Life with Kelso

I used to work from home, but now I have to go into the office with one day working from home a week. So lets break down the pros and cons of both (in my opinion).

Work From Home (WFH)

I have worked from home for the past 5 years, with the exception of having to go back into the office for one of my previous jobs. I absolutely loved it! I was able to work while also keeping the house clean and tidy and I never felt stressed about having to cram all the house chores into two days.

Below are some of the pros to WFH in my opinion:

• Work-Life Balance
  • Working from home allows for the ultimate work life balance. Depending on the job, you may be able to travel while working or go visit your hometown and work a day or two while visiting with old family and friends
• No drive time
  • Save on gas and miles from not having to drive to and from work
  • Do not have to deal with rush hour traffic to and from work
• Routine
  • I felt that I had more of a routine when I worked from home than I do now, working in office. I find it much harder to create a routine that I can stick too, but I am trying!
• Do not have to pack a lunch
  • I found I was eating much healthier when I worked from home because i could take the time to prepare my lunch versus meal prepping it the night before and reheating it.
• No Rushing to get out the door
  • Waking up, doing your morning routine and just walking to your office or downstairs to get to work.
  • Slow mornings are 1,000 times better than rushed mornings in my opinion
• House Chores
  • Multi-task while working – you can do dishes, laundry, or tidy up around the house during work.
  • During lunch breaks, you can run to the store for groceries or run some errands that you normally would have to do after work.
• Sunny days
  • Working outside on nice, sunny days always beats sitting inside under florescent lights for 8 hours!
• Dinner Prep
  • Come fall, it is soup and crock-pot season in our house! Working from home allows you to prep what you need for dinner throughout the day.

Cons to Working From Home in my opinion:

• It can become a little isolating or depressing
  • WFH you don’t really get the communication or contact (depending on the job) with other co-workers besides virtual meetings. It can become a little isolating, especially if you live alone
• Not making co-worker friends as easily
  • Meeting and talking with co-workers virtually doesn’t always allow for you to get to know them as well as if you were to work in-office together.

Work From the Office

I left my WFH job for an in-office job because it was starting to get a little isolating and I was getting a little depressed. However, if I had the choice – I would 100% go back to working remotely.

The office I currently work in, is very toxic, has a lack of trust, communication and collaboration. I have enjoyed meeting and making two new best friends; however, the mental and physical toll it takes on me to deal with the current environment is one I am trying to get away from. Fast.

This is not to say that all in-office job environments are similar to mine; however, I can only give you feedback on my experiences. Below I have listed some pros and cons, again that are my opinion, to working an in-office job.

Pros to Working In-Office:

• Meeting new people and making friends
  • Great way to get to know someone well, is if you work with them everyday for 8 hours
• Ability to network
  • Working in office, it may be easier to network and meet more people (whether that is leadership or other employees in a field you want to enter)

Cons to Working In-Office:

• Meeting new people
  • Not everyone will be each other’s cup of tea or like you
  • Different personalities – everyone is different and you will learn that who you surround yourself with matters
• Gossip/Rumors
  • Not everyone may like you, some may even try to break you down by gossiping or starting rumors about you.
• Micromanagement
  • Managers manage differently. One thing I always ask in interviews is “What is your managing style” – this gives me a glimpse of if they may be a micro-manager or not.
• High Stress
  • Depending on the job and co-workers, a job that seemed like it would be low stress can turn into a high stress environment quickly
• Toxic Work Environment
  • Again, depending on the environment and managing style, the work environment can become toxic
• Driving to and from Work
  • Going into the office means dealing with traffic, yuck!
• Paying for parking
  • Some jobs may be located where you will have to pay to park in a parking garage or for a lot (personally, I don’t think this should be allowed, because why am I paying to go to work?)

Those are my thoughts on the pros and cons of WFH vs Working In-Office. I will say, for me, as isolating as it can be sometimes, working from home gives me the work-life balance that I prefer.