Today’s situation with the epidemic complicates a lot of things. The only way we can stay safe during this time is if we stay home. But, staying home for several weeks or months can be impossible because we need the money to survive. And by not going to work, we do not get our salaries.
Fortunately, doing this period, many companies have made an exception and have allowed their employers to work remotely. This is just a temporary solution and most of us probably will go back to our office desks.
But, once you get that taste of freedom from working remotely, you will probably want to find such a job. Although, before you make such an important change in your life, you should first do some research to find out whether you are doing the right thing.
You want to know about all of the cons and the pros of remote work. On the surface, it seems like the better option, but that may not be true for everyone. To help you secure your future and to make the right decision, here are the disadvantages and advantages.
1. No More Commuting
One of the most obvious benefits of getting a job where you will be able to work from home is not having to commute anymore. I am sure that there are some people who enjoy their morning drive, but it can be stressful, frustrating and it is expensive too.
Many studies have shown that the average commuting time in the United States is about 30 minutes. Driving every single day for 30 minutes costs a lot. By cutting this expense out of your life, I’m sure that you will start to save a lot more money in your bank account.
2. No More Morning Stress
The average worker in the world usually has to get up early in the morning, around 6 AM or 7 AM. Waking up every single day sorely can start to get on your nerves. You feel sleepy, sluggish and you just want a couple of more hours of sleep to fully recharge yourself.
Unfortunately, with a regular desk job, you can’t afford to do that. You have to get up, wash yourself, prepare breakfast, wake up your kids, and do all kinds of home chores. And the worst thing about this is that you have to do all of this in under an hour to get to the office on time.
With a remote job, you won’t ever have to worry about rushing through the morning anymore. You can practically wake up anytime you want. If you prefer to sleep longer, you can freely do so. If you want to wake up early and use the morning time, you can do that also.
There will be much more time to cook a better breakfast, workout a bit, and spend some quality time with your family. If you’re worried about blending work hours with your personal time, we suggest that you use a time tracking app like Traqq. You can use this tool to monitor the hours you spend at work, ensuring that you’ll maintain work-life balance.
3. Remote Jobs Are Easier to Find
Another advantage of working remotely is the fact that the entire job searching process and application submission is much faster and simpler. There are probably hundreds of websites on the Internet which act as a search engine for remote jobs.
All you have to do is just sign up, get your CD ready, and then you will be able to submit your application. The entire process takes just a couple of minutes which is several times faster compared to physically being present for an interview.
You would think that these jobs that you will be able to find on such websites will be low-paying or do not require any kind of experience. No, actually, you can find anything from a full stack developer to being an audio engineer for world-famous music artists.
In fact, using websites such as Ladders, FlexJobs, SolidGigs, and many more claim that this type of job can deliver you much higher quality results than the traditional way of looking through the newspaper or Yellow Pages.
4. Improved Productivity
Many people, including business owners, believe that employees will have a much tougher time staying productive when working from home on complicated projects or tasks. This has been scientifically proven that it is wrong. According to many studies, a better work environment, in this case, a home, can improve a person’s productivity by almost 50%. The quiet workplace, the profitability of your own home, and many other factors help you stay focused and relaxed.
Keeping this type of relaxing job is a huge motivation for people to stay productive.
Now that we have gone through most of the advantages of working remotely, we should talk about a bit about all of the disadvantages.
5. Less Daily Activity
Like I already mentioned, commuting every single day can be stressful and frustrating, but at least it gets you out of the comfort of your own home. Being sedentary throughout the whole day can have an impact on your day-to-day life.
Even the slightest bit of activity such as walking around the office floors is several times better than sitting on a chair throughout the whole day. The more you go out, the healthier it is for both the body and the mind. Being too deskbound can cause some problems.
6. Lower Pay
First, I want to mention that a lower pay does not translate to every single remote job out there. But, on average, the salaries are usually a bit lower than a traditional office job. The salary difference is not that huge, but it is still important enough to mention it.
Of course, you get to decide whether that difference in money is worth it or not. Keep in mind that extra money from an office job is probably going to be spent on commuting.
Personally, I believe that the advantages of working remotely far outweigh the disadvantages. Sure, a lower pay never sounds like an attractive offer, but considering how much freedom you get throughout the day, I think it’s worth it.
And the problem with being too sedentary, with enough effort you can fix it yourself. Push yourself to be more active throughout the day and you will be healthy as ever.
