve, and carry strap.

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Working from Home-Advantages & Disadvantages

Feb 01, 2016

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Bulmen offers Part time online work and jobs from home in India .These are the honest ways to make real money by availing internet opportunities with little technical knowledge and information.

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Working from Home Working from Home Advantages & Disadvantages http://bulmen.in/

We all have one dream job that we want to fetch. For most of people it is working from home. While working from home, we can do work in our pajamas or while brushing our teeth. The idea is so much fun. Everything has some advantages and disadvantages. While working from home may appear fab at first, but it also has some drawbacks. Let us discuss both the sides of the coin.

Many of us, especially women, find it very difficult to maintain a balance between work and home. Moms have so much more responsibilities. So doing work from home, may help them to coordinate the work with managing home. Work home balance

The travelling is probably the most hated part of going to office. No matter your office is near or far, you have to go out, be stuck in traffic and bear the heat or cold outside. No travel

Since you do not have to differentiate between the family time and the office time, you are less stressful. You can work whenever your house chores are done. Whenever you have sent your kids school or put them to sleep. Less stress

As such you can spend more time with the family. You are working at the ease of your home, so you need not to worry doing your work just then. You can work whenever you are free. Thus giving you more family time. You can be closer to your family and can participate in every family event. More family time

DISADVANTAGES

Since you are working from home you are isolated from your colleagues and boss. As such you always would be the last person know about any changes or any task. Sometimes they do not keep you in loop. Isolation

Since being a homemaker is a full time job already, working from home may cause many distractions. You have to attend guests, cook food and clean home. May be you get too much involved in home work that you do not get time to complete the office work. Distractions

Since already said being a homemaker is a full time job, If you bring your office at home too, then there will be no office hours too. You will have to work day and night. Those who go to office, they ‘leaveoffice’ while leaving office. But you may not leave office anytime. Endless work

Bulmen offers Part time online work and jobs from home in India .These are the honest ways to make real money by availing internet opportunities with little technical knowledge and information. For more information contact : http://bulmen.in/online- work.php [email protected] 9314933000

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Wired vs. Wireless Video Doorbell: Which Option Rings Better for Your Smart Home?

We'll help you make the best choice between the two types of security devices.

Quick Links

How does a wired video doorbell work, how does a wireless video doorbell work, advantages and disadvantages of a wired video doorbell, advantages and disadvantages of a wireless video doorbell, how to decide which kind of video doorbell is right for you, key takeaways.

• Wired video doorbells offer always-on power for constant monitoring.
• Wireless video doorbells provide flexibility in placement but require battery recharging.
• Wired smart doorbells are good when you have existing wiring and want advanced features; but wireless doorbells provide an easy setup and flexibility.

A video doorbell is a great addition to any smart home that can keep a constant eye on your front door. We’ll help you better decide between the two major types of video doorbells—a wired or wireless version.

Many modern homes have a traditional doorbell which draws power from low-voltage wires installed behind it. A wired video doorbell uses those wires to provide constant power to the doorbell and usually feeds a chime box inside your home. The chime box is what actually makes noise inside the home when the bell is pressed.

Once installed, the wired video doorbell, just like the traditional model, will always have power. That means that when someone approaches or simply pushes the doorbell, you’ll be notified via a companion app or doorbell.

The large majority of wired video doorbells will work automatically with a chime box, so you will always be able to hear your familiar ding-dong when someone rings the bell. Some wired video doorbells work with the existing chime box directly, while others might require installing a small adapter placed inside where the chime wiring is located.

A wireless video doorbell brings true freedom to your smart home setup. Instead of depending on the existing doorbell wiring, you can place a wireless version pretty much anywhere around your front door.

That’s perfect in many situations where you don’t want to worry about wiring or can’t—like if you’re a renter or in an apartment. Make sure to take a look at other smart home devices that are perfect for rented homes .

The wireless doorbell models take power from a rechargeable battery. In most situations, you can remove the battery to recharge it. Depending on the model, and how much the video doorbell is used, the battery usually lasts a few months.

The largest advantage of a wired video doorbell is the always-on power supply. With that power, you will always know the device is watching over your front door. The only exception is if the power is ever out at your location.

