Wednesday, June 23, 2010

And the Winner of Best Work from Home Benefit Is...

Ask anyone that works from home full time what their best work from home benefit is and they will likely not be able to choose just one answer. This is not only because the number of benefits and perks are wide and varied but because working from home often means different things to different people. The average person will spend the vast majority of their life in the workplace and there are those that, rather than settle for a job in a workplace they don’t want to be in, decide to create an environment in a line of work that helps them grow as a person.

Those who have to get up early and commute to work each day probably think the best work from home benefit is never having to get out of your pajamas to get your job done. While it is a nice perk, the reasons people choose to work from home are often more varied. Some do it out of necessity. They may not be able to find any jobs in their area or have a medical condition that keeps them from landing or holding a job. Some find that working with others and the hassle of office politics is just not their cup of tea and they greatly enjoy the solitude of working on their own. For others, it’s a matter of creating a balance between work and family.

For the majority of workers that take on home based employment opportunities, a work from home benefit can be so valued that it can be difficult to lure them back into a mainstream workplace- even if it pays more money. Given the option to sacrifice something that gives them peace of mind, they tend to understand and appreciate that putting a price on your sanity isn’t always the healthiest thing to do- no matter how good the Danish in the break room is. When you have an online career that gives you not only peace of mind but a sense of freedom, the focus on income may still be there; it’s just not the ever present issue that is common for those employed in the mainstream where jobs offer less freedom and less peace of mind.

Many times, an individual will start a work from home job with the idea of enjoying one work from home benefit and yet end up finding that it is something completely different that enriches them. This is especially true of the growing segment of stay at home fathers who, upon being laid off from their breadwinning jobs, start up work from home careers with the intention of simply bringing in an income- but then find they actually enjoy and prefer the domesticities of working and being home with their children.

A work from home job can branch out in many different directions. Once you start one you never know where it may end up. One man (or woman’s) idea of a work from home benefit may be different from another’s but you’ll never know exactly what yours is until you’re there.