Home or Office Working?
Over the pandemic, many of us got used to working from home. As the world opens up again, many workplaces have chosen to embrace hybrid or remote working for their teams, locally and nationally. As technology has caught up with most companies, it’s never been easier to keep up to date with meetings and in touch with colleagues while logging on from outside the office.
But, should you be working from home if you have the option? What really are the benefits for a home office, and how might home working or adapting to a hybrid pattern improve your working life and productivity? Let’s take a look.
The Benefits of Working From Home
Win More Time!
Cutting out the daily commute, having less work clothes and lunches to prepare, and no longer having to squeeze household chores in before leaving the house for the day can all win up plenty more time across the week.
Alongside saving on commute and work-based errand time, many workplaces are recognising the need for greater general flexibility in how employees work, not just where they work from. This can mean you’re able to dip in and out of work tasks while managing errands at home, or take a gentle breather in the garden or find company in a local coffee shop which can help boost our wellbeing and productivity.
Better Mental Health
Gaining time, being able to manage your own workload around your needs, and having more autonomy over the look and feel of your workplace are all recognised as being great ways to feel empowered at work, in control of our lives, and better in our mental wellbeing.
Working from home can greatly allow you to slow down and get in touch with what you need as an individual, and develop modes of working that support your emotionally, creatively, and help you produce your best quality work yet.
Fewer Work Distractions
Those who work from home can enjoy more focus and fewer workplace based distractions. Working in an office environment can come with built-in social connections – but this can also mean unregulated distractions or interruptions, and that’s before you even get to office politics and gossip.
When working from home, you are free to eliminate outside distractions, choose to work to music, radio, or silence, have clearer focus and provide more attention to clients in peace.
Break As Needed
One of the biggest perks of working from home is that you get to decide when you take a break! We all have different working behaviours and attention spans, and recognising when is best for us to take a breather from a desk can keep us emotional well, reduce stress, and improve overall focus.
Taking time away from your desk can give you space to take some exercise, meet with friends, eat a tasty and nourishing lunch without rushing, or get some household chores out of the way. This schedule can leave you feeling more satisfied and fulfilled at the end of the working day, knowing you’ve achieved more by using your time in the right way for you.
Better Physical Health
Studies have found that employees that work from home with the correct setup will find themselves getting sick less often, and generally enjoying a better quality of health.
This has been attributed to having a more controlled environment, with less possibility of encountering colleagues who are sick. Home workers also experience less workplace stress – any kind of physical or mental stress can compromise our immune system and make us more susceptible to illness.
Less Spending, More Savings!
One of the biggest drains on our monthly finances is the commute to and from work, and the cost of eating away from home. Even a bus fare and a coffee a day can quickly add up to hundreds each month.
With less essential commuting, more opportunity to eat cheaply – and often with higher nutrition – at home, and less social networking or after work drinks, you could be set to save a small fortune by working from home.
You’ll find savings, too, as your work wardrobe needs will diminish, alongside possible childcare savings as you can adjust to more flexible working around family needs. As we look set to brace for another cost-of-living increase for many, working from home may never have been a better choice!
Working From Home: Now Is The Time
It seems the sooner that workers make the transition to working from home, the sooner they can reap the benefits – from more autonomy over working life, to greater financial savings and better quality of health. If you’re ready to make the move to working from home, take a look at our home office range to help make that dream a reality.
