As freelancers, we’ve all decided to work from home for probably a wide variety of reasons. I personally had a few reasons for choosing this career path. I am very introverted and don’t care much for being around a lot of people, and I felt that my then teenage daughter needed me home and available as we were going through a rough time in our lives.
It wasn’t that long ago that the majority of the work from home crowd were freelancers or those who owned their own businesses. But, since the COVID 19 outbreak, companies all over the world are allowing employees to work remotely. And now, while some companies have opened back up and expect their employees to go back to the office, many have realized that workers can be focused and productive at home, and have allowed their staff to continue to work remotely.
Here are just a few of the many benefits of working from home, whether it be freelancing, running a business or remotely working for a major or minor company.
- Improved Work-Life Balance
Yes you may still have mandatory meetings, schedules and deadlines, but typically working from home allows your schedule to be much more flexible. Which means you can often start and end your day as you see fit. This flexibility makes it much easier to juggle work schedules with the needs of your personal life.
- Lower Commute Stress
The average commute one way is 27.1 minutes, so commuting to work and back typically takes nearly an hour out of your day, and that adds up quickly. But saving time not commuting to work isn’t the only benefit of working from home. It’s believed that more than 30 minutes of one way commuting is associated with increased anxiety and stress, and research has shown that commuting just 10 miles to work is associated with other health issues such as:
- Elevated blood sugar
- High cholesterol
- Increased risk of depression
So, working from home and eliminating the commute can help support both your physical and mental health.
- Location Independence
One of the biggest advantages of working from home is the fact that you have access to a wider range of job opportunities that aren’t limited by where you’re located. This can be really useful if you live in a rural area or a small town where there aren’t many local positions available.
Working from home also means you can travel as much as you want and work from wherever you are. As long as you have a laptop and internet connection, you’re able to work.
- Save Money
People who work from home can literally save thousands of dollars a year by reducing the cost of gas, vehicle maintenance, transportation, a professional wardrobe (but it’s still a good idea to get dressed every day and not work in your PJ’s) and expensive restaurants or take out lunches.
It’s not just the workers who save money either. Businesses can also save thousands by reducing overheads like rent or mortgage payments on an office space, transit subsidies and general operating costs.
- A Good Impact on the Environment
During COVID almost 4 million people worked from home at least half the time. This reduced greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of removing more than 600,000 cars off the road for a year.
And, by making environmentally friendly choices like monitoring heating, lighting and air conditioning and simply choosing to use less paper. Telecommuters have a huge impact on air quality.
- The Ability to Fully Customize your Workspace
Working from home allows you to customize your workspace as much as you want. Whether you want that super comfy ergonomic desk chair, a bright blue gaming chair or need specialized equipment due to health issues. You can set up your home office how, and wherever you want.
- Increased Performance and Productivity
Working from home typically means fewer interruptions (especially if you can train the family to leave you alone when you’re working), no office politics to deal with, a quieter noise level (depending on the family and pets) and hopefully less, or more efficient meetings. Add in the lack of a stressful commute and remote workers usually have more time and less distractions which can lead to increased productivity. Working at home allows you to focus on what matters most – performance.
- A Happy, Healthier Work Life
Remote workers tend to be happier and more loyal to their employers. Partly because working from home can reduce stress, it provides more time for hobbies, interests and family and often improves personal relationships. It can also lead to improved health allowing you to:
- Spend more time on physical activities
- Eat a healthier diet
- Recover from surgery or illness without have to stress about going into the office
- Minimize your exposure to illnesses
- More effectively and easily take care of disabilities or health issues
- Set up a ergonomic, comfortable work area
As you can see, there are many benefits to working from home. Whether it’s a freelance job or just remote working for a specific company. There are also many reasons why we choose to work from home. I shared some of mine – Leave a comment and let me know why you chose to pursue this type of career.