Working from home is a dream for a lot of employees. You can work in your pajamas, eat and drink whatever and whenever you like, and when your 5 o'clock deadline hits, you're already at home. For others, the thought of being stuck in the spare room with the dog scratching at the door because it wants company is their worst nightmare.

 

Working from home isn't ideal for everybody. You and your employer will need to find the best way to create a work schedule. But, for many people, remote working is ideal. It is often more flexible than working on-site, offers physical and mental health benefits in some cases, and it eliminates the stress of the daily commute. And these are just some of the benefits. Below you will find 10 reasons to welcome the move from office to spare room (kitchen, attic, or other location in the home).

1 – A Degree Of Flexibility

 

Obviously, it depends on how flexible your boss is, and the type of work you do, but home working often provides a greater degree of flexibility than office working. If you need to start work late because you have to drop the kids off at school, and are happy to work late, this isn't a problem for a lot of remote workers.

 

The fact that you can get up 10 minutes before you start work also offers flexibility that you can't enjoy when working in the office. There are other ways that home working is more flexible too – wear what you want, eat and drink what you want, and set your office up how you want.

 

2 – Wear What You Want

 

In all honesty, a lot of businesses have adopted a more relaxed dress code in recent years, but some still insist on smart casual, at the very least. Even when they don't, and when there is no written dress code, there is a degree of expectation that you should fit in with co-workers.

 

When you work from home, you really can wear whatever you like to work in. The only real exception to this is that you might want to consider changing out of your pajamas for video conference calls. If you feel more comfortable wearing shorts and a vest, then you can.

 

3 – Eat And Drink What You Want

 

There are always some limitations when it comes to eating and drinking at work. Some offices don't allow food at the table, and they frown on you eating flaky pastries and crumbling cookies over your keyboard. Although most places of work will, at least, allow you to consume some water to ensure you stay hydrated, such limitations do not exist in your own home. Unless you want them to.

 

Depending on the amenities within the workplace and your office's locale, you might also be restricted when it comes to lunchtime. If you're out of town, and only have half an hour for lunch, that pretty much restricts you to whatever you can carry in your bag or your pockets. At home, you can have a roast dinner for every meal, although your bathroom scales might have something to say about it.

 

4 – Fewer Distractions

 

This one won't be true for everybody, but you will often find that there are fewer distractions at home than there are in the workplace. Chatty coworkers, noisy fans that you don't really want on, and even work-related phone calls from the adjacent desk, can all put you off successfully completing your daily tasks.

 

At home, you control your own environment. All of it. If you don't like the noise of the desk fan, turn it off. You won't have to overhear any of your colleagues' personal phone conversations, and you won't be getting called over to perform quick 5 minute jobs for people all the time. Fewer distractions means greater productivity so you and your employer benefit from this one.

 

5 – No Commute

 

The daily commute. Many of us have to do it, and most of us hate it. In fact, according to the US Census, the average person spends 26 minutes on their commute, each way. That means, you spend roughly an entire year of your life sat staring at brake lights and shouting at other drivers, or crowded into torpedo shaped metal tubes.

 

The home worker's commute is a little different. Roll out of bed and make the 5 second walk to whatever room you use as your office. Think of all the extra work, or extra socializing, you can do with an entire year of your life.

 

6 – No Office Politics

 

Anybody that has ever had to work with other people will understand the pain of office politics. Even seemingly friendly coworkers can become incensed if they think somebody has eaten their snack time yogurt. They become apoplectic if the window is opened, even in the height of summer, and this is just the start of common office bickering.

 

Have the room whatever temperature you like without annoying coworkers is just one of the many blissful benefits of avoiding office politics.

 

7 – Save Money

 

Commuting to work, paying for expensive cafeteria lunches, going for office social dinners that you aren't contractually obligated to but feel like you really need to in order to keep everybody happy. All of these have one factor in common – money. They can take a sizable chunk of your salary that you simply won't get back.

 

You don't have to pay for gas to get to the living room, and you can buy whatever food and drink you like, without the fear of seeming cheap. You will need to use more power, but this might be covered by your employer, and don't forget that you won't need to pay for suits and office wear.

 

8 – Be More Productive

 

The lack of distractions, having the perfect ambient temperature, and avoiding office politics, means that you can ramp your productivity. This is probably the primary reason why your employer considered remote working in the first place, but it benefits you, too.

 

As a more productive employee, you can reduce work-related stress, you could increase your opportunity for promotion and pay rises. You will also get that warm feeling of having enjoyed a really productive and successful day.

 

9 – Set Your Office Up How You Want

 

Even the best designed offices tend to look like, well, offices. There's desks, there might even be cubicles, and there's probably cityscape pictures on the wall. If yours is a forward thinking office, there might be the occasional bean bag thrown in the corner of a breakaway room, and a slightly browned trailing plant in the corner that is meant to enhance a feeling of well being in all workers.

 

At home, you can have an entire room decked out with padded walls, multiple bean bags, a mini fridge packed with cold water, and as many photos of your kids (or cats) as you like. The décor and the layout are entirely up to you.

 

10 – It's Better For Your Mental Health

 

According to mental health charities, working from home and with greater flexibility can have a huge impact on a person's life. The working day starts with the stress of knowing you have to go to work. If you've fallen out with a co-worker due to office politics, or your office is horrendously utilitarian, this is stressful enough. Add in the commute, and most people arrive at work feeling utterly stressed out.

 

Working from home isn't always a breeze, but it can greatly reduce a lot of the stress that comes from having to go and work in the office every day.