10 Advantages of Working from Home

Working from home is a dream for many. As more and more professionals seek a better work-life balance and more companies adopt flexible policies to accommodate shifting workplace priorities and realities the working from home option is becoming increasingly viable. Employees see this as an ideal means to remain in the workforce and continue to be employed thereby maintaining all the tangible benefits of being part of an established company, while enjoying all the advantages of being based at home. Below we discuss some of the advantages of working from home.

1. Cost Efficient

By working at home you save on many hidden costs associated with going to work. These include costs of commuting, car wear and tear, fuel, road taxes, parking as well as indirect costs such as expensive professional wardrobes and the dry-cleaning of those. Often you can also save on older children’s care arrangements although for younger children it is highly unadvisable to forgo the childcare arrangement and try to balance close care and supervision with the demands of the job.

2. Flexibility

This doesn’t just relate to timings either although the flexibility to determine your own work hours to some extent is the most important aspect of this. You can also determine your environment, lighting, temperature, setting, mood; basically work in the framework that suits you best and makes you happiest and most productive.

3. Less distractions

Coworkers banter and distractions, unnecessary interruptions, unimportant meetings can all be avoided if you are safely at home and sealed off in your own environment which you have barricaded from any possible interruptions.

4. Proximity to home and family

For many, the physical proximity to family and the convenience of being at home are tremendously comforting. For parents it can be especially pacifying to know that they are very near to their children and available should they be needed for any reason. This also applies in the case of elderly care.

5. Less stress

The stress of commuting in bumper-to-bumper traffic at rush hour in many countries is extremely counterproductive and can lead to disgruntled workers who are already exhausted and worn before they have even begun their day. This is especially true where the workplace is far from the office. Other stresses often cited include unfriendly coworkers, a suboptimal work environment and constant distractions.

6. More productivity

Removed from the stresses and distractions of the workplace and working independently in their own preferred environment at their own pace, professionals are often a lot happier and a lot more productive.

7. Better health

Often with long commutes and anywhere from 1 to 3 hours a day spent getting to and from the workplace both physical and mental health are adversely impacted; the former as the gym hours are usually the first to go and the latter due to the stresses associated with both the commute and the workplace itself. By working at home the commuting time saved enables you to resume physical exercise, to go for a long walk for example before and after work or to join a local gym.

8. Better work/life balance

Work/life balance, the aspiration of the modern professional, is often achieved and tuned to satisfaction through a working at home arrangement, particularly when a professional has the flexibility to report into the office and work from the office partially as an option and can fine-tune the arrangement to achieve the most optimal balance.

9. Higher Compensation

Most companies who outsource freelancers to work from home are based in the United States, so freelancers are mostly paid in dollars. Employees who are based outside the United States like the Philippines enjoy a high currency conversion rate. Some Filipino freelancers get a monthly income of as low as PHP 30,000.00 or as much as PHP 100,000.00. ABS-CBN News even recently featured a Filipino who has earned P7.5-M from freelance work in just 1 year!

10. It's for Everyone

Work From Home or Online Jobs is for everyone! If you have a computer/laptop and a decent internet connection, you can already start working from home.

Here are some of the most lucrative Online Job Websites that you can check. Click the following links to learn more:

1. Take Surveys for Cash - get paid taking surveys online

2. Video Game Tester Jobs - get paid testing video games

3. oDesk/UpWork - apply for different jobs like Virtual Assistant, Programmer, Customer Service and so on...