10 Reasons You Shouldn’t Work from Home

Working from home is often over-hyped and over-idealized. While there are many perks to it—like no commute and being able to work in your PJs—the truth is that it’s not the best solution out there, and there are a lot of disadvantages of working from home that people just don’t talk about as much. Here are # of the reasons not to work from home, including common problems and disadvantages.

What are the disadvantages of working from home?

1. Motivation

A big disadvantage of working from home is that it isn’t always motivating, especially if you aren’t able to establish a strict routine. Moreover, since you aren’t surrounded by people working nor by a buzzing environment, you’ll be more tempted to postpone tasks. If you’re one of those people who works better under supervision, you will be struggling to stay motivated and on-task.

2. Always Working

You’ll realize that working from home basically means working 24/7, especially if you’re in a management role or if you have constant work to do that never seems to disappear. Establishing a strict routine is no easy task and you’ll find yourself answering emails, calls, or working on projects regardless of the time or day. It’s exhausting and it interferes with your home life giving you a poor work/life balance. 

But isn’t one of the benefits of working from home that you set your own schedule? First of all, that depends on your industry and your company. If everyone else is working from 9-5, you might not be able to work proficiently until 3 am, no matter how much of a night owl you happen to be. But even if your schedule allows for that sort of flexibility, prioritizing something else in the morning or afternoon might push your work back into the evening, when you usually wind down with a book or in front of the TV. 

3. Expenses

One of the cons of working from home is the extra expenses like electricity, internet, and other utilities. While for some the electric bill will remain almost the same as when working in an office, for others working from home is likely to increase your electric usage, therefore increasing your monthly bill.

In addition to a higher energy bill, there are often other expenses you pay upfront like buying a desk, an office chair, office supplies, a printer, or any other number of things you need that you would normally have at the office.

4. Missed Opportunities for Collaboration

Working from an office—whether a company office or a shared workspace—is great for collaboration, especially when working on creative projects or when hoping to validate an idea. Even though new collaboration technologies exist, they can never truly replace the effect of working with someone in the same room. You could be missing out on a lot of great ideas by working from home.

5. No Company Culture

Company culture is an important part of any job. Not only does it create an environment for the employees of the company, but it plays a significant role in how the customer views and interacts with your business. Things like team activities, company meetings in-person, lunch with co-workers in the breakroom, and other exciting parts of working with your company are unavailable when you work from home. Company culture directly impacts how an employee sees themselves within the company, as well as their motivation and creativity in their role. If you work from home, you are not able to take part in the culture to the full extent, if at all, which can be a major roadblock to performance. 

What are the problems with working from home?

1. Distractions

One of the biggest cons of working from home is...working from home. While it can be comfortable to work in your pajamas, it can be difficult not to worry about the dishes, yard work, or errands that you think are more important, or even not-so-important things like catching up on your favorite TV show or movie. 

Spend a couple of days working from home and you’ll realize that your mind often wanders into home matters: Laundry needs to be done, you need to cook lunch, the kids need attention, you need to go grocery shopping...the list is endless. Oh, there’s also the looming kitchen that always seems like it’s calling for you to have a snack. This can prove quite problematic, especially if you are prone to distractions already.

2. Biases

Even though remote work is highly common today, there is still a negative perception surrounding it. No matter how fast you reply or how many hours you are connected, people often believe that those who work from home don’t work as much as those that go into an office. 

It’s true that this might balance out over time, especially among younger generations, but paradigm shifts can take years to really pan out. Until then, is it worth the damage and contention?

3. Isolation

Having coworkers to socialize with in the office is the highlight of the day for some people. It can be a mood booster and a great networking and team-building opportunity which can have long-term benefits for you and for the company. The problem with working from home is that it can be lonely and often leads to feelings of isolation, which in turn reduces motivation and your productivity. In extreme cases, this can lead to depression, affecting both your professional and personal lives.

4. Communication

When you work in an office with your team, you’re able to speak to them throughout the day with very few barriers between you. If you have a question, and you work a desk away from a person, the hardest part of speaking with them is trying to grab their attention to pull out their headphones. A major problem of working from home is that communication isn’t that easy. A simple question or request about a project might take hours of bugging people through email and messaging that they aren’t paying attention to, which wastes your time. 

Another key part of communication in the office is the small talk and relationships that are built. Being able to chat with a coworker about their weekend plans in the breakroom is time well-spent because it can lead to potential networking and brainstorming opportunities. It is important to be able to communicate freely without having to jump through the barriers of technology.

5. Your Workspace

A major con of working from home is the space that you are trying to work from. Not everyone has the budget or even the space for a home office. For most people, this means working from a laptop in your dining room, bedroom, or couch. These are not the most effective places to get work done. They might be comfortable and relaxing, but that does not always lead to the most productivity.

For many jobs, it’s important to have a physical workspace where you can put down papers, open books, stack files, and have a physical interaction with your work. If you are trying to get your work done from the comfort of your couch, you won’t have that space, which makes your job that much more difficult. 

Working from home isn’t your only option. There are better choices, even for small startups, that give you the office experience without the cost and headache of lease contracts. Davinci’s workspaces are affordable, accessible, professional office spaces where you can get your work done without any unnecessary distractions. With thousands of locations, you can find one near you.

If you still feel working from home really is your best option, then consider getting a virtual office to help you fill in the gaps of working from home. You can also hire a virtual receptionist to help you increase your productivity while they take care of office duties like faxing, phone calls, and handling voicemails. Contact us today to learn more and get a quote!

About Cecilia Amador

Cecilia Amador is a writer and content strategist based in Guatemala City. She's been writing about coworking, virtual offices, and business centers since 2015 and she is currently getting a Masters Degree in Innovation from The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.