The Ups and Downs of working from home: My experience working from home #1

Above is my small office set up at home. I have not gotten to tweaking it up. Just bought a desk and a seat and viola! office at home. My home office is in my living room of my one bedroom flat and I love it. Working from home was a welcome idea when my boss first floated it around. I thought of all the time I would save by not being in the rush hour traffic jams and to boot I would save loads of commute money. I jumped at it and I have been doing that for more than an year now.

Have I enjoyed working from home?

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You bet I have- I am living the dream. No office gossip, politics remain though- we still have an office albeit virtual, people get promoted and others are passed over.

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What I have really enjoyed:

1. I get to choose my work hours: My time is no longer fixed on 8-5 and carry extra work at home. I create my own routine. Working from home meant that we had to create result based KPIs for me. So I have deadlines and targets. I ensure I deliver them by creating my own routines.
2. No traffic jams, I do not have to go to work on those cold mornings or the hot afternoon: I really love this one.
3. Good tea and food in ample supply: Though working from home raised my food budget since I am at home for the three meals, I would not trade my home made meals to the deliveries I got at work. Now I am able to create my own diet plans and stick by them. That way, I can watch My weight and live by it.
4. Crafts, hobbies, exercise routines are more fixed and constant than when I had to commute to work. I wake up everyday at 5:45am to start my day with a work out. Before then when I used to work I had to plan my exercise and hobbies around those times. Now with my new routine, I know when I am working, when I am advancing my knowledge, time for my hobbies and most importantly when to go to the gym or an early morning run. Now for the first time I have a constant work out routine and it is paying off.
5. I do less laundry: My suits have been sitting in the closet for a while now. I am mostly in easy to go clothes in my house unless I am going for meetings. Funny I have also bought very few shoes since I started working from home.

The downs of working from home

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1. Constant need for people to want an explanation of how exactly I get paid to work from home. To most of my family the concept of making a living from your living room is a mystery. Some have even gone to an extent of thinking I have no work and I am just lazy.
2. My friends seem not to value my job: One friend of mine is always asking me to take her places when she is on leave. When I say I have work she dares to ask doing what? That to me translates as them not understanding what I do. Mostly also not valuing that while they are on leave, I am still working and I have responsibilities. Have I mentioned how some of them stop by un-invited.
3. Procrastination and tonne of temptations: At the beginning I piled up loads of tasks. I watched movies on days end. After all there was no onee looking. I kept telling myself that I would work on it at a later date. Until one time I had too much that I had to rethink my strategy. Hobbies also at times take over. Cleaning the house or dusting also seems to take over sometimes. But with time I am getting the hang of things.

Qualities of a good work at home employee

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So you are thinking of hiring someone to work from home. What are some of the qualities you should look at?
Also if you want to work from home, the following qualities are good to have.

1. They need to be a self-starter, a leader of some sort. This person needs to know how to do things under no supervision.
2. A team player. If you are considering this it means that most likely you want to reduce your office space size. That means most of your employees will need to coordinate their responsibilities with others. They might be working on a project and you want them to work at the same pace and wavelength. This calls for strong team players. We have done it in my company and it can be done.
3. Someone who is ready to work on a result driven model: there is no way to justify the amount of money you pay your virtual employees unless it is by their results.
4. Living areas should have internet connection: this is self explanatory. For communication Internet is key.

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Qualities of a good employer to work for from home for

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There are a few qualities that I enjoy with my employer that have enabled me to work well from home. Without some of these I believe this task would be a daunting one to start.

1. Availability: They should be available as you should be on different mediums for consultations. Email, Social media, video name it. Whenever you interview for such a job. Find out what type of communication mediums would be used. On this also remember your availability doesn't mean 24/7. Create boundaries early so you differentiate active work hours from those that aren't. Anyone calling you in the middle of the night is just bananas.
2. They are willing to pay for part or whole of utility bills relating to the office. Internet, phone bills. Usually these bills would be paid in a normal office. Bargain for a good deal.
3. Office supplies: You are working for them so they provide those or pay you to provide them.
4. Ensure that your KPIs are well defined.
5. Vacation days. Just because it seems like holiday every day working from home it is not. Remember to discuss your vacation days.
6. Remember this is a real job just like any other, ensure they treat it like one.

How to transition from office to working from home

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These are some of the things that I have learned in the short time working from home.

1. Noisy neighbours: You can either move, because some of them will distract you or come to an arrangement with them about the noise levels. You do not want to be in a conference call then someone starts load music to a point of shaking the walls. My neighbor is that crazy.
2. Fast internet: For your communications downloads and all quality office work.
3. Procrastination: Avoid this at all costs
4. Meet all your required targets: DO not miss deadlines. This will make you look very bad.
5. Communication with other team members is key. You do not want to be working on a project and you are presenting different stories to the client. Always ensure you are insync
6. Have fun: Working from home shouldn't be all serious. If you are tired nap, if you feel like dancing dance. Most importantly enjoy it all the way. I like to joke to my friends on the cold mornings. Watch a movie so long as you are not procrastinating, entertain a guest. Schedule time for some crafts nothing should be too serious to not have fun.
7. Do not forget to go out and interact with other human beings. Believe me on this one. Very important.

The best way to start working from home is by starting to work for yourself. I hope this little advice helps someone navigate around this situation.

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