top of page
Work-Life Balance
through
Working at Home
“Work-Life Balance” that is what employees want. It is only in
three words but requires a lot of considerations, requirements
and many other reasons. Currently, a rapidly growing trend is
giving light to those three words – that is “Working at Home”.
We need to work for us to live but that not necessarily mean
that once we work we can have a life that we desire and deserve.
Working at Home may or may not be effective to you considering
the cons that it has but focusing on the benefits it will give you
might want you to consider shifting your work preference.
Working at Home has many positive benefits that will let you experience the meaning of Work- Life Balance.
Save Time through Working at Home
Time is precious and we don’t want to waste it to something
unworthy. Traffic is getting worse as time passed and we cannot
control it. It stresses us out knowing that we might be late
going to work which is not great at all knowing that it will affect
how our boss and co-employees perceive our behavior towards
work. It consumes a few hours of our day depending on the
proximity of our house to workplace which can instead be spent
for rest or other productive things.
Working at home allows you to spend your time productively and avoid that stressing traffic. After the scheduled work hours, you can immediately enjoy your time doing things you love and spending time with your family.
Create Memorable Moments with Family While Working at Home
The convenience of being at home is really satisfying not just for parents or single mothers but as well as to a daughter/son who wants to spend quality time with her/his aging parents and siblings. Simply eating meals together every day is a good way of creating precious moments with family. For parents/single mothers, having the chance to work and at the same time look after their children growing- be able to see all the changes and developments in their child’s life and constantly being a part of it while earning money that will support them every single day is like hitting two birds with one stone. Every short breaks and long breaks are more rewarding spending it with the ones that you love.
“We can’t go back in time” is a famous saying but through Working at Home maybe is your time to start living the life you always imagined.
Be part of any Celebrations after Working at Home
Aside from creating simple moments with the family, you can also take part in all celebrations with your relatives, friends or even events at the community or at your Alma Mater.
There are instances when a special celebration falls on an office day. You will always have this dilemma whether to be absent or to go to work (Your vacation leave was not approved). It will be even worse if you need to go back home at the province which will most likely take more than 10 hours bus commute.
Small, simple, big or grand celebrations are all important. It is not just about your presence but the memories you created on that specific occasion. Through working home-based it will never be a problem.
No need to file Work Leaves if you will be Working at Home
For some companies, you are required to file a leave 1 month or weeks before the leave date but there is no assurance that it will be approved. You will feel anxious as your leave date gets nearer because your boss has not confirmed yet if it is approved—unluckily, it is not.
Once you get sick, you need to inform your boss and they will advise you to bring medical certificate once your back to validate your sick leave—the problem is, your sick only for a day and you did not go to the clinic or hospital for a check-up because your body can’t, no one will accompany you or you do not feel the need to since it can be cured through rest and medicine.
Christmas, New Year and other special holidays are really vital to the life of us Filipinos. Filing for vacation leave is another struggle because again it might not be approved and of course if you will go back home to the province you need more days to make it more of worth. There are companies who still work during these occasions, employees stay to work while bosses enjoy celebrating it with their family. It might sound unfair but that’s reality.
Working at Home and Doing What You Want
Aside from working to earn money, there are things that we love to do. It might be cooking, planting, travelling, hiking, painting and many more. As long as we know how to manage our time, these hobbies can be realized.
It is fulfilling that we can enjoy doing what we want rather than being limited to a certain scope only. You can even do work while you’re on travel just make sure to bring your laptop and there’s a good internet connection. After you finished the tasks assigned to you, you can now enjoy doing your hobby. Time management and Discipline are the keys to it.
Working at Home will Save you More Money
It is hard to earn money but it’s easy to spend it. A long day of hard work is only equal to a certain amount of money which is sometimes not enough for the daily expenses of you and your family. The crucial reality is - you’ve been working for so long but up until now little to no savings or investments. It is evident to many people but there are unavoidable reasons behind it.
Expenses like monthly rent either for a room or just bed space is pricey, usually, you are not allowed to cook so it means that you need to spend money for meals at fast food or “carenderia”. That’s very costly and unhealthy. Also, you can’t always reject your fellow employees asking for an eat-out - that again will require money.
A certain amount will be spent for personal necessities, clothes for work, laundry and vehicle fare.
Expenses are endless therefore we need to at least think of a way to reduce it – Working at Home is one solution to it.
Working at Home Produces More Result
According to the study titled “Does working from home work? Evidence from a Chinese experiment” conducted by Nicholas Blooma et al. they found a highly significant 13% increase in employee performance from home-working, of which about 9% was from employees working more minutes of their shift period (fewer breaks and sick days) and about 4% from higher performance per minute. Home workers also reported substantially higher work satisfaction and psychological attitude scores and their job attrition rates fell by over 50%.
Avoiding workplace distractions and eating healthy food with time well-spent with the family will make one less stress; this will result to better performance among employees.
Peace of Mind when Working at Home
Seeing with your own eyes that your family is okay will give you peace of mind. You are not worried about things that might or might not happen because you are there to witness the happenings among the members of the family. Having that security adds happiness and reduces stress.
Working at Home is Equals to Genuine Happiness
There’s no place like home- it is where genuine happiness is felt. We are going through a lot of situations everyday whether it may be good or bad and knowing that family at home is there to share with you that story, to listen and to comfort you are indeed great happiness.
We always look for happiness, that’s part of our nature. Happiness at home is what most people value best.
Working at home is not applicable to all jobs. You might feel isolated or worry about promotions. You might also be tempted to do household chores or watch television or surf the net. Everything has its pros and cons. There are always negative effects of working at home but looking at the silver lining will put more force on its positive effects.
Time Management, Discipline, Focus and Passion are virtues you need to possess if you’re considering to try Working at Home.
Don’t worry these can be learned. Usually, it depends on you as a person and your desire to do it. Everything is possible and I know you can do it :). I’m hoping that one day you will experience your own definition of Work-Life balance.
References:
https://www.bayt.com/en/career-article-1601/
https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/the-benefits-of-working-from-home
20 Reasons to Let Your Employees Work From Home by Cynthia Johnson
Photos from Google
bottom of page