The situation we witnessed in the past year was a challenge for the businesses in various fields as well as for the employees.

We all faced an entirely new situation which no one has dealt with before. The scale of the pandemic and the closing of businesses, institutions, and schools questioned our flexibility.

The fast preorganization towards remote work for the businesses that could sustain such a level of change surely came across as a safety net - employers managed to keep their firms afloat and the employees didn't have to face unemployment or to stop working temporarily.

The IT sector managed to modify its way of work

The employees of the IT sector found themselves at home and we all had to get used to an entirely new method of work. Surely, opinions are being polarized - while some are more than happy with the change and the opportunity of working from home, others are more than eager to go back to the office.

In today's article, we inspect the pros and cons of the home office while trying to objectively put the facts out there in order to weigh the advantages and disadvantages.

Let's start with the advantages - in what aspects do we prefer working from home?

Various consultations and research show that the majority of employees approve of the idea of working remotely long-term. As if they have already got used to the situation and point out that they prefer creating a home office where to indulge in their tasks. Here are some of the pros they summarize:

• time saved from going to and back from the office;

• money saved from transportation and eating out for the employees; money saved from rents and utility office bills for the employers;

• flexibility when it comes to scheduling the work tasks;

• more convenience and comfort;

• maintaining self-discipline and learning to strictly follow a working plan;

Of course, individually anyone can add up to the list of pros of working remotely. Let's dive into some more details.

1. Time saved from going to and back from the office

In today's busy schedule full of tasks both professional and personal, we state that time-saving is priceless - we have the opportunity to do more for less time.

Living far away from the office surely suggests us leaving home way earlier, as well as getting back home later in the evening - the traffic is a nightmare no matter if you drive, take the bus or choose the bike. Few of us are lucky enough to live really close to the office so that they can walk - that's why we think that working from home saves a lot of wasted time in traffic. We can most definitely use it for finishing up other tasks from our to-do list.

2. Money saved from transportation, eating out, rents, and utility office bills

Working from home also helps us save money. Money spent on transportation is no longer a thing. When it comes to food, we can state that working from home is also a plus - we all can eat at home and save money spent on restaurants or cafeterias. The lunch break of course gives us the opportunity to go for a walk or have lunch outdoors even if we work from home - the difference is that we can choose if or when to prefer that option.

The home office saves various finances for the employers too - they no longer have to pay for rents or office utility bills.

3. Flexibility when it comes to scheduling the work tasks

If, while working from home, you lack strict working hours, then this situation might be a great opportunity for you to check when you are the most productive and which method of handling tasks works best for you. For some of us, the morning hours are the time when we feel most concentrated and punctual when it comes to work; while others may experience the time afternoon as the better option. By working from home you can schedule your breaks as well - experiment and find out what works best for you.

4. More convenience and comfort

Most definitely the work from home offers more convenience - you can redecorate a room or a place in your home that you can transform into an office. For those of you who prefer diversity, you can always change places when at home. Research shows that the frequent change of the interior might be a good source of inspiration and more concentration when working.

5. Maintaining self-discipline and learning to strictly follow a working plan

If by now lack of self-discipline and frequent loss of concentration were part of your shortcomings, then the home office is a great starting point to teach yourself more perseverance and strictness. Take advantage of the situation and use it to build an effective work plan that requires time for concentration and focused work, followed by much-needed breaks. This skill will be surely really effective in various life fields.

Cons of working from home - what's the other side of the coin?

Of course, each matter has two sides - and the home office isn't any different. After we took the time to talk about the pros of working remotely, now it's time to focus on the disadvantages:

• lack of live communication;

• less activity and lack of sports;

• increase in the home utility bills;

• more distractions;

• chance of overworking;

1. Lack of live communication

Perhaps the most frequently stated disadvantages when it comes to working from home deal with the feeling of isolation and the lack of live communication. Many of the employees miss the office surroundings where they are together with their fellow co-workers and have the chance to enjoy the communication face-to-face. In order for you to minimize the negative effect of this disadvantage, we offer spending the majority of your free time outside with friends - that's a good option for you to fulfill your need for communication and socialization.

2. Less activity and lack of sports

As we already mentioned, the home office removes the need for transportation to and back from the office which, in some instances, might be by bike or by foot. Many of the people have built a schedule of visiting the gym on their way to or back from the office; taking walks in the lunch hours was also a source of some extra activity. By sitting at home all day we most definitely can feel less energized and our health might suffer. That's why we prefer not limiting our physical activity even if we work remotely - the evenings are a great time for taking walks, running, or riding a bike.

3. Increase in the home utility bills

By spending the day at home we most surely will witness an increase in energy and water usage which will, of course, lead to higher bills. The good news here is that we save money from transportation and eating out.

4. More distractions

Living with family members throughout the day may also be a leading distracting factor - the lack of concentration will surely affect your work tasks in a negative way. TV and electronic devices also affect our strictness when it comes to following a certain work schedule - it's preferable for us to set boundaries and, in the meantime, to focus entirely on work.

5. Chance of overworking

As we mentioned above, if you maintain flexible and non-fixed working hours, then it's your job to build a schedule for you to follow daily. However, research shows that we are more prone to overwork while trying to finish everything we have already started. The office surroundings have their own fixed working schedule that expects us to leave and continue fresh the next day. When at home, however, we risk overworking in order to get more tasks done. That's why fixed working hours and following a work schedule is the preferable method for fixing this issue.

Most definitely each and every change of habit and lifestyle requires adaptation and flexibility. These are only part of the advantages and disadvantages when it comes to working from home - nevertheless whether you are a fan of remote work or not you can always aim at transforming the cons into pros. In this way, you will be able to integrate your new lifestyle successfully while feeling good physically, psychologically, and emotionally.