6 over 6: Pros & Cons of Working Remotely

It goes by several names: Working Remotely, Work-at-Home, or Virtually, and once looked at as an experiment or novelty that many employees jumped at. The thought of not having to wake up hours before a work shift to get ready and make a long commute to the office was more enticing than any potential drawbacks. Additionally, when most Work-at-Home gigs came about there was no video chat or meeting technology so people could essentially roll over and hit the snooze button right up until they needed to log in or join a conference call. Definitely plenty of items in the ‘Pros’ column, while it would take years to better understand if and what any ‘Cons’ may be. Still, after thirty years or so since working remotely hit the workplace, there are both Pros and Cons that one would be wise to consider before making the choice to work at home.

The Pros

1. No commute is a stress relief. Whether traveling on a gridlocked highway to a big city or even in more rural areas where the office is an hour or more away, commuter-stress is real
2. Save on vehicle wear and tear, and on gas. If you’re traveling 20, 30, 40 miles or more, you are spending a great deal on gas and servicing your car more often, while it depreciates at a much faster rate than those working from home.
3. Save money and worry about buying and maintaining a stylish, current work wardrobe. Work Appropriate attire is now anything from Pajamas to a Ball Gown and anything in between
4. Hair, Nails, Makeup are now solely based on your social calendar. And if the salons are close enough to you, you can probably get it done on your lunch hour.
5. Better work/life balance, giving the remote worker the presence at home to be there when the kids get off the school bus, prepare dinner for the family, get housework done, all while staying present and focused on your work
6. Learn new technology and methods of networking. From video meeting and remote-specific tools to having to know how to install, uninstall, and perform system upgrades and maintenance are all necessities for the remote worker and raise the level of IT understanding, which can be a transferrable skill to which the average in-house worker would not otherwise have exposure.

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The Cons

1. Isolation, particularly if you live alone, can cause you days/weeks without seeing people in person
2. Dependent on Systems & Technology: to do your work. When they break down you either come into the office or potentially don’t get paid for hours you are unable to work. And for those who work for companies out of state or internationally.
3. Staying Connected can be a challenge as companies are only recently getting invested in building a Remote Community and Culture.
4. Visibility is a challenge. While it is good to have advanced from audio-only conference calls to video chats and meetings, they do not give the advantage of visibility that working in an office or around others in a physical or brick and mortar setting does.  
5. Career Advancement – Between two workers of equal skill, talent and performance, the worker people see in action every day is likely to have the edge over the mystery person who has demonstrated they are accountable to their work but we don’t see how they do it.
6. Learning and Development can be a challenge. Think of how many times you learn from hearing and seeing what those around you do, or having a colleague or manager come to you to show you something new. Those instances help you learn and grow. Working virtually there is little of that unless you reach out for help or have a scheduled session for coaching or development.

Times Are a Changin’

It comes down to what you value most, where you are in your career, and what allows you to provide for the critical needs at home while allowing you to pursue a successful and fulfilling career. And thankfully, the pendulum is swinging toward remote work to ensure that workplace culture is inclusive of everyone, virtual team included, and that performance and value are measured in a way to create a level playing field for all employees. Thus, while Pros and Cons exist for sure, the Cons are waning a bit while the Pros are beginning to stack up in favor of Working Remotely.