Disadvantages of Working From Home

There are many pros and cons of working from home. This new way of making a living has become wildly popular over the years. Whether you’re working from home for an employer, as an independent contractor, or running your own business, there are some disadvantages of working from home.

A lot of people who work from home have to purchase their own health insurance, as well as life insurance. These extra costs can add up quickly, when an employer isn’t offering a better rate or contributing anything to the premiums. Luckily, you can get term life insurance quotes, and figure out how much you may need to spend out of pocket.

Is working from home bad for your health?

There is much talk about how working from home may be bad for your health. A recent study did show that 41.2% of people who work from home experience low back pain while 23.5% of those working from home expressed pain in their neck.

I don’t feel working from home is necessarily bad for your health. What can be bad for your health is the habits you develop as you continue to be a work at home professional. To minimize the back and neck pain often associated with sitting position jobs, you can use Desk Yoga or similar activities to stand up and get your body moving in between work tasks. A standing desk may also be beneficial to you, and help ease your back plain.

The Top 5 Disadvantages of Working from Home

Without further delay, below are the top 5 disadvantages of working from home. They are shared in no particular order.

Lack of Community
This is a big issue for the extrovert or anyone who enjoys teamwork at a job. Working from home for an employer or running your own business is hard for those who enjoy having an in-person community around them. You’ll be working alone, and while virtual meetings are great, they don’t provide the social connection that many human beings need for good mental health.

Requires Self-Regulation
This is one of the hardest skills to develop when you transition from working at an employer location to your home office. You’ll be in charge of keeping your motivation in check, regulating yourself to avoid frequent breaks, and keeping yourself on task no matter what distractions arrive. This is extremely difficult for people who’ve never practiced self-regulation before.

Lots of Distractions
That leads me to the 3rd disadvantage of working from home, lots of distractions! You’re going to have to set some boundaries and be clear about your expectations from family members. Make sure everyone is aware of what hours you’ve designated as working hours and that you will not, under any circumstances, waver in this decision to focus on work during those hours. The only exception for distractions is that of an emergency, as in, no other person in the house can assist with the issue!

Higher Risk of Burnout
People who work from home are at a higher risk of burnout because no one is monitoring their work hours. You may try to get everything done in one day without taking breaks in between tasks or to eat lunch. This is something that can lead to burnout and will remove all productivity and motivation from your day. You will essentially crash and have to learn better methods of self-regulation to avoid burnout in the future.

Scattered Work Hours
You must have a structured work schedule when you work from home but most work at home professionals have scattered work hours. That is until they’ve figured out the best practices for work at home success. You may end up with scattered work hours and feel less productive when you first make the switch from in-person employee to being your own boss. This is a huge disadvantage for a person who is used to overachieving at work.

Final Thoughts about Disadvantages of Working from Home

Yes, working from home has some disadvantages and it’s not the best position for everyone, but if you’re confident this is the right step for you then I’m confident that you’ll find a way to overcome the information I shared today.

You can use this list of disadvantages of working from home as a guiding light for what to avoid and be clear about while you venture into this new chapter of being your own boss.