When I saw the Yahoo news that CEO Marissa Mayer was putting the kibosh on employees working from home, I immediately thought: “Oh, I can see it now. Other companies will jump on the bandwagon”.
Let’s hope not. I worked from home for 10 years from San Diego for two employers and while I was running my own independent research firm before moving to the New York area three years ago to join CNBC; the other 29 years were in offices, mostly newsrooms.
I think I know something about working from home.
I can honestly say I miss working from home much of the time. The operative word is “much.”
So let’s go through the good, bad and the ugly of working at home:
The good: Beyond the obvious -- no commute -- there is the less obvious: the ability to focus with little or no interruptions or distractions. Sure, there is the noise of the guys cutting the lawn, the dog barking and the delivery trucks, but otherwise it’s...quiet. And when you write or try to do deep research, quiet has its virtues. That’s why, for me, working at home was a way to turn a regular job into a lifestyle job.
The bad: You’re always working. Work is home, home is work. And with no commute, you’re likely to work longer hours. I would add, though, that you're probably also more productive -- depending on what you do for a living. I’m speaking as a journalist, and I didn’t mind the longer hours. Also, there is something to be said for being around people and, to Mayer’s point, exchanging ideas. Whether it’s an office or a newsroom, creativity really can get a kick-start by running into someone in a hallway. To be fair, though, a quick phone call can accomplish the same thing as can social media.
The ugly: Isolation.There is no way getting around this one. Some people love it, some don’t. I never did, especially when I was trying to run a very private research business that all but eliminated using social media.
Bottom line: Working from home is a heck of a perk if you can deal with the bad and the ugly.
Let’s hope not. I worked from home for 10 years from San Diego for two employers and while I was running my own independent research firm before moving to the New York area three years ago to join CNBC; the other 29 years were in offices, mostly newsrooms.
I think I know something about working from home.
I can honestly say I miss working from home much of the time. The operative word is “much.”
So let’s go through the good, bad and the ugly of working at home:
The good: Beyond the obvious -- no commute -- there is the less obvious: the ability to focus with little or no interruptions or distractions. Sure, there is the noise of the guys cutting the lawn, the dog barking and the delivery trucks, but otherwise it’s...quiet. And when you write or try to do deep research, quiet has its virtues. That’s why, for me, working at home was a way to turn a regular job into a lifestyle job.
The bad: You’re always working. Work is home, home is work. And with no commute, you’re likely to work longer hours. I would add, though, that you're probably also more productive -- depending on what you do for a living. I’m speaking as a journalist, and I didn’t mind the longer hours. Also, there is something to be said for being around people and, to Mayer’s point, exchanging ideas. Whether it’s an office or a newsroom, creativity really can get a kick-start by running into someone in a hallway. To be fair, though, a quick phone call can accomplish the same thing as can social media.
The ugly: Isolation.There is no way getting around this one. Some people love it, some don’t. I never did, especially when I was trying to run a very private research business that all but eliminated using social media.
Bottom line: Working from home is a heck of a perk if you can deal with the bad and the ugly.
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