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Are you more productive working from home?

There are many contradictory investigations and observations about working from home. Recently we read about radical stop of work from home in few companies. The fact is that in some cases this is a benefit for employee and a cost reduction for the company for expensive office space, but not all of us actually 'work' from home. Is it a matter of motivation, job responsibilities or simply personality?

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Question added by Jelena Skoric , Technical Solution Manager , IBM, Central/ Eastern Europe, ME, Africa
Date Posted: 2013/09/22
Jaweed Hatem Nazir
by Jaweed Hatem Nazir , IT Specialist , Waleefah Co.

No, because without competition and not seeing anyone else works with you

Lead to the neglect of work and tiredness

emad ezzat
by emad ezzat , HR Manager , Construction & Reconstruction Eng. Co.

Working from home can be convenient to employees and help companies save money, but it’s not the right fit for every worker. Distractions are plentiful when you are home, and often it’s only the most disciplined who can remain productive and efficient.

“Working from home should be considered dangerous and could be a disaster when you consider the potential impact on your quality of life,” warns Grant Cardone, author of If You're Not First, You're Last. “The level of discipline it takes to work from home and generate solid results is intense and most people fail at home because of this one fact.”

If your idea of working from home involves wearing pajamas and juggling personal and work responsibilities at the same time, it’s time to reshape your priorities. Follow these five tips to effectively manage work and life as a remote worker.

  • 1Have a Separate Office Space 

    Just because you don’t have to go into an office and sit behind a desk everyday doesn’t mean you can stay in bed or in front of the TV with your laptop trying to complete your work.

    Career experts recommend setting up a specific office area in the home so you can “go to work” and not be distracted by dirty dishes, a crying child or a favorite TV show.

    “Where your workspace is makes a big difference,” says Sara Sutton Fell, CEO of FlexJobs and a at-home worker for nearly10 years. “When my second son was born, I realized it was really important for me to get more separation, so I moved my office to a space above our detached garage rather than in the house.”

  • 2Set Clear Boundaries 

    Having a dedicated work space is half the battle, but you also need to set rules about who and what can enter your office.

    “Create very strict boundaries where there are no dogs, kids or spouses allowed,” says Cardone. “The door needs to remain shut with only those that have top clearance allowed access.”

    The work space should also be void of distractions. For instance, forgo putting a TV in your office or checking Facebook five times a day.

  • 3Keep Regular Work Hours and Prepare

    Maintaining normal office hours can help maintain productivity.

    According to Joel Garfinkle, author of Getting Ahead: Three Steps to Take Your Career to the Next Level, not only should you strictly abide by your work hours, you should make sure your family and friends also respect the rules.  

    “Your family and friends need to pretend you simply aren't there, unless it's a dire emergency,” says Garfinkle. “Remind your family of these hours and let them know you expect them to respect your work time so that you won’t have to work when you should be spending with them.”  

    In addition to setting the hours, career experts say it’s a good idea not to work all day in your pajamas. Keep your normal preparation routine, take a shower and get dressed, even if your commute is just down the hall.  

    “People brag about working from home in their underwear, but that  is no way to grow a successful business,” says Cardone. “Have a set time, wake up, shower, and get dressed just as you would if you were commuting to a professional office space and you will be more productive.”   

  • 4Change Your Mindset

    Avoiding a long commute and having more flexibility over your schedule are enticing results of working from home, but there’s more to it than these perks.

    “The main motivation of convenience or comfort, which most people who work from home have, is flawed,” says Cardone. Yes, it’s more convenient to not have to go to an office every day, but remote workers can’t view it as an excuse to slack off.

    While self-starters are better suited for working at home, according to Sutton Fell, she says being a proactive communicator is the “secret weapon” to being successful.

    “By taking initiative to communicate, you have a motivated and leading role in the connection with your colleagues’ activities and keeping them abreast of what you’re achieving and keeping on the pulse on everyone’s expectations.”

  • 5Know When to Throw in the Towel

    If your productivity is declining or it’s difficult to balance work and life, then it may be time to re-evaluate your work situation.

    Perhaps you need more interaction with co-workers or bosses or maybe being at home is too distracting, but it’s important to be honest, says Garfinkle.  

    “It’s OK that you’re not well-suited for working from home,” says Garfinkle. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Mustafa Raza
by Mustafa Raza , Sr. Program Manager – Merger and Acquisitions (Sales) , Agilent Technologies

I get more focus when i am in office.. @home, you don't get things done.

Joefil C. Jocson
by Joefil C. Jocson , CEO/President , Dyas Construction and Management Consultants

YES.

mohamed Abd El Rahman
by mohamed Abd El Rahman , Proposal Development / Pre-Sales Manager , RMS Engineering - KROHNE Agent in Egypt

Working from home is an excellent idea ; think about saving time by avoiding traffic jam ; saving money by reduction in transporation fees .At home you are more relaxed and eager to finish tasks given to you .

Again  it all depends on the job type and requirements

Sailesh Mehta
by Sailesh Mehta , Independent IT Consultant , S M Technology Solutions

One will not be productive working from home. 

My view is that if one loves their job and has a very good team of staff working from the office base with staff will be more cost effective for the organisation.  Also this will be motivational for the staff who in return will be more productive.

 

Working from home will not at all be productive for the organisation as one will not be disciplined enough and will also get interruptions from the partner or other family members.

If one requires Work, Life, Balance then take annual leave and go on a holiday.

Tried, tested and I'm less productive working from home and don't like the idea to work from home.

having worked from a home office for 3 years, I would say it takes a lot of getting used to, to get to a productive stage. Self discipline and motivation have to be the guiding force for one to work without distractions and efficiently. So it totally depends from person to person, how much they make of it. Less pressure and the freedom to work at will does bring out the best in some people. But in office, one gets to learn so many things from others around him/her and many times help/coordination is needed from other departments which comes more easily based out of office, as opposed to the dealys in writing emails and waiting for a response while working from home. So effectively, working from office makes you more efficient.

 

However, I would say it's a combination of being able to work from office and having the freedom to work from home that brings out the best in a person.

rabea saeed
by rabea saeed , Operations Manager , Amazon

In general, as100 percent working from home might be not so successful idea. Again it depend on the job type.

 

Anyway, it might be useful to work from home sometimes for planning job or job need focus in case the home atmosphere support that and in case there are lot of operational matters which disturb focus during working hours.

Osama Alghamdi
by Osama Alghamdi , Maintenance Officer Engineer (Director of LIC Training Program - in Supply & Logistics' Base) , Royal Saudi Land Forces

No ....

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