Great article.

Good advice Island Dog.  Another thing I would add is, let your friends and family know your work hours.  Since they are at "work" and you are "home", they think it's fine to drop by, or ask you to pick things up for them.  They somehow think that working at home means you can drop everything, after all, you don't have to ask your boss for time off. 

It's really tempting to let it go, "just this once", but remember one of ParaTed2k's (Not So) Famous Sayings...  "If you do it once it's a favor.  Do it twice, it's your job."

 

I have worked at home since the early 90s (moonlighting). You pretty much nailed it on the head! I think the part about sticking with a project until done has a corollary. At the office, we all get into the personal interaction, and "waste" time around the water cooler. At home, I found that I was not working unless I was working (i.e. breaks did not count), so my time at home is actually a lot more productive.

But I would not want to do it as my sole job. I do enjoy the interaction, and getting out of the house. But working at home at 10pm beats being in the office!

That's a great point.

 

Good article. I work from home majority of the time now. It has both good and bad points.

Sometimes it is nice to be away from all the people and have less distractions. Unfortunately my phones ring alot more often with calls from people who have problems I need to fix. Granted these are the same things I would have to take care of if I was there in person but with some people it takes twice as long to walk them through something over the phone.

I'm the same way about trying to get something finished once I've started it. Working from home that has led to smoking more to keep my appetite at bay when I don't want to stop in the middle of something.

One of the downfalls of working at home is on the one "day off" I get a week, people still know I have immediate access to all of my work information and thus end up calling for things that "need to be taken care of".

So the one thing I would add to what was said above is not only make sure that your family and friends are aware of your work hours but make sure you have guidelines/limits in place with your boss/coworkers about what hours/days you are available.

 

Good article, and the gas savings is like getting a small pay raise. I save about $40 a week on gas. My problem is it is temporary, so I'll enjoy while I can.

As Dr Guy mentioned, I find myself working more. I often look up at the clock and it's 2 in the afternoon, no sense stopping for lunch then.

Ohh!  Good article... I just started a new job and I'm working from home... it is very different then Im used to and I'm trying very hard not to get distracted easily(Haha, like reading JoeUser right now...).

I got a new desk and chair and that helped a lot, I think I need to get some good noise blocking headphones if any of my room mates come home when I'm still working so they don't distract me.

Yes! If you are going to work from home, make sure you are comfortable working. Spend a little money you save on gas for good furniture.

I work at home but I'm a home daycare provider so it's a completely different situation.  I have been looking for a job outside of the home.  Though there are benefits to working from home I am really looking forward to the social interaction of being in an actual workplace.  You make some good points that many people don't consider about working at home. 

You are doing great if you have your kids trained not to bother you.  I get so aggravated when I'm on an important phone call and the kids want to come tattle, get attention etc.  I had to make the rule that they're only allowed to interupt me on the phone if someone is bleeding from the head.  Luckily that hasn't happened yet. 

Yes, furniture and office equipment is another big help.  That's for another article though. 

 

In the time I was working at home on contract, and before coming onsite I found pros & cons. 

Here is a list of things people should consider:

Home (offsite):
- Less personal (social) interaction with coworkers.
- You set your own work hours, unless your company/job require otherwise.
- You should keep track of things used for deductions on taxes.
- Around the boss less, out of sight, which some people may like a lot.  You still have to get the job done, otherwise they might require you to work onsite (under their watchful eye).
- Use of electronic communication (i.e. phone, email, chat) to stay in touch with your boss(es).  If your afraid of technology, working at home might not suit you well.  A lot of companies make use of email, some more than the phone to talk to employees.  You should be comfortable with using technology.
- Computer problems - either you solve or who?  If you're not a computer person, who is going to fix your work computer?  If it's your own computer, this will be down time until it's fixed.
- Save money on gas & wear/tear on the car.

Office (onsite):
- More personal interaction & involvement in company events.
- Usually set hours, depending on the company & position.
- Around the boss more.
- Communicate with your boss in person & electronic means.
- Computer problems - the support person/Help Desk can take care of you.
- Spend more money on gas & wear/tear on the car.

As far as being more productive at home, yes & no.  Some days I felt very productive, others not so much.  But like any job (onsite or off) you can have good & bad (productivity) days.  In my case, I had been through the death of a parent who I was helping care for in my house the previous year.  So hanging around an empty house wasn't the greatest thing.  Regardless, like you said, staying in touch with coworkers through chat, IM, email, etc. is one thing, but I like the social interaction better.  Some things don't get explained in chat & being remote, it's like getting half the joke or missing out on other things going on in the office.  Also, email & other forms aren't the best form of communication, as you can't see body language.  An email or chat message can come across wrong, when the intent wasn't meant that way.

I did find myself working through breaks & meals, but had to remind myself to eat...otherwise, you run out of energy later and poop out. 

I had moved my computer space from the basement to a first floor spare bedroom and that made it much more comfortable to work in the dead of winter.  In the basement, I had to jack the heat up to about 80F upstairs to make it comfortable (70'sF) in the basement.  On the first floor, I saved a lot in heating & cooling and had daylight (no room lights needed during the day).  And I could see outside,  which was nice on those sunny days.

For those who are independent contractors (any maybe employees), talk to your tax person about deductions.  (They may suggest you setup your own company to take better advantage tax wise.)  It's better to have your home office in a given space (i.e. spare room) so you can write that off on your taxes, keep track of the: square footage of the room, % of electricity &  heating/cooling for that part of your home, any supplies (consumables) used for work (i.e. computer media, internet service, computer(s) equipment, printer, fax, ...), millage to/from the office for any meetings, phone calls, etc..

If you do well working at home it can look good on a resume.  Because it shows that you can work independently, meet goals, communicate with the office & get the job done.  This is similar to being a small business owner and may even lead you into starting your own business some day. 

So the options are open, good luck.

...Jim