Maybe you’ve been a stay at home mommy but it’s getting too hard to balance the books, so you have to look for some extra income somehow. Or maybe you’re a working mommy, and you have been offered the chance to work from home, but are not sure if you should take it. There are definitely advantages and disadvantages to both. Let’s analyze things a bit further and see what we can come up with in order for you to make an intelligent decision;

Logistics

There is no question that the office has the advantage of being a space 100% dedicated to work and getting things done efficiently. Furniture at Work, for example, will almost always be superior, as will a lot of the equipment surrounding you. Having said that, often a properly set up home office can be more than good enough for all intents and purposes.

One clear disadvantage of going to the office is not the office itself but the commute to and from the office. This is especially a big deal if you live far enough away from where you work to make the commute a nightmare, which is an unfortunate reality for many of us.

Environment

This one would seem to go in favor of the formal office as well, but there are exceptions.

It’s true that the home is a hotbed of potential distractions from work life, but it’s also true that even in an office environment, distractions abound. Depending on your personality and that of your co-workers, you may really wind up being more productive in an environment where your co-workers are physically separated from you.

One hack that may sound ridiculous at first, but can actually work for some people, is to dress for work at the office even if you are working from home. This sometimes can put people in the right mindset to be efficient while working. Also, of course, your job may require conference calls which may in turn require a certain standard of personal appearance. Your milage may vary greatly on this points, and they certainly could use your own detailed analysis of the situation.

Compensation

Some companies are nice enough to just allow you to work from home and offer the exact same contract. In these cases, it’s much more advisable to take them up on it, because the savings alone (in both money and time) are probably going to make it worthwhile.

However, in the real world, stay at home positions usually come with some pay cut or some other caveat that makes the waters quite a bit muddier.

In actuality, even more worrisome in many cases than simply getting paid less is the possibility of your employers taking advantage of the situation by trying to make you available 24/7. This is something to be avoided at all costs. A situation like this is guaranteed to turn your dream of working at home into a major nightmare quickly. Clear boundaries must be set as to your schedule.

So are you ready to take the plunge into working from home? Only you can decide at the end.