Considering a Remote Position? Why Working from Home Could be Right for You
By: Emma Stenger, Associate Consultant
One of the most common questions I get from potential new employees is: What is it like to work from home? The short answer to that is I love it, but a well-thought-out explanation is more suited to properly communicate the benefits and struggles to a remote position.
For starters, the commute is pretty short. That being said, it’s not as simple as walking from your bed to your computer (most days). Everyone works differently, and while some can be more productive in their pajamas, one of the most important things about working from home is establishing a difference between “home” and “work.” Whether that be the clothes you’re wearing, the location you’re in, or the time you have blocked on your calendar is up to your preference. Regardless of what method you find most efficient, having that structure is vital not only to your productivity during work hours but your mental health over your remote career. While it may sound awesome to be able to sit up in bed, turn on your computer and get to work, I can assure you that the appeal is very short-lived in practice. Our minds crave a sense of structure, and with a remote position, that structure is completely up to you to create.
Having said that, establishing structure does not mean you must stare at the computer from 9–5 or risk losing productivity, quite the opposite in fact. This is where the benefit of working from home comes in: you can take a walk to your local park, make lunch in your own kitchen, or even take that quick trip to the pharmacy. Taking care of “personal tasks” at work no longer puts your professionalism in question as it could at an office job, provided you’re not skipping out on any work responsibilities or counting that personal time in your hours each week.
This was honestly something I struggled with when I first started at Veeva. I was so used to an office-based culture that I felt guilty for taking that 30-minute break to sit on my couch in the middle of the day. The reality of the situation is that working from home does not mean pretending you are in an office all day and having to act as such, because you aren’t. It takes some time to get a better feel for what your day-to-day work schedule should be, along with reframing your mindset on what’s appropriate in your office when your office is also your home. In my first few months, I relied heavily on support from my fellow Veevans (Veeva employees) to help me understand what the norms are, but at this point, I can say I feel totally comfortable with my remote work ethic.
If, after reading up to this point, you’re still unsure about whether you’d be successful working from home, there are still a few more things to consider when trying to figure out if remote work is right for you.
Applying for jobs, I knew that a work-from-home position would be the best fit for me for two reasons:
- Despite my love for socialization, the Philadelphia rush hour is something awful and parking is even worse.
- Throughout university, I always found myself most productive in my own environment where I could feel relaxed.
The first may not be relevant to you depending on your location, but the second reason is something to thoroughly think through. Do you need to be outside of the house to get work done? On that note, is your home even suitable to get work done in? The ability to seclude yourself to a quiet area is vital, but this area has to be a place your comfortable with too. I find myself venturing to the local café every once in a while to get through work and sip on coffee, but for the most part, I enjoy having my secluded work area to focus in.
Taking your personal life into consideration is another key factor to decide if remote work is right for you. The flexibility of working from a remote position sees a lot of benefits when it comes to how and where you can spend your time. Visiting friends or family that aren’t local is much easier provided you are able to work wherever you’re staying since. On a personal level, working from home has allowed me to foster sick and injured cats while they find their forever home and that’s been an endless source of fulfillment for me.
The truth of the matter is that you won’t entirely know if a remote position works for you until you give it a shot, but the possibilities on how you will work remotely are wide-ranging so why not give it a shot?
