Which Work from Home Benefit Can You Afford to Miss?

It's good to weigh the pro's and cons of any job so here is a work from home benefit list to consider when weighing such an opportunity:

Work from home benefit #1: no more commutes. No more long commutes, spending money on insane gas prices or even carpooling for hours stuck in a small space with people you don't even like. For some, the expense of just getting to work eats most of their paycheck; especially with gas hovering at $4 a gallon. It is the small things required of everyday life that are putting a big squeeze on the average Joe and Jane. 

Work from home benefit #2: informal work environment. It's not just about tossing the shirts and ties and pantsuits in the trash and moseying into your office in your PJ's. It's about having a work environment that is familiar and allows you to really concentrate on your work. No more gossip, rumor mills or that annoying guy in the next cubicle over that does that funny thing with his throat all day. And unless you like breathing down your own neck, your boss is less likely to nag, bother or interrupt you with mindless demands that interrupt the new schedule you've set up just for your very self. 

Work from home benefit #3: decrease or total drop in childcare costs. This more or less fits up there with work from home benefit number one but when mom or dad works from home, the need for childcare tends to go way down, if not disappear altogether. Working from home offers a better chance to balance one's home and family life- something that is common challenge and stressor in this modern age. As people work harder to afford less, family is often the first thing to suffer. This benefit is often of great influence for two income families desperately trying to hold it all together. 

Work from home benefit #4: less stress all the way around. Those who work from home are often found to be more energetic and optimistic about their work life. By feeling more in control of their career path, their self-esteem rises. When self-esteem starts rising, people finally feel it is okay to look on the bright side of things. Best of all, it means they are willing to take their work from home career or online job opportunity to the max. There is no dread of being stuck in a dead end job with all hopes for advancement blocked by those silly things known as upper management.

There are of course many other work from home benefits that arise for people along the way. There are plenty of examples of work from home endeavors that started out as small but became a much loved way of life. So much so, that many never look back at being employed by a brick and mortar business ever again. So once again- which work from home benefit can you afford to miss?

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.