The Downsides To Working From Home And What You Can Do About It

It seems so ideal. Working from home and not having to deal with long commutes, nosy coworkers and less distractions sounds like a dream to some.

Those are really nice benefits and can certainly make a case for leaving the rat race and setting up a home based business or at least working remotely.

The problem is that nothing is ever so black and white. Where there are benefits, there are also downsides.

In this article, I will go over some of the downsides to working from home as well as some tips on how to lessen those negatives. For tips on financing and other concerns about running a home based business, check out MoneyMonarch.com.

It gets lonely

At first, it seems great to not have coworkers distracting you all day. Endless meetings are avoided and having lunch with people you would normally not want to be friends with are a thing of the past.

Yet, eventually, it gets too quiet. You’ll start yearning for some water cooler talk and somebody to tell you a joke to break up the monotony.

Being alone for too much of the day can even take a toll on your mental health which may end up causing depression. Not everybody will get depressed, but at some point or another isolation will set in.

When this happens, you have to take a break. See if you can move some of your work around to free up some time during the week to take a breather. If your work hours are flexible, then try to meet a friend for lunch.

Take advantage of the weekends if you can’t break away from your work by being as social as possible.

It’s hard to stop working

When you’re at an office and people slowly shuffle out on their way home, it is a clear indication that you should stop yourself.

At home, there is the likelihood that you will have trouble knowing when to stop working. And even if you do call it a day, it is easy to still be in work mode since your office is only steps away.

You need to start cooking dinner, but you just want to respond to that one last email. When your home office is in just a room in your house, it also makes it harder to separate home time from work time.

Make sure to have a separate space for your office. If you can set it up in your garage or in an unused room then that is ideal. If your desk is in your bedroom, try to make it as separate as possible.

It’s hard to focus

This part is highly dependant on the type of person you are. Some people focus more when they work at home as they can be easily distracted by the goings on in an office. Others find any excuse to not work since they are at home.

To get around this, try using productivity apps like the Pomodoro Technique so you can stay focused.