WHY WORKING FROM HOME IS MORE ADVANTAGEOUS THAN WORKING FROM OFFICE

One of the determinants of productivity of the employees is the working environment. There are those who feel that they can work better at home and others whose productivity is better when they work from office. However, presently, organisations and other employers are allowing their employees to work from home. This has been enhanced by the coming of internet which enables people to work from anywhere and still be able to meet the expectations of the employers. Today, there is an ongoing debate as to which of two is better and when a person is is able to deliver more, is it when they work from home or from office?

Times are changing and employees need to be allowed to work remotely and one of these remote areas is at home. There are many benefits that accompany working from home. Some of these benefits include; fewer distractions as compared to those encountered at the office. Working at home means more concentration for people and less or no distractions from other employees that are likely to be experienced in the workplace. (Johnson) Secondly, the home environment is less stressful than the office environment. The working environment in office can be very stressful due to unnecessary pressure from your employer. In addition, there is no freedom as one will seek to please the employer. This is not the case when one is working from home which is much more comfortable and with reduced stress hence one is likely to be more productive. Further, working from home is likely to save a lot of time that could be used in doing constructive things. This is for instance; time involved in commuting.

Those working from the office have to commute daily to and from work. Working from home will help save such time. Further, a lot of time is wasted in office politics. It would be impossible to avoid such when one is working at the office but this is not the case when one is working from home since they don’t see their colleagues on a daily basis. (Johnson) This in turn means that when one is working from home they are able to do much more than when they are working from an office. Further, the home environment is more comfortable and much friendlier in comparison to the office environment. The home environment is likely to motivate one causing them to be more productive. In addition to there being fewer distractions at home in comparison to those at work, the home environment is also much quitter hence enabling one to concentrate more and deliver better.

Working from home is much better also because it helps one to save on the costs spend in an office such as fuel, food etc. this is likely to motivate the employees and cause them to work better. Lastly, the greatest benefit of working from home is the ability to balance both work demands and family demands. (Forbes) The productivity of an employee will definitely be affected if he/she cannot balance between these two. Family issues usually have a negative effect on the employee causing them to lose morale and thus their output is reduced. There is therefore a need to encourage and provide ways for the employees to be able to create this balance. One of the ways to do this is by allowing them to work from home which allows them to be able to balance between the two and thus causing them to be more productive.

A recent survey conducted by ‘flexjobs.com’ a site on both career and job information of approximately, 3,100 of professionals within the age blanket of 20 years and 60 plus years revealed that more employees (65%) are more productive when working in a remote environment in comparison to working in an office. 51% of these preferred to work at home and stated that they would be more productive and effective if they were allowed to. (Forbes) When asked why they would prefer working remotely in comparison to an office, they cited several reasons. 79% of those interviewed said that working remotely will mean less distractions and thus better concentration and productivity. 69% said that avoiding meetings organised in the office was an added advantage to them. 68% cited avoidance of office politics as a plus too. (Forbes) The survey also revealed that this was very important to some of them as 29% would willingly give up 10 or 20% of their salary to be allowed to work remotely. Another 22 % also said they would be willing to give up their vacation time while another 81 % said that working from home was likely to cause them to fell that they were more loyal to their employers. This is to mean that when working from office they don’t feel as loyal. This survey therefore supports my thesis that working from is better than working from office. This is just one of many others (surveys) that have proved that most of the employees prefer working from home is more appealing to them than working from an office. Organisations have also tried this by allowing some employees to work from home while others are working from the office and they have found that those working from home are more effective than those working from office. (Bloom)

Though this is the case however, it would be wrong to ignore the fact that working from home also has its disadvantages. The main one is a lack of motivation since one is working alone. Another one is that there would be no collaboration with other employees which is essential for one to be productive. However, when a comparison is made between the benefits or advantages of working from home and the disadvantages, the benefits outweigh the negatives. In addition, some of these disadvantages can be easily addressed through firm resolutions.

The benefits of working from home are many and cannot be fully exploited. An argument to the contrary is likely to be caused by ignorance unless there are facts to prove this.  The above discussion reveals that working from home is more advantageous for both the employee and the organisation or the employer. Organisations need to allow the employees to work in the environments that they feel they are likely to be more productive. The focus of these organisations and employers should be on the productivity of the employees. As long as they can deliver and meet expectations and obligations then the working environment should not matter as such