Working from home: the disadvantage

Tina DiNunzio

HRP7110 – Human Resources Management

Jodi Smith

October 23, 2014

Working from home can sound like a dream come true. However, like any job situation there are many disadvantages to home employment that may become apparent over time. For some, this can mean making a few adjustments to make the situation more tolerable. For others, the disadvantages can be so powerful that they can put an end to the home office (Provenzano).
As technology, apps and costs bring people to conclude that working from home would be the best situation, it’s very important to consider the disadvantages of working from home, as these are often forgotten. These negative aspects can actually add to work/life pressure and lead to a major increase of job dissatisfaction (Dill-Shackleford). The four major factors to weigh out when considering working from home are: isolation, lack of promotion opportunities, household distractions and self discipline.
Anyone who has worked in an office, school or any other workplace becomes accustomed to chatting with coworkers, discussing work projects and other social aspects of the workplace. All of that social interaction is lacking when working alone from home (Park). Many people come to dislike the isolation factor and crave the social interactions they once had. For some, this can be replaced by chatting online with other at-home workers. For others, the isolation can result in a mild depression that pushes them to abandon their home employment and rejoin the typical office environment (Provenzano). An office is a workplace where you can meet with other people, socialize and actively converse. Yet when working from home, you have much less social interaction; most social interaction will be through phone or video conference, so often feelings of loneliness arise (Park). Although for some people that would fall under the advantages category, most people consider it a negative. For many, one of the best things about having a job is the social aspect (Wall). Most people are friends with at least some of their coworkers. If you work from home you’re going to have to find your friends elsewhere; something that most adults find difficult to do (Wall). Many professionals partly associate going to work with being with colleagues and friends, and even with people who will help them reach their goals. Working from home means that the personal touch of communication is hindered, and you might end up lonely, bored and tired all by yourself (Dill-Shackleford). In a typical office setting, you will have a group of people who can become a support system for you in both your personal and professional life. Meeting new people in the office will make it easier to develop relationships. When working from home, there is no network of people to build these bonds with (Turcotte). You need to be very proactive, get out and meet new people as well as network online (Turcotte). It can also be difficult to identify your own skills gaps because there is no one beside you to ask a quick question and have an immediate answer. When you have a job at the home office, you don’t have the opportunity to learn from other colleagues. You need to be strong at recognizing what skills you need and how you are going to acquire them
(Provenzano). Being able to bounce ideas off coworkers, asking for advice and learning from others is something that is seriously lacking at the home office. Home workers are often working long hours without face to face interaction which decreases productivity and ends up with a result of sub-par work (Wall).
When you are out of sight you can be out of mind as well. Therefore, your boss ends up thinking about you and your work less and this may cause the home worker to be passed over for promotions (Turcotte). This is one of the disadvantages of working from home that is rarely talked about; it does tend to limit your career prospects (Dill-Shackleford). This is more of an issue if you’re working from home for a large company than if you are self-employed (Dill-
Shackleford). The problem is that by working from home, you tend to take yourself out of the running for promotions and work rewards (Turcotte). You will also find that in many cases, the job that you would be promoted into can’t be done from home so you simply won’t be considered for it. This is a non issue if you are content staying in the same position for the duration of your career. If, however, you plan on getting ahead and moving up in your career field, then working from home could be a problem (Turcotte). Home employment is sometimes not taken seriously by prospective employers, and it can be viewed as a gap in the resume
(Provenzano). One of the main reasons people tend to work onsite is because they love doing it with the goal of getting promoted, so they can climb the corporate ladder. If you are a freelancer or if you work from home, you might lose sight of these opportunities (Wall). If you do freelance work, that means you are more of an independent contractor than a regular employee. Sometimes people with home employment are often looked at as if they don’t do real work (Park). A large majority of the people working at home do not really feel like professionals despite the size of the work load or opportunities. The main factor here is that, when you’re at home, you feel at home and you may be less motivated to perform the same as you would in a traditional office setting (Dill-Shackleford).
