Working from home, or not?

Over the past few months, many of us had to work from home. That was the only option for many jobs since covid really changed things up. So whether we liked it or not, whether we could or not, we had to find the best way to start working from home.

And to be honest that was a roller coaster ride. For me, for the past year and a half, I was on and off working from home, changed 2 jobs, was unemployed for 6 months while trying to be safe and covid free.

At the very first lockdown I was thrilled to have to be working from home. For my introvert self that was like going on holiday. Not having to see and talk to everyone every single day!

So I would wake up a bit later, prepare my breakfast, spend time with my cats, and work stress free with my pace, usually. However since my previous job was really demanding, working from home only made things worse since I couldn't communicate effectively with my colleagues, and I couldn't handle stress that well. The reason for this was because I tend to associate physical places with certain emotions. So my working place was where I got to be stressed, caffeinated, jumping into meetings etc, and my home the place where I would calm down. Imagine now combining those two! Being in my calm place, but having all the stress of work. That didn't go well for me so I had to give up my job, long story short.

After being unemployed for a while, I got a new job, with a lot less stress. Not my dream job, actually far from that, but at least I wasn't particularly stressed. I had to be at the office for a while, then work from home and vice versa, and now after 2,5 months of working from home I have to return to the office.

And I made a list about pros and cons of working from home!

Pros

• Saving time on commute
• Saving money on petrol
• Time saved preparing for work
• Fewer distractions
• Being in your home and not in a faceless company office
• Spend time with your kids/pets. Although not much work can be done
• Have time to prepare lunch
• Have time to do some house chores
• Being able to rest a bit when not much work is there
• Ideal for introverts

Cons

• I tend not to work as much as I should and work would pile up
• Sometimes it's really lonely
• Not changing environment really affects your mood swings
• Not much sense of accomplishment, at least for me
• Everybody was saying to me that they would work more from home, but for me it was the opposite
• Your colleagues would assume it was fine to ask for work stuff outside business hours
• Finding a suitable space to work
• Less movement impacts health

and many more!

What's the outcome from all of this? However the circumstances are, you need to find that balance between work and personal time to be able to push through and be happy. Nothing is permanent, and we do have the power to shift things around us to accommodate us the best way possible!

How was your experience? We'd love to hear your perspective on the matter!