Takeaways
- Work-from-home employees tend to make higher incomes.
- Working from home allows more personal and work flexibility.
- Working from home can decrease soft skillset acquisition over time.
- Working from home gives employees more access to more employment opportunities.
- Working from home can be extremely advantageous but has its downsides.
Would you like to work from the comfort of your couch? Millions of U.S. workers have answered the call to work from home. The work-from-home movement has gained considerable traction in the last several years. Evangelized prominently by its proponents, some companies have fully embraced the shift in workplace dynamics and are now fully remote.
Recent trends show that 66% of U.S. employees work remotely, at least part-time [1]. And 99% of employees enjoy working from home at least one day of the week. With millions of Americans working from home, there are lucrative economic benefits accrued to these employees.
Considering the shift to a WFH role? Here are some of the common pros and cons of working from home:
9 Advantages to WFH
Working from home can save you time and money. Here are nine advantages to working from home that might make you consider making the transition:
1. High Salary
Working from home might give you a high salary with more personal flexibility. A recent study showed hybrid workers earn roughly $80,000, and full WFH employees earn about $74,000 [2]. Hybrid employees work from the office one to four days a week and the remainder in the office. Work-from-home employees are typically fully remote employees.
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2. No Commuting
One of the biggest draws for those wanting to work from home is that employees can cut their commute to the office out of their daily schedule. No commuting can put income back in your pocket by saving on transportation costs, such as gas, car maintenance, and parking.
Not only does this save you cash, but it also saves you time. More time allows you to do anything else but commute – workout, read, meditate, study, or learn a new skill.
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3. Increased Productivity
Without the contact distraction of typical office interactions, working from home can be a tremendous productivity increase. With your apartment or house acting as your office, deep concentration on new projects, tasks, or research can fuel efficiencies throughout your day.
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Over time, more time for deep work can increase the quality and quantity of your assignments, setting you apart and increasing your chances of higher pay and better titles.
4. More Flexibility
The 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. industrial age workday hasn’t changed since the 1800s. However, the science of productivity maximization has moved well beyond this outdated model. Mapping your workday to your daily rhythm can increase your effectiveness.
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Work-from-home flexibility allows you to map your day to your ultradian rhythm or the 90-minute peaks and troughs of productivity throughout your day [3]. During peaks, you can finish projects, conduct research, or lead meetings. During valleys, you can walk, clean the dishes, or meditate. Having the flexibility to manage your day will give you the autonomy to crush your work goals.
5. Maximized Work-Life Balance
Intraday independence lends itself to sustained work-life balance. You can actively manage your schedule by unplugging (literally) during critical parts of your day. Whether you are trying to make a workout class at lunch or running to the store between meetings, working from home gives you time back in your day. Ultimately, increased flexibility allows you to proactively manage and maximize your day, week, month, and year.
6. Improved Technology Skills
Managing technology throughout your day will make you tech-savvy by necessity. Companies offer work-from-home services that set up your home office to increase your comfort and productivity – some offering stipends or delivery services.
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With a modern office in your home, you can optimize your technology stack to benefit how you want to work throughout the day. Buy a stand-up desk and burn more calories throughout the day. Consult an ergonomics professional to ensure your posture is pristine. With a tech-focused workspace, you can utilize your downtime to learn more skillsets about the technology you use or want to use.
7. Less Sick Days
By only having to wake up and roll over to your office on days when you are slightly under the weather, you can reduce the number of sick days taken throughout the year. Working at home allows you to accrue this benefit. If you change jobs, depending on the employer, you might be paid for your unpaid accrued sick days.
Not only is the “commute” to the home office easy, but by being around fewer people, you can also reduce the number of seasonal illnesses associated with working in person. This could reduce your overall cost of healthcare.
8. Increase in Job Opportunities
Being constrained geographically limits the number of companies where you could be a candidate. As a remote employee, you have greater access to more job opportunities. Instead of only having to work for companies in New York, for example, you can now look for opportunities across the country.
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Companies that have gone fully remote and still want employees to gather and meet in person typically offer quarterly, semi-annual, or annual events for company-building opportunities.
9. Decreased Expenses
As a full WFH employee, you can save on countless expenses. Not only are you reducing your commuting expenses such as parking, gasoline, or public transportation costs, but you can also have other costs such as cell phone, internet, and supplies costs reimbursed. Working from home helps your bottom line.
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6 Disadvantages of WFH
If you are concerned that working from home has its downsides, you are not alone. Many people prefer working in the office or opting for a hybrid working model. Here are six disadvantages to working from home:
1. Less Skill Absorption
One of the benefits of being in the office is that you can absorb hard and soft skills fast.
Hard skills, often called technical skills, are job-specific skills that accrue throughout your professional career. These are skills for which you earned a degree, certification, or other credentials. For example, accountants need to be able to understand, read, and create financial statements. They often went to school for accounting and sought to earn a CPA (certified public accountant) designation. Sticking with the accounting example, senior employees often transfer hard skills to junior employees by teaching them how to perform accounting-related tasks, such as creating Profit and Loss statements.
Soft skills are more general characteristics, not necessarily job specific. These include interpersonal communication, leadership, cultural nuances, and navigating office politics.
Remote employees often have a more difficult time learning these skill sets.
2. Lack of Social Interaction
Humans are social creatures. We need social interaction to stay stimulated and engaged. Working from your home office can often feel socially isolating. To combat this, some WFH employees enjoy working from a local coffee shop where there is human interaction by osmosis.
3. Deduction of Home Office Expenses
Freelancers and business owners might be able to take advantage of the home-office tax deduction. According to the IRS, the home office deduction allows qualified taxpayers to deduct certain home expenses when they file taxes [4]. There are qualifications, and if you received a W-2 or paycheck, you are typically not eligible for the deduction. However, if you qualify for the home-office deduction, homes, apartments, and other properties are eligible as long as you exclusively and regularly use part of this space for business.
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4. Blending of Workplace and Home
Is it your office or your employer’s office? For employees living in large metropolitan cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, or Boston, where the apartments are small and the rents are high, rolling out of bed to start the day may sound glamorous. But after months of WFH in small quarters, it may feel like you are working longer hours, can’t unplug, and are effectively sleeping at work. Blending your office and personal space must be managed effectively to avoid early career burnout.
5. Evergreen Connection
Office software has become increasingly interconnected to our daily life. Using email, Slack, or text messaging to conduct business can be hyperproductive. But this evergreen connection to employees has a dark side as well. It can be hard to feel like you can unplug from work. With an omnipresent stream of Slacks and emails, separating work from play can be challenging.
6. Feeling Disconnected from Employer
Unless you work for a company that places its WFH employees in the same category as office employees, it can feel difficult to connect to company culture. WFH employees may need to take a more proactive approach to company engagement, such as creating local meetups with employees or preemptively scheduling time to travel to company headquarters to meet with other employees face to face.
Smart Summary
Enjoying where and how you work is part of what makes you happy. Optimizing whether you work in the office, take a hybrid role, or choose a fully remote opportunity is really about lifestyle design and financial planning. Earning more income can help you reach financial milestones faster and more efficiently. Working from home might be part of that solution. Being smart with your career and money choices will help boost your money game and overall happiness.
[1] Zippia. 25 Trending Remote Work Statistics [2023]: Facts, Trends, and Projections. Last Accessed September 15, 2023.
[2] WFH Research. Monthly briefing from WFHRearch.com. Last Accessed September 15, 2023.
[3] Science Direct. Ultradian Rhythm. Last Accessed September 15, 2023.
[4] IRS. How small business owners can deduct their home office from their taxes. Last Accessed September 15, 2023.
