Chapter 5
5 Important Things To Note About Homeworking Jobs
Whether you have already started working from home or are considering working from home, some perquisites need to be fulfilled for your home-based job to be successful.
Working from home has a lot of benefits, such as no commuting, flexible schedule and home comfort, but some challenges need to be met.
Homeworking jobs are no walk in the park, and there are some crucial things to know about it before you consider transitioning from an office-based job to a home-based job.
It should be Legal:
Your city or the area where you live may have imposed some restrictions on people trying to start a business from their homes.
A lot of jobs require meetings with a lot of clients, and if you think a lot of clients will be coming to your house for meetings, it may pose a problem if your city or homeowners do not allow it.
So make sure it is legal in your municipality for you to pursue it.
You will have to put in more of your Time:
It is a common misconception that working from home would mean that you will have to work less because no one is watching over you.
This is not true; however, as employees working from home put in more hours than employees working from offices.
A recent study showed that 73% of remote workers were putting in more work than required compared to 68.5% of employees who were working in offices.
Also, without a traditional office environment and having the advantage of no clocking out time, remote workers generally tend to overwork if they lose track of time.
Technical Difficulties may slow you down at Times:
It is a fact that you will have to face technical difficulties while you're working in an office-based job, but if you are remote working, you will have to get accustomed to having to face more technical challenges than the former.
While you're working at home, technical aid may not be as readily available as you'd wish.
Some programs also set up restrictions for those trying to access them out of an office environment.
Thus all data may not be available to you on-hand. So make sure you know about all restricted programs before you decide to work from home.
Internet and power failure may also pose to be a problem if you don’t have any backups for them.
Taxes may not apply to you the Same Way:
Working from home means that you will probably be taxed differently than before.
You can either be an employee working under someone from home, or a freelancer, and you will need to fulfil certain criteria to be able to subtract home office or business expenses from your taxes.
The office space that you have set up to work from must be used regularly and only for business and must be used for your administrative duties and where you keep your books and records for appointments and supplies you require.
Before you set up your home office, consulting a tax professional is advisable, so you know the exact ins and outs on how to pay your taxes.
Balancing Work and Family will not be Easy:
While you’re trying to balance working from home and maintaining time with your family under the same roof, setting boundaries may become difficult.
Working in an office removes the responsibility from your head to have to balance it yourself as it balances it for you, but working from home means you’ll have to set your schedule accordingly.
Some days you will need to give more of your time to your work, and on some days you will have to give more of your time to your family.
Getting all your work done and giving your family the required attention is up to you.
Make sure your family knows when not to interrupt you and make sure you also know when to stop working.
You will have to face more Distractions than you can think:
Having no one checking up on you while you work to see you staying up to speed may seem like a blessing, but having to keep a constant check on your self is not as easy as it seems.
Social Media, chores and general activities around the house may call for you more often while working from a home-based office, and to stay focused is entirely your job.
As seen, home working jobs sound like they would be more relaxed, but they require real effort to be made to be successful.
These are just some of the few pointers you must keep yourself vary of while trying to start a home-based office or business.
