Working from home

Working from home isn't as great as it sounds. Sure, you get to dress how you want and can more or less set your own hours. But you also work alone. Or at least in my case. I don't have any kids and Chris works in an office all day. One of my friends will go to lunch with me once in a while just so I can talk with someone and get out in the world now and then. But sometimes I can go weeks without seeing anyone during the day. THAT can make you a little crazy. Surfing the internet is NOT a subsitute for real human interaction. I sometimes find myself be a little more chatty with the store clerks than I used to. Or if I haven't been around friends in a while I will catch myself dominating the conversation out of desperation.

The actual working is also a mixed blessing. No one disturbs me while I work (except for the occasional phone call) but I don't get to interact with my fellow employee's so I miss out on some of the work communication that goes on when cube hopping. You also don't get as much direction as you would within an office. This way of working isn't for the people who can't be self motivated.

Don't get me wrong I would take working from home over a normal office job any day. Not having to commute up to an hour to and from work, working in a sea of cubes, and conform to each and every corporate policy that is put in place is worth it.

I left my corporate job in November of 2005. I decided after 13 years of working for the same company to take a year off and do the things I didn't have time to do before. Turns out 12 months goes by pretty fast and you don't get as much done as you though you would. I worked as a contractor (which means you only get paid when you work) for a year before getting hired as a full time employee so technically I haven't really been working from home for very long. I will have to learn to deal with the few drawbacks to working this way as I continue to work from home.