Thumbs up to working from home

US-based website carinsurance.org has published some interesting findings entitled The Perks of Working From Home (to take a look, visit www.carinsurance.org/perk-of-working-from-home), that points to home-working (they call it ‘telecommuting’) being A Good Thing. It includes such observations as “the average [US] commuter could save $750 [£460]” a year on petrol if they worked from home half the time; and, also, that commuting has a bad effect on workers’ BMIs, blood pressure and levels of stress.

However, reading it encourages those who already work from home (and don’t use a car even when they work in somebody else’s office) to create their own plus and minus lists and, frankly, I’d say the jury is still out!

On the plus side:
• Working from home means you’re around to keep the family pets company.
• You save money by making your own lunch.
• You can slob around in your PJs all day.
• You can set your own hours.
• You’re around to take the kids to school, fit in errands and keep on top of the household chores.
• You don’t have to put up with irritating colleagues.
• You don’t get crushed, pushed and breathed on with this winter’s cold germs on the public transport twice a day.

On the minus side:
• Being constantly watched by doleful eyes, ever hopeful of either food or an outing is its own kind of stress.
• You have to make your own lunch.
• Your heating bills are higher because you’re slobbing around in PJs all day.
• You work all hours because there’s no 5pm cut-off.
• As you’re home, you’ve got to squeeze a working day in around taking the kids to school, running errands and keeping on top of household chores.
• You don’t get the camaraderie of a work team.
• Um… There really is no minus to not having to travel on public transport, unless you miss hearing people barking into their phones, “I’m on the train!”

Have you anything you’d like to add? Please share!

By Liz Granirer