While working in a traditional office setting works for some, it doesn't necessarily work for every entrepreneur, gig contractor, business or employee.
Why? Because life, that’s why.
Let’s face it: Some of us want to be able to pick up our kids after school every day. Some of us prefer to work at our own pace, maybe even alone, on our own schedule. Some of us have recurring medical appointments.
So if you don’t work from home but have thought about it or still need convincing it’s the right choice for you, let us state this plainly: You can have work-life balance. And here are 8 ways working from home can make it happen.
8 Ways Working From Home Works
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- More Time With Your Family
Work-at-home families are often afforded a lot of time together, particularly before children begin school and during summers.
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- Save Money
You may be able to reduce childcare, lunch, coffee and travel costs, depending on your goals for growth in your workload, business and income.
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- Fewer Distractions
Surprisingly, many people who work from home find that they are actually more productive than they ever were in their cubicles. It just takes discipline, some ground rules, and motivation. If you’ve got those, you’re set!
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- Lose The Commute
When you commute, you're not working or spending time with your family. Plus, it costs money! But working from home eliminates this wasted time and money, leaving more time for both work and family.
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- Earn Money
This one seems obvious but for a stay-at-home parent, it can often be the best of both worlds. Working from home means you can be there for your family while still contributing financially, too.
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- Lifestyle and Emotional Health
A 2011 study found that employees who worked from home experienced 25 percent less stress and were able to maintain a better work-life balance, eat healthier, exercise more and resume hobbies.
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- Flexibility
Some of us are early birds. Others, night owls. But if you’re raising a family, then your work-bird metaphor may be decided less by your natural predilection and more by their needs – and telecommuting allows you the freedom to work when you’re at your best.
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- Employer Benefits
Creating a work-from-home model opens the talent pool – and is one of the biggest employer benefits. Additionally, working from home can boost productivity by adding more hours to an employee’s workday.
‘Work’ and ‘Life’ Can Peacefully Co-Exist.
By definition, ‘balance’ is ‘an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady.’
And don’t we all just want to be ‘upright and steady?’
Consider this impossibly perfect quote from Jae Ellard:
“[M]ost people share a simple and similar desire to create easy joy and meaningful engagement between the interconnected roles, relationships and responsibilities that make up their lives.”
Simply put: We all want to have it all. We want to be working professionals. Present and participatory parents, spouses, and friends. We want to have a job, have a life and enjoy both.
Whatever ‘easy joy and meaningful engagement’ looks like to you, as long as you live it, then you’ve struck your own brand of personal and professional nirvana – and that’s what life’s all about.
For more on all the work-from-home things, check out our BELAY Guide To Working From Home, where we have oh-so-thoughtfully gathered everything – webinars, resources, articles, podcasts and so much more – you need to know about working and leading from home like a pro.