And since the wired doorbell always has power, it will continue to operate and chime when someone presses the doorbell, even if you have some type of internet connection issue.

Some wired doorbells available on the market can provide 24/7 recording because it always has power. That’s not possible with any wireless model as the battery would be drained in just a few days.

Other wired doorbells, like the Ecobee Smart Doorbell , offer many unique smart home integrations not possible with battery power. If you also have an Ecobee Premium Smart Thermostat, when someone presses the doorbell, a live video appears on the thermostat screen. You can also talk with the person at your front door.

There are some disadvantages to wired models as well. The largest is likely the installation process. For an idea on what’s required, take a look at our primer on how to install a Ring Video Doorbell the right way.

As you might have guessed, the process can take some time, especially depending on your DIY and smart home knowledge. You’ll need to turn off power to the doorbell and remove the old model to install a new wired model. Equipment, like a drill and screwdriver, is also required.

The good news is the majority of video doorbell manufacturers like Ring, Arlo, Eufy, and others, provide comprehensive installation guides online or through the companion app needed to see live video. But if the idea of installing electrical wires concerns you, or if you have an older home with known wiring problems, it’s probably best to avoid wired models.

Most electricians can install a wired doorbell, though. But that means you’ll have to pay substantially more. Another downside with wired models is that they are not easy to uninstall, something to consider if you’re planning on moving anytime soon or always want to keep up with the latest and greatest model.

With a wireless doorbell, the biggest advantage and disadvantage is the battery. Thanks to the battery, you can install the doorbell almost anywhere you’d like around your front door. That makes it much more useful if you don’t want to try to deal with the existing doorbell and wiring, or even if there isn’t a doorbell.

Many traditional doorbells aren’t located in an ideal spot to record video. While some wired models can use assistance from devices like a wedge to better angle the camera, sometimes the wiring just won’t cut it. That makes a wireless model perfect.

Installing a wireless model is much easier than its wired counterpart. In most instances, you won’t even need to drill. Just install the compatible mount wherever you’d like and then attach the doorbell.

But you’ll also have to recharge the battery. While most wireless models will always let you know the battery status at a glance via the companion app, you’ll still need to remember to recharge it.

This means your doorbell might be out of commission while the battery is charging. You can usually purchase an additional battery, but that does add some substantial cost, usually around $40.

Battery life can vary widely, especially due to usage and even where you are located. Extreme cold or heat can play havoc with a battery's charge. A poor Wi-Fi signal can also drain the battery faster than normal.

Another issue with wireless video doorbells is that they don’t work with existing home chimes. You’ll likely need to purchase an add-on chime that plugs into an electrical outlet. Those are also around $40.

While both wired and wireless video doorbells are perfect for improving your home security, there are some substantial differences in installation and everyday use.

If you have a newer home and are fine with some light DIY work required for installation, a wired video doorbell should be for you. The full-time power supply opens up many features not available with a wireless version and will likely allow you to use the existing chime box.

A wireless video doorbell is for you if you don’t have existing doorbell wiring, don’t feel comfortable with wired doorbell installation, or want to have a better look at the front door. While you’ll need to recharge the battery and likely purchase a chime box, that installation flexibility is often worth the hassle.

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What Is 5G Home Internet? Here’s Everything You Need to Know

Sick of slow, expensive, or unreliable internet service? You probably are. Internet service providers (ISPs) came second to last in a study of customer satisfaction by industry in the US last year. For most folks, internet service comes into the house via cable, and choices are limited. But with mobile carriers rolling out fast, low-latency 5G networks, that is changing.

For some people, 5G home internet could be a viable alternative to traditional broadband. Carriers are starting to offer 5G home internet packages as they look to recoup the costs of upgraded networks, and that could finally mean some real competition for ISPs. If you’re wondering what 5G home internet is, how it compares to broadband, and whether it might be for you, we have all the answers you seek.

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What Does 5G Mean?

