Despite What You’d Think, Working From Home Can Suck

So, now that I’m about to round out my first week as a full-time blogger, let me tell you something I know we’ve all wondered: no, working from home is not all bliss. It’s not that there aren’t great parts about being able to stay home and get paid, but rather, I feel like the pros do not outweigh the cons.

What I mean to say is that, as a very social individual, I find that being at home all day with only the plants to talk to (perhaps what I really need is a pet… or plants that talk back?) can make one feel a little weary. I remember when I used to be employed by corporate America, I always could take a break by chatting with a co-worker — or two. Indeed, especially once the recession picked up speed and we were all scared we were going to be the next to be laid off, these conversations were sometimes the best part of my day.

But working from home isn’t all bad, I’ll grant that. It’s nice to be able to wear my own clothes (as opposed to fancy office clothes plus makeup). It’s nice to be able to listen to music or do errands or eat my own food or wash my dishes or do any of the kind of stuff you do when you’re at home between breaks. It’s nice to have that much control over your day, albeit when you do sometimes your work day bleeds into your night, and so that’s where you have to start drawing lines.

And I guess that’s where I am now, in a place where work and life are so blurred together that there is rarely any separation anymore. Perhaps if I weren’t doing something that I loved, that might be a huge problem, but I find that at this intersection between personal and professional there’s a lot of potential for mutual fulfillment. On Sundays I can leisurely scroll through my emails or Facebook profile or on Tuesday morning I can be available for the apartment maintenance to fix my leaky faucet.

Do you have a similar experience with working at home?

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD