Do you know anything about who you;d be reporting to in the other company? Whether or not a remote job will work for me is all about who the manager is and how well I feel I can communicate with that person with minimal face-to-face interaction.
The one bad thing hard about WFH is that it's very easy to keep working since there is no official "heading home" or leaving the office. It's tempting to keep working if you get wrapped up in something and SOMETIMES there is this expectation that you can just jump on over to your computer and do something at any time (like 1 AM) rather that have it wait until business hours.
DH works from home (or he did, anyway). I recommend making sure you have a dedicated work space. If you have a home office, great. If you can add a desk to an existing room that would be quiet, that works too. Ultimately, I think it's pretty cool, but you have to be the kind of person who works well independently and without the pressure of people in the workplace making you stay on task. Which, lol, since I'm in the office and have been on the internet all day. Anyway...
If you don't think you'll miss the socialization and think you can stay on task, I say go for it.
I may be the only one, but I absolutely hated working from home. It was incredibly isolating, I worked way more hours than I did in the office, and I missed being able to bounce ideas off my coworkers. But I know lots of people who love working from home. It depends on your personality and frankly, what kind of work you do. I sometimes work from home when I have a project that needs to be finished and needs my complete attention.
Post by cabbagecabbage on May 4, 2016 13:43:10 GMT -5
My best friend did this this year and the transition has been hard but good. She is depressed as it is, so it has been important for her to create outings for herself but as a single parent, it has been a huge blessing to save on gas, clothing, some childcare. She took a small pay bump but lost some benefits but in the end she feels it has been a move up.
I love working from home and never want to change - I sit at my desk in yoga pants and a top (I did make "wear a bra" into a rule), look at my bird feeders throughout the day, and have conference calls while cuddling a cat. However, as others have mentioned, there are challenges.
1. Yes, absolutely have dedicated space for work; keep reasonable and consistent hours; and stay out of your office when you're not working. Don't even check work email, if you can ... it's just too easy to sit on the sofa, look at email, and think, "OK, I'll just run into the office and answer this really quickly." And then you're still at your desk an hour or three later.
2. When you work from home, you can find yourself only talking to people when it's something work-related. Compare that to an office, where you build casual relationships with the people around you ... e.g., in the kitchen getting a cup of coffee, chatting about the weekend. You have to work at it to become "work proximity acquaintances." But it is a much better experience if you build those relationships - then you *can* reach out to just bounce ideas off them, or call and vent when you're having a bad day.
I work from home. I find it's extremely important to treat your work day the same as you would if you had to go into the office. Meaning, I work out, shower, get dressed and am ready and at my desk at 8:00. It might be tempting to work in your pajamas or whatnot, but I find that is just bad for my mindset.
You also need to be self-disciplined. It's easy to waste time on the internet (something I NEVER do, clearly) or take a longer lunch break. The conveniences are great, like running errands during lunch, throwing in a load of laundry, etc. Making lists every morning helps.
Sometimes I do feel a little stir-crazy, although I do have local customers I can see and I also travel for work. My company does video calls weekly and usually at least once a year I fly into the home office for training. I've also built relationships with those at a similar level as me, and I'll reach out by phone or whatnot if I need help with something.
I work from home but I have start/stop hours. I have daycare dropoff/pickup. I work a little over 8 hours and that's it. Not tempted to work extra lol. But if there is something critical it's easy to work on after DS goes to sleep.
Definitely consider it. But you do want to get a good sense of your boss and the company's overall expectations. Are there standard work hours and do they pretty much adhere to them (as in, by WFH, will they expect you to be available outside of work hours on the regular).
But past that - based on my job now, I say I'd LOVE to WFH. I hardly see or talk to anyone.
BUT I've also come to realize that what I really, REALLY miss about my old job was the great group of people I worked with. I crave that. I htink WFH would make me miss it even more. I need SOME social outlet.
My H used to work from home. He liked his job well enough but he did feel very isolated. He made a point of going out to lunch just to get away for a bit each day.
