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The home working revolution – Is it all good news?
There is no doubt that people are working from home in increasing numbers.
Employers save on maintaining large offices in expensive city centre locations and employees face none of the commuter train hassle or motorway gridlock.
With a home office you have the freedom to have lunch with the family or even wander round the garden whenever you feel the need to think through some challenging business issue.
For many people the benefits of working from home are unsurpassable but if you have never experienced it before then perhaps you should just remember a few things before you take the plunge.
- Plan the space – If set up properly, your home office can be all that you want it to be but wherever possible make sure that there is a physical barrier between your office and your home. Some people may be fortunate enough to be able to build an office in their garden but for most the best alternative is the spare bedroom of loft. Think it through, a corner of a room still used as a bedroom or the dining room table are not the ideal environments to focus on work issues.
- Be disciplined – People who work from home need to remember that they are at work. Whilst having tea and toast at 9.30 in the morning whilst watching Tricia may sound appealing, for a home office to work it needs to be treated like any other place of work where regular hours and working disciplines are adopted
- The reality – Working from home can for some be a very lonely and depressing experience. This is particularly true when things go wrong. If you are someone that enjoys the company of others and find it difficult to achieve tasks without the encouragement of work colleagues then working from home may not be for you.
- Get online – The internet is perhaps the single most important influence behind people being able to work from home. So you must make every effort to make sure that your equipment is as up to date and reliable as possible otherwise you will spend much of your time working as an I.T. technician and perhaps more damaging to your business, irritating your clients.
- Keep your IT and systems separate - Most people that work from home use a separate computer to the ‘family games machine’ that now sits in most of our houses. Consider the consequences of your darling offspring dribbling blackcurrant juice over your keyboard or posting a peanut butter sandwich into your CD-Rom drive. Sharing the family PC may be suitable for keeping some basic home accounts up to scratch but your work PC should be used for your work and only work. (Make sure that you also consider the Data Protection issues that may affect your home office – if you’re unsure then seek professional advice)
- Insurance – Many household insurers will need you to tell them if your home is also a place of work. This aspect of your home office should not be overlooked as failure to address this subject could have serious implications on not only your business but your home
- Install new lines – Switching from phone to fax will not look or sound too professional to your clients and consider a broadband connection as you’ll need continuous access to your emails. If you’ve planed the space carefully then sighting the line boxes should not interfere with other areas of the house or family.
- Consider the family – If you share you home with one or more people then consider the implications of your home office on your family’s life style. Make sure it works not only for you but for the family as well.
- Don’t over do it – Many people who work from a home office suddenly realise how much more time they have now they’ve lost the daily commute. For some this means no reduction in the working day as this extra time is spent working longer hours. Some people thrive in these conditions but it is often the quality of our work not the quantity that makes us more effective in our working environments
- Mix it up – Wherever possible mix your working regime up a little. If you are employed in a capacity where you need to visit clients and suppliers then plan your time to do this on a regular basis but make sure that when you leave your home office you have a system in place to handle incoming calls – often a divert facility is all that’s required. Meeting clients and suppliers will maintain an element of human contact which will go a long way to staving off any feelings of isolation or loneliness.
February 2005
Something to make you smile
The following are all genuine extracts from CVs that we have received at Pryce Alexander. Obviously we have removed the names to protect the guilty but if you recognise one of the comments as your own may we politely suggest that you take advantage of our CV Origination & Presentation service.
- "My contributions on product launches were based on dreams that I had."
- Special skills: “Experienced with numerous office machines and can make great coffees."
- "Enclosed is a ruff draft of my resume."
- "It's best for employers that I do not work with people."
- "My ruthlessness terrorised the competition and can sometimes offend"
- "I am a pit bull when it comes to analysis"
- Work history: “Tramp. Abandoned belongings and led nomadic lifestyle"
And our personal favourite
- Reason for leaving last job: “Pushed aside so the MD's girlfriend could steal my job.”
If you have found any similarly amusing snippets or have a tale to tell that you would like to share then why not email it to us and we’ll publish it on our site.
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