Should you be working from home in 2014?

Every year the roads get more crowded, the buses and trains are almost always full, there is more pollution in the air, and things get more expensive including food, office rentals, and your bills such as electric and water payment dues. Sometimes some people ask, “Will it be better to work from home or work at the office in 2014?” Marissa Mayer, Yahoo CEO, answered that question for Yahoo employees through a memo that got viral earlier this year. “Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home. We need to be one Yahoo!, and that starts with physically being together.” But that’s just Mayer and that’s just Yahoo. After that move did you think that a lot of companies similar to them followed? Did you think it had any impact on their business? Let’s see the benefits of working from home and from office so you can answer our question for yourself. Benefits of working from home

1. No traffic, no commute, no gas to burn and no pollution (and no additional smoke coming from your car)
2. No office rental and you can create your own working environment
3. You can be comfortable – no suits/uniform
4. Better health management – exercise on your break, homemade meals instead of fast food, and more time for exercise
5. Work and life balance – spend more time with your family
6. No absenteeism and no being late. You can control your time better especially when you don’t have to go through the hassles of getting to work.
7. All of the above will contribute to a better productivity

  Benefits of working from the office

• Access to other department or colleague is easy
  • When you need resources, quick meetings are easy to set up
• Utility bills are shouldered by the company
• Discipline with office rules and guidelines
• Being part of a community – activities and friends
• Your work station will not be a DYI
• Office benefits – gym memberships, etc.
• All of the above contributes to productivity as well

In general, it is going to be difficult to answer the question as people have different routines in life, different responsibilities and different preferences. Some people cannot work all alone and some people cannot focus in crowded spaces. At the end of the day, you will be the one to make the decision and you have to make sure that you always keep in mind that you have to think of what’s going to be the best for the business as well. What do you think about working from home and working from the office?