Initial Thoughts on Working at Home, part 2

If you are looking for good reasons to start working at home or want to reaffirm your faith in the goodness of such job nature, then this post is NOT composed with you in mind. I will be talking about about the disadvantages of working from home, so hit the back button as fast as you can before it gets too late, or suffer the consequences of being discouraged forever. Hee hee.

The not-so-good stuff about working at home

Sick and tired of work-at-homes boasting about how wonderful their career is and had enough of them trying to convince you to follow their lead? Well here's some of the stuff they don't tell you about, things that most work-at-homes hate admitting to themselves:

Yearning for the normal office environment

Now if you totally hate your job right now (the stupid boss and the meddling coworkers), I think you will not find this disadvantageous at all. But for most of us who had a rather pleasant experience about coworkers (I'm leaving out the boss part 'cause I happen to loathe a couple of my old ones), this is one of the biggest setbacks of working at home. If it wasn't for the fact that my two most previous jobs required us to be online all day, thus I have good friends online most of the time (they haven't left their jobs, what brave souls), I'd go stir crazy from the lack of diversion once in a while.

This is especially serious for people who likes to talk to others as a means of breaking the monotony of work. It can get deathly boring after a while without anything, trust me. Screws tend to loosen one by one due to lack of social life, you know. As for me, what I miss most are the lunches that me and my former office mates used to take together, as this is the perfect time for that lovely chitchat (okay. tsismis, if you like). But then again, thinking back about what diminutive amount of things my salary can buy during those days makes me shut up and get on with what I have right now. I think the physical presence of friends is a small price to pay. After all, we do talk to each other still everyday, thanks to the wonderful instant messenger tools.

Unstable earnings

Another problem if you haven't found the work that can give you your supply of income on a regular basis. A lot of opportunities are there, yes, but only for the deserving and the persistent and the fortunate. Makes it all the more problematic when you dive into this career path and found yourself without anything to busy yourself with, or worse, without a single penny to support you (if you're single) or your family. Although employers pay ultramicroscopic salary, they offer income constancy. When I was still employed, I have already found my niche in the Internet, so there was no problem switching from there to here. So it would be wise to think before you leap, as with all other things in life.

Fortunately for you and for me (and the entire human race. err.), these disadvantages are workable. It's mainly up to you if you let your life go to waste by working at home, or enjoy the benefits while not turning pariah slash destitute at the same time.