It was a cold February day. It had snowed steadily all night long and accumulated more than 6 inches. Schools were closed. No way was I driving an hour and a half to New Jersey! So, by 6am, I was logged in and working on the sales tax information that needed to be submitted by the end of the day. No problem. I was finished before 11am. Now, time for the conference call. I grabbed my cell phone and dialed in. Lunch time! I made lunch for my husband and the kids, started some laundry, then back on the computer. Wow, 35 e-mails in the 40 minutes I was away from my computer?!?! I answered all of them and made a few more phone calls. Then, I started my reconciliations. I worked till about 5:30pm, then started dinner. I ate, cleaned up, put the laundry in the dryer and started another load, then back on the computer. I finally logged out around 8:30pm. I really got a lot of work finished. It was a good day! Okay, so I didn't get to take a shower, but I was otherwise productive. I think I actually have time to watch a TV show . . . .
Working from home does have its advantages. I can put more hours in to actually working instead of three hours commuting. Also, there are fewer interruptions. No one is stopping by your desk to ask a question or to talk about what they watched on TV last night. Instead, they send an e-mail and you can answer them at your convenience. Less interruptions leads to less errors. I find I can concentrate and finish what I'm working on, which usually means my work is more accurate. And, my favorite advantage, I can also get some housework done! I'm also available to the kids if they need me - and they usually need me to be the referee!
The article Working Remotely Alleviates More Stress Than It Creates discusses additional advantages to working from home as well as suggests other ways to increase job satisfaction. The work place is changing due to technological advances and working from home will become more the norm than the exception.
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About Me
- Lisa
- I have been in the Accounting/Finance/Tax field for over 14 years and absolutely love it. Just recently I have discovered my true love - taxes. I'm currently employed at D&B as their Sales/Use Tax Manager. I'm married to my wonderful husband Joe and have 2 children - Richard is 19 and Gabrielle is 12.
I, too, work from home on days when the weather is bad or I'm feeling ill. I find my time very productive, as well, for some of the same reasons you mentioned, including the time wasted by people coming by to ask a question or chat. Now more than ever, the savings on gas, both from a financial and "green" perspective, is tremendous. I enjoyed the article you provided and hope that my company will start encouraging us to work at home more often. They, too, would benefit by saving on resources such as electricity and water. It would be a win-win for us all.
ReplyDeleteWorking from home can be great if you are really disciplined, but I think I put in more hours than when I worked in the office. The at hime office is always, around the clock.
ReplyDeleteOver time, I think you get lonely- I get tired of always staring at my office wall with no adult face-to-face contact, except with my mailman! but hey, my laundry is always done. Don't forget, you get to deduct a percentage of utilities at tax time for virtual work! so, another win for us!