5G is a global wireless standard, and it stands for fifth generation. Mobile carriers have been rolling out the fifth generation of cellular networks over the past few years. Compared with the previous generation (4G), 5G opens up unused radio frequencies at the high end of the spectrum. You can read our guide to 5G to learn more, but in simple terms, 5G is faster, has lower latency, and can handle more connected devices.

What Is 5G Home Internet?

5G home internet is an alternative to traditional broadband. Instead of running a cable into your home to connect to the internet, you connect to the 5G cellular network wirelessly with a fixed receiver inside or outside your home. You will use a SIM card and have a service contract, just like you do for your phone. You'll still need a modem and router to convert the incoming signal into Wi-Fi and spread it around your home.

What About 4G Home Internet?

Some carriers already offer 4G LTE home internet, and some offer a mix of 4G and 5G. Both work the same way and require a receiver, but 5G allows faster speeds and lower latency. Theoretical speeds go beyond 10 Gbps with 1 millisecond of latency, but real-world performance around 1 Gbps is more common. A gigabit is enough for 5G to compete with broadband. 4G LTE typically maxes out at 100 Mbps but is often slower in the real world.

Is 5G Home Internet Better Than Broadband?

The short answer is no. The longer answer is that it depends. If you have fiber optic cable to your house, you can enjoy super fast wired internet, but if you rely on copper cable, your internet speed will be limited. The proximity of an exchange and internet demand in your area will also impact the speeds you get. Some folks lack a cable connection, but remote areas typically don’t have great 5G coverage. If you have solid 5G coverage in your area but internet service is poor or expensive, 5G home internet might be a better choice.

What Are the Advantages of 5G Home Internet?

5G home internet has a few advantages over wired broadband, but there are three big ones:

• Since there is no need for a physical cable, installation of 5G home internet tends to be much easier, and you can likely set it up yourself without an engineer visit.
• If you have good 5G coverage in your area, you can likely enjoy fast speeds, certainly much faster than old copper cables can provide.
• 5G home internet service might be cheaper than wired internet. Some carriers offer discounts and incentives to add 5G home internet service to your existing mobile plan.

What Are the Disadvantages?

There are pros and cons to everything. Here are some of the possible cons of 5G home internet:

• Coverage is limited and is likely to be best in cities. If you don’t have good 5G coverage in your area, 5G home internet is not for you.
• You will need a receiver with a good line of sight to a 5G cell site or tower for the best results. This may mean attaching an antenna to the outside of your home because 5G signals are not very good at penetrating through walls and can be prone to interference.
• As 5G adoption grows and networks expand, you may find your 5G home internet service is impacted. When 5G networks get busier, your home internet may slow down or suffer interruptions.

Can I Get 5G Home Internet?

It depends on where you live and what 5G coverage is like in your area. This coverage map from nPerf allows you to select by carrier to see coverage and download speeds. You can also check with your preferred carrier (most have coverage maps on their websites), but most only offer 5G home internet service in specific areas (big cities for now).

Who Offers 5G Home Internet?

There are several options for folks looking to get 5G home internet service, but make sure you read the small print. Most carriers offer a blend of 4G LTE and 5G. You are likely to get the best deals from carriers you take multiple services from, so if you already have cell service, your carrier will likely offer a discount on home internet. Here’s an alphabetical list of US options to start with, but new services are rolling out all the time:

• AT&T Internet Air
• Starry Home Internet
• T-Mobile 5G Home Internet
• US Cellular Home Internet
• Verizon 5G Home Internet

If you’re in the UK, here are your options:

• EE 4G and 5G Mobile Broadband
• National Broadband 5G
• Three 4G and 5G Home Broadband
• Vodafone 5G and 4G Broadband

Is 5G Home Internet Expensive?

5G home internet prices are not hugely different from wired internet service. It may even be cheaper for some folks. 5G home internet plans start from as little as $15 a month (Starry), but most cost between $30 a month and $80 a month, depending on the speed and service you want. Many carriers offer discounts for existing customers and other incentives. Because they are keen to attract new customers, many 5G home internet services offer unlimited data, no fixed contracts, and no equipment fees. Just make sure you understand all of the conditions before you sign up.

Matt Jancer

Boone Ashworth

David Nield

Scott Gilbertson

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