Before I started working from home full-time, I used to work in an office setting, warming up to the office chair, typing away at my laptop. It was not so fun when you account the traveling time from house to office, but it was quite nice to mingle with colleagues and hang out together for lunch.
Then I switched jobs and landed myself a remote role. A 9 to 6 job, work from anywhere I want, as long as I’m present when needed for meetings and quick calls.
Initially, it felt weird – imagine the extreme transition from a full-time office work environment to the now full-time work from home condition.
As time goes by, people get used to changes. Needless to say, I grew accustomed to working at my own personal work desk at my study each day. And I can confidently say, I love it!
Even so, sometimes I wonder about working from home vs office setting – given a choice, would I want to continue working from home versus working in the office, or vice versa? What about others out there?
Work From Home Vs Office Differences
Some people may say, whether it’s work in office or at home, it doesn’t really matter – it’s still work. I used to think the same actually, until I personally experience working from home myself. I’m not trying to glorify remote work or anything but I do think it’s to each his own.
Let’s go through some of the differences between Work from home vs Office, shall we?
Communication
Communication is key. Except when it comes to working from home remotely, you will need to rely on virtual calls, texts and phone calls to get ideas and discussions across. This gets extra crucial if you are a manager in the company – as covered in my How To Be A Good Manager post.
You don’t have this kind of barrier when you work with colleagues in the office – and you can even throw some banter to break the monotonous mood in the team once in a while.
You may be interested in: 10 Powerful Tips That Will Lower Employee Turnover Rates
Commuting to and from work
You got to agree, traveling to work can be a huge pain. Being stuck in jams, feeling tired from your day at work yet you have to drive home, having to deal with road rage…now that can suck big time on a work day. However, you don’t have to commute to work if you are working at home, since home is the new office now.
Work Hours Flexibility
Truth be told, there’s a chance you wake up later than your supposed work hours at home.
You probably work past your supposed work hours too, as office workers spend that after-work hours being stuck on the road on their way home.
Or you probably take more breaks than what you will normally do if you work at the office.
And that’s the beauty of work hour flexibility here when you work remotely from home – it’s literally work any time you like or want as you see fit. In the office, everyone is usually bound by the typical 9 to 5 kind of work hours or for some, they work in shifts. Not much flexibility there.
Environment
Homey work space, or formal office setting? This drills down to personal preference. Then again, if you happen to work in a fun office like Google, there’s plenty of amenities to make you feel right at home.
Expenditure
Who doesn’t love spending less money on gas and save that expense for something they would invest in or buy more? For some others, they also find working from home means they get to cut down on food expenditure by cooking at home rather than eating out every work day.
This is something I love as well: Less money spent on gas = More money for COFFEE!
Productivity at work
You may read from many articles saying working from home brings about higher productivity. I personally think this is highly dependent on the individual themselves in terms of having better productivity as they work in office or at home.
Some people thrive in a no-nonsense office setting and can perform better at work there, while some prefer the casual work environment at home since you don’t feel as much pressure this way.
However, there may be more distractions before you start asking yourself how to stay motivated working from home. It all goes down to which work style suits you best to bring out the best work performance in you.
Management
It can feel more difficult to manage the workforce when everyone’s working from home, which can be quite a legitimate cause for concern among managers.
This could even cue micromanagement, to ensure their staff don’t take the liberty to ditch work and laze around at home during the office hours.
Most managers prefer the work in office setting so they can oversee their team’s operation easily, rather than relying heavily on productivity management tools to get things done.
Pros And Cons of Working From Home Vs Office
Now that we’ve gone through the differences, working from home or office definitely have their own perks and downsides. Here’s a summary of remote work advantages and disadvantages, and also for working in the office.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Working From Home
Work from home Pros:
- Better flexibility and mobility
- Save costs for employee on gas, food; save costs for employer for office amenities
- Save time on traveling
- Great for introverts or people who don’t require communication much
- Dress whatever and however you want (except during meetings)
Cons of working from home:
- Collaboration can be difficult
- Require better technology and tools
- Plenty of distractions
Advantages and Disadvantages of Working In Office
Benefits of working in office vs home:
- Easier collaboration and faster communication at work
- Less distractions in a work-focused environment
- Easier to manage expectations at work
- Bonding with colleagues or clients
- Better work/life balance since there’s a fixed working period
Work in office downsides:
- Higher costs, since you need to commute to work and potentially eat out more
- Less privacy and flexibility
- May feel greater work pressure
Are You Team Work From Home Or Office?
As an adaptable person, I do enjoy both working at home and also working in office. Both settings offer their own pros and cons.
At the end of the day, I realize it’s not so much about which kind of work environment is better, but your mindset about working in whichever environment you’re thrown in.
So which team am I on? For now, I vouch for Team Work From Home though. But if you ever find me going back to the office to work, I may switch to Team Work In Office by then.
Well, as long as I get coffee, I’m all good either way heh.
What about you? Do you prefer working from home as a remote worker, or do you enjoy working on projects with your teammates in the office? Share with us your thoughts on this!
Editor. Copywriter. Meme sharer. But most important role of all, Coffee Drinker. So Buy Me A Coffee maybe? :3
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