Working from Home: Is It As Good As We Imagine It To Be?

Work-life balance is easier. Most employees, whether working for themselves or for an employer, strive to achieve that elusive goal of finding work-life balance. With a work-from-home arrangement, I find that I can juggle both work and house chores more effectively than when I was working in the corporate world. After work, I exercise at a gym or yoga studio, go to the bank, or go grocery shopping. These are all within a short distance from where I live, so I don’t need to travel far to run errands or do self-care activities. Doing all these makes me happier overall. And the less stressed I am, the more productive I can be.

You don’t also need to mind what to wear. I can wear pajamas, shorts, really anything goes, except if I have a video call. Even so, wearing pambahay (clothes for the home) makes me feel sluggish, so I still dress up in casual clothes even when I’m at home.

No traffic stress. On a day-to-day basis, office-bound employees face the horrors of traffic. In fact, the heavy traffic in highly urbanized cities is one of the reasons which prompted lawmakers to come up with the telecommuting law. Traffic is definitely one of the things that I don’t miss. My desk is literally just seconds away from our bedroom, so I don’t have to contend with this anymore. If you spend an hour or more in traffic as part of your office commute, just imagine how much work you’ll get done with that time.

No unnecessary meetings and chatty colleagues as distractions. Back when I was still a corporate employee, one thing that took up most of my time was meetings. Some of them required holding a meeting, while some did not. That’s why I can relate to a meme which says, “I just survived another meeting which could have been sent as an e-mail.” Being in a home office means that you will be less likely to attend meetings, other than virtual ones. This means you have all the time to devote to your tasks. There are also fewer distractions from colleagues who drop by your cubicle and engage in small talk.

Lack of human interaction can make things lonely. Perhaps one of the things that made working from home suitable for me is that I have an introverted personality. After taking the 16 Personalities test, I have been classified into the INTJ and INFJ personality types. If you are an extrovert who usually draws energy from interacting with other people, then this type of set-up might not be the best for you. If you’re this kind of person, I suggest you telecommute once in a while or only when needed, and work in an office setting majority of the time. And yes, while I may be an introverted person, I do miss talking to people face to face. There are just nuances in human interaction that can’t be captured in an email or chat, even with emoticons.

Internet connection is a big factor. Another downside about working from home is that you are dependent on the quality of the internet connection you get from your provider. Though I wish it was faster, my connection is usually sufficient for me to accomplish my tasks. However, there have been times when I had to work in a coffee shop due to technical issues with our provider.

This is why I feel that for the telecommuting law to be effective, Congress should also make sure that Filipinos have access to telecom companies offering fast internet connections. Remote employees could accomplish more if they have blazing-fast internet speed within their reach. But unfortunately, much as I would like that to happen today, I’m afraid it’s altogether a different discussion best reserved for another day.

Time management can be hard. When you’re working from home, no one is constantly watching over your shoulder. While this may be viewed by some as an advantage, there are disadvantages to it as well, like difficulties in time management. I manage my time by using the Pomodoro technique, which allows me to concentrate on tasks in small time intervals. I use an online tomato timer which rings every 25 minutes. Before starting the timer, I write down in an Excel sheet the task which needs to be accomplished within that time. At the end of the week, I look down at my daily logs and break down how much time I spent on each task. The Pomodoro technique.

Another time management tool that I use is Google Calendar. It’s simple but it works. Compared to a planner, Google Calendar is more flexible when your plans don’t pan out. It’s important to carve out time for tasks; without intentionally planning a time for a task, people are less likely to do it even if it’s in the to-do list. And so, using the time estimates I get from my Excel sheet of tasks, I plot out blocks of time for me to work on my to-do’s.

Armed with the right mindset and productivity tools, I would say that remote employees can be as effective and productive as their office-based colleagues. Remember that with this kind of work set-up, there’s no one else but you who is accountable for the results.

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