I, on the other hand, would jump at the opportunity to WFH -- especially in your situation with the driving. I HATE long drives. This would be a definite yes for me.
My husband worked from home exclusively for a few years. We saved on gas, food, car insurance, and even gym (previously we paid for gym but he never used it, when he worked from home he was able to go during "off" times and liked it much better). In addition, we were also able to take deductions on our taxes for his home office for electricity, heat, phone, and internet. When he left that job after about 3 years working from home, he was ready to get back to an office though. Now he has the ability to wfh when he needs to, so its perfect for him.
Post by bunnymendelbaum on May 4, 2016 14:22:33 GMT -5
I WFH and love it.
Agree about having dedicated workspace, but my work requires a lot of drawings, paperwork, printers, code books, samples, etc. I do not get dressed or showered each day in the morning unless I have a meeting.
I do get a bit stir-crazy and need to get out of the house sometimes.
Will your office reimburse you for your phone? internet access?
Post by underwaterrhymes on May 4, 2016 14:32:58 GMT -5
I work from home right now and just accepted a position where I will have an hour long commute each way.
I am moving from a PT contractor position with no benefits to a FT role with full benefits, so it was a no brainier.
I love working from home but miss yet socialization a lot. I'm sure I will miss the flexibility in my new role, but enjoy being out and about every day.
Post by underwaterrhymes on May 4, 2016 14:43:53 GMT -5
Oh, and yes. Setting boundaries and guidelines are really important.
I need to structure my day really well and have learned not to reply to emails past a certain point. I have found myself working at 3 AM when I'm nursing the baby and that's a bad habit to get into because people get used to it.
I have been working from home more recently. I noticed I started getting really depressed, so it's nice to have the option to go into the office if needed.
Also, regarding your kids, I find it next to impossible to work when the kids are home. So don't give up the after school care too quickly.
Also, if you accept, I would encourage you NOT to do the home office exemption on your taxes. It's very strict and can lead to audits.
Yes, I was told this is the biggest audit trigger, and the actual amount of the write-off is too small to be worth it. Same for computer (unless it is NEVER used for anything personal) and internet. Just pay for it.
I almost exclusively WFH, but I do have the option of going there. I have set hours, but rarely manage to get showered/dressed until lunchtime. I am sort of social, but I am still happier working here at home. Better coffee, better view. And I figure the time I'd waste there chit-chatting I can do laundry and not feel guilty. Speaking of laundry, I need to go put it in the dryer!
I've WAH for close to 8 years and before that I have a 4 days in office/one day WAH.
Pros -- flexibly, no commute, invisible in someways (e.g. no need for work clothing, no one watching when you come and go etc) Cons -- Isolation, delayed career progression (out of sight out of mind) this is particularly true if your team all sits together and you're the odd man out. I work on a team that most all over the country, extended day/on all day
If I didn't have kids I'd say I'd prefer the 4 days/1 day but with kids WAH has been a huge help to me. I always used full time childcare when the kids were little. Now with a 4 and 6 year old I have some rare (3-4 a year) occasions where I work for 2-3 hours with my 6 year old at home which is helpful. What WAH really does is allow to be around for little things (class parties, moving up ceremonies, etc) without taking a day off. I'm also very close if something urgent is forgotten or if my kids are sick. I use care.com on call sometimes as well because I'm right here and and I feel more comfortable using an unknown sitter that way.
I would like to work from home. I have little to no supervision anyways here in my office and I do all my work with outside facilities anyways or work with teams that are not in my office.
I just don't think its feasible though because I am on a state network that is secured... who knows.
I may be the only one, but I absolutely hated working from home. It was incredibly isolating, I worked way more hours than I did in the office, and I missed being able to bounce ideas off my coworkers. But I know lots of people who love working from home. It depends on your personality and frankly, what kind of work you do. I sometimes work from home when I have a project that needs to be finished and needs my complete attention.
I hated it, too. It wasn't working from home. It's living at work. Isolating, different expectations....just not as good as everyone thinks.