Distractions are the third major factor to think about when considering home employment. Unlike an office setting, all of the distractions at home can make it difficult to concentrate on the work at hand (Provenzano). When family members are around, it can be very difficult to focus on the work at hand (Wall). Saving money on childcare expenses, and being closer to your children during the day are often thought of as perks of the home office. You may find, however, that working while taking care of children proves to be quite a difficult task; if not impossible (Turcotte). Other distractions include everyday household tasks such as laundry, dishes, cleaning and organizing; all tasks that can easily draw you away from your career duties.
This, in turn, decreases productivity levels and income. Personal chores can build up and become extremely difficult to avoid when one is at home, and this can become very overwhelming (Dill-
Shackleford). Tasks that would normally take fifteen minutes may end up taking a lot more time.
Working from home typically requires a designated space. If you find yourself working out of your living room with no set office space, it can be hard to get away from all the household distractions. While coworkers at the office can also prove distracting, it is much different at home (Wall). Families need to understand that you are actually working and unavailable when you’re working from home. These interruptions can greatly affect your productivity and will often require you to work extra time to get the job done. It’s also a lot easier to find yourself procrastinating in between tasks (Turcotte). Going to work at an office is a good way to get away from the stresses of home life and vice versa, but if your office is at home, there might be no escaping the stress (Park). Along with distractions comes a lack of competitive spirit in the home office. Colleagues and peers in the workplace help to keep the competitive spirit alive and enhance productivity (Park).
Home workers also require a great amount of self discipline and motivation (Park). There is no manager or supervisor bearing down on you forcing you to work, and there may not be specific deadlines that need to be met. Work becomes very easy to put off until a later time
(Provenzano). There is a very thin line between work and social emails, work twitter and social twitter. This is often where lines blur and often leads to extended time to finish a job (Dill-
Shackleford). Without self discipline, you can easily lose track of time and even be disobedient to your plans and schedules. Again, productivity can seriously decrease under such circumstances if self discipline is not maintained (Turcotte). When you work from home, you don’t have a boss standing over your shoulder, waiting for you to finish that report. While not everyone needs a boss like that to complete tasks in a timely fashion, you still need a lot of self- discipline and motivation to always be on top of your to-do list. As much as everyone dislikes having a boss telling us to get to work, the reality is that most of us need it (Wall). It is critical that if you are going to work from home, that you can get yourself motivated to do your work.
Working on-site means you are exposed to a lot of professionals working at a regular pace, which in turn may boost your motivation and productivity (Park). Working at home without them means you get the lesser chance to be motivated and driven to perform work duties (Park).
In conclusion, working from home is not always a positive route. For many of us, isolation, lack of promotion opportunities, household distractions and self discipline can end up adding more stress and become quite overwhelming when working in a home office. Despite the initial thought that working from home will improve work/life balance, in my opinion it proves quite the opposite. The lines of separation between home life and work life become crossed, and the result ends up being a much greater increase of stress as well as job dissatisfaction (Turcotte).

Bibliography

Dill-Shackleford, K. (2010, September 8). Working From Home? You're Not Alone (Pun Intended). Retrieved October 18, 2014, from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/how-fantasy-becomes-reality/201009/working-home-you-re-not-alone-pun -intended

Park, Y., Fritz, C., & Jex, S. (2011). Relationships between work-home segmentation and psychological detachment from work: The role of communication technology use at home. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 16(No. 4), 457-467. Retrieved October 13, 2014, from http://ccrwh.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Park-Y-et-al.-2011-Relationship-between-work-home-segmentation-and-psychological-detachment-from-work.pdf

Provenzano, L. (1994, January 1). Telecommuting: A trend towards the hoffice? Retrieved October 13, 2014, from http://irc.queensu.ca/sites/default/files/articles/provenzano-telecommuting-a trend-towards-the-hoffice.pdf

Turcotte, M. (2011, January 1). Working at home: An update. Retrieved October 18, 2014, from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-008-x/2011001/article/11366-eng.htm

Wall, M. (2012, September 17). Is teleworking driving us crazy? Retrieved October 18, 2014, from http://www.bbc.com/news/business-19594518