This is a guest post by Tommy Eldridge. If you’d like to guest post on this blog, click here.
If you find yourself constantly fantasizing about what it might be like working from home rather than in an office cubicle, being a telecommuter may be in your future.
There are some obvious work from home benefits, yet there are other perks that you may find surprising as you explore this as a career option. Read on to discover ten benefits of working from home compared to working in that dreary office cubicle.
1. Cutting Costs
One of the biggest challenges of working outside the home is managing the costs that accompany basic work needs, such as transportation, work attire, childcare, and meals. When you work from home, you are better able to control this spending by planning meals at home, not using your car or gas, being home to care for children, and not requiring formal work clothing.
2. Family-Friendly Schedule
For most working people, there is a constant struggle between work hours and family needs. If you find yourself pulled between time at the office and time caring for your family, a work-from-home arrangement can give you the flexibility you need to handle this more easily.
3. Increased Productivity
Many people find that being at the office causes distractions and drama that prevents them from being as productive as they’d like to be. Working from home reduces these distractions significantly, giving you large spans of time to focus on work tasks.
4. Ability to Multi-Task
Ever find it impossible to keep up with your home and your job? If you work from home, one of the benefits is being able to take care of routine home duties, like laundry or pet care, simultaneously while you work.
5. Improves Personal Health
Stress is the number one killer of working adults. Then there are the annual illnesses that spread like wildfire around the office. Imagine not being exposed to that stress and avoiding people during the cold and flu season, as a work at home pro? This also means fewer trips to the doctor for your entire family.
6. More Career Opportunities
Believe it or not, there is a much wider range of career choices open to telecommuters. This is because more companies have recognized the cost savings of a remote workforce, so there are jobs plentiful around the world instead of just limited to your community.
7. Better for the Environment
When you don’t have to commute to an office and use fuel on a daily basis, you can reduce your carbon footprint and do your part to preserve the earth.
8. Higher Earnings Potential
As a work-from-home professional, you may have to start out with an entry level assignment, but you can quickly climb in rank depending on your performance and personal talents. This means higher earnings potential.
9. Personal Work Space
At an office you may not have choices in what you surround yourself with, therefore feel uninspired. Your home office can be whatever you want it to be, with a simple desk and chair setup and some imagination, personalize it to suit your work style.
10. Builds Relationships
You may think working from home is lonely, and starting out it can be. Yet, many work from home professionals report that they are able to network better and form meaningful relationships with others more easily because the telecommuting community is very supportive.
To get started with a work-from-home arrangement, first talk to your current employer about trying this out a couple days a week to see if it’s a good fit for you. Explore work at home opportunities that are for reputable companies, and avoid get-rich-quick schemes. Do your homework before accepting any work from home jobs, and be sure to develop your talents into a career that you can be happy with.
This guest article was written by Tommy Eldridge who is an award winning freelance writer with over two decades of experience covering small business related topics. When Tommy isn’t reviewing companies who offer sales tax courses, he’s busy crafting his own home-brewed beer.
