Home is a safe, relaxing environment. That kind of security has lead many office-stationed workers to ponder transferring from their typical office to home, while still producing the same work. Their desire to work at home is fundamentally understandable. Any number of perks dwells there: personally-chosen beverages sit within arm's reach, or at least only require a trip to the kitchen. One can watch television while working, listen to music, listen to the radio, or watching a movie. Numerous ancillary activities can take place with a work at home position.
That view of work at home is idealistic; some overlooked, critical elements may dissuade one from forgoing his typical work environment. Among those elements is the significance of inherent self-control one needs to ignore potential distractions that frequently appear around one's house. Even pets can become frustrating; they relieve themselves in the middle the living room, for instance. Those situations must be dealt with, regardless of how much work must be done. Unless one works in a building that permits employees bringing their pets to work, those kinds of distractions remain irrelevant.
Depending on one's job field, income can also be hindered by working at home. Freelance writers and designers, for instance, are unable to foresee which clients will contact them in the future. They can possess unequaled amounts of talent, but if they do not contact the right people, or delay contacting said people, their opportunities will be severely limited. Plus, applying to jobs over the internet has lead to employers regularly skimming resumes instead of scrutinizing them, or even simply dismissing them before even taking a cursory glance.
Freelancers must earn their income based purely on the amount of work they produce, not necessarily how many hours they spend doing the work. However, employees at financial firms, for instance, may receive salaries based on their positions in the firm, not necessarily their relative talents or production rates. Employees of large corporations can climb the proverbial "ladder" simply by sticking around long enough to reach the next rung. Freelancers do not possess that kind of security.
Freelancers do not have that kind of security. When searching for those possible clients, the internet has become the most common medium for submitting applications. But this medium has multiple setbacks, specifically that employers briefly skim applications and resumes, and summarily dismiss them upon encountering one error or one minor unmet requirement. Many perfectly acceptable freelancers go unnoticed simply because of the abundance, bordering on excessive, amounts of applications employers receive from one posting on Craigslist, causing them to arbitrarily ignore applicants.
Freelancers are not the only category of workers who operate from home, however. People already associated with big companies, and whose positions usually entail office work, are discovering their obligations may be fulfilled from their house. This accommodation by a company, often referred to as "telecommunicative" work, can eliminate stressful commutes, allow pregnant women/new mothers to watch over their children without quitting work, and even allow disabled persons more opportunities to make worthwhile contributions.
A writer for Black Enterprise Magazine, Maria A. Reed-Woodward, noticed this trend of office workers transferring home and composed an article exploring the topic. The International Telework Association conducted a survey that found the number of teleworking employees grew from 41.3 million in 2003 to 44.4 million in 2005 and projects that number to climb to 51 million by 2008. Woodward quotes Jan Anderson, director of Midwest Institute of Telecommuting, who summarizes the general direction to which those statistics point: "There is a trend toward making jobs more mobile and permitting employees to have remote access to work from home."
Those numbers are awfully reassuring for people who dream of their boss saying, "Yeah, sure, you can work at home." But those people must first consider how well they function when left to their own devices, without supervision or direct motivation. Knowing the boss can slink around the corner at any given time is an extraordinary deterrent; it keeps employees from spending too much time with Tetris, Facebook, or fantasy football.
Because of the benefits and detriments of work at home, if an employee who currently sits within a traditional office wishes to transfer to their home office, I suggest consulting others who operate from that position. Talk with freelancers who deal with daily distractions and unsteady, unreliable paychecks, just to certify whether one's personal habits are suited well for work at home.
That view of work at home is idealistic; some overlooked, critical elements may dissuade one from forgoing his typical work environment. Among those elements is the significance of inherent self-control one needs to ignore potential distractions that frequently appear around one's house. Even pets can become frustrating; they relieve themselves in the middle the living room, for instance. Those situations must be dealt with, regardless of how much work must be done. Unless one works in a building that permits employees bringing their pets to work, those kinds of distractions remain irrelevant.
Depending on one's job field, income can also be hindered by working at home. Freelance writers and designers, for instance, are unable to foresee which clients will contact them in the future. They can possess unequaled amounts of talent, but if they do not contact the right people, or delay contacting said people, their opportunities will be severely limited. Plus, applying to jobs over the internet has lead to employers regularly skimming resumes instead of scrutinizing them, or even simply dismissing them before even taking a cursory glance.
Freelancers must earn their income based purely on the amount of work they produce, not necessarily how many hours they spend doing the work. However, employees at financial firms, for instance, may receive salaries based on their positions in the firm, not necessarily their relative talents or production rates. Employees of large corporations can climb the proverbial "ladder" simply by sticking around long enough to reach the next rung. Freelancers do not possess that kind of security.
Freelancers do not have that kind of security. When searching for those possible clients, the internet has become the most common medium for submitting applications. But this medium has multiple setbacks, specifically that employers briefly skim applications and resumes, and summarily dismiss them upon encountering one error or one minor unmet requirement. Many perfectly acceptable freelancers go unnoticed simply because of the abundance, bordering on excessive, amounts of applications employers receive from one posting on Craigslist, causing them to arbitrarily ignore applicants.
Freelancers are not the only category of workers who operate from home, however. People already associated with big companies, and whose positions usually entail office work, are discovering their obligations may be fulfilled from their house. This accommodation by a company, often referred to as "telecommunicative" work, can eliminate stressful commutes, allow pregnant women/new mothers to watch over their children without quitting work, and even allow disabled persons more opportunities to make worthwhile contributions.
A writer for Black Enterprise Magazine, Maria A. Reed-Woodward, noticed this trend of office workers transferring home and composed an article exploring the topic. The International Telework Association conducted a survey that found the number of teleworking employees grew from 41.3 million in 2003 to 44.4 million in 2005 and projects that number to climb to 51 million by 2008. Woodward quotes Jan Anderson, director of Midwest Institute of Telecommuting, who summarizes the general direction to which those statistics point: "There is a trend toward making jobs more mobile and permitting employees to have remote access to work from home."
Those numbers are awfully reassuring for people who dream of their boss saying, "Yeah, sure, you can work at home." But those people must first consider how well they function when left to their own devices, without supervision or direct motivation. Knowing the boss can slink around the corner at any given time is an extraordinary deterrent; it keeps employees from spending too much time with Tetris, Facebook, or fantasy football.
Because of the benefits and detriments of work at home, if an employee who currently sits within a traditional office wishes to transfer to their home office, I suggest consulting others who operate from that position. Talk with freelancers who deal with daily distractions and unsteady, unreliable paychecks, just to certify whether one's personal habits are suited well for work at home.
About the Author:
James Scottworth loves to write articles about small business. Previously he's written how to earn money taking surveys, and why taking surveys for moneycan be a great part time job for almost anyone.
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