Five reasons to stop working from home

It is now four years since workforces all around the world were forced to instantly adapt their ways of working due to the Covid pandemic. Almost overnight, businesses that refuted the notion of employees working from home had their entire staff logging into work systems from their kitchens and front rooms.

The sheer length of the pandemic meant working from home became the norm for plenty of businesses and not many have bothered to revert back to an in-house model. The notion of ‘hybrid working‘ has become popular within many institutions whereby staff are required to work a certain number of the days in the office and then a a certain number at home.

The appeal of working from home is clear. It reduces running costs for the business and reduces wasted hours commuting for employees. Many people find they are more productive at home, too, so for plenty of people, it’s a win/win. However, four years on from the pandemic could it be time for a refresh, or a reset? Should we perhaps be thinking about finding more office space instead of working from home?

The list below provides five reasons why working from home might not be all that it’s cracked up to be anymore.

Five reasons to stop working from home – listed

You will get more support from others

While Zoom and Microsoft Teams mean that members of staff can still lean on others for support, it can feel more daunting for some personalities to reach out and ask for help/support via message than it can in person. Even for those who are comfortable doing it, the wait times are typically significantly longer than they would be in an office.

Online, you may have to wait half a day for someone to get back to you on a simple, but important, request. In an office environment, this same response could be achieved in 30 seconds by simply nipping over to someone’s desk.

You will gain more human interaction

There is no doubt that those of us who have been working from home since the pandemic have seen less people than we would have done if we’d continued as in-house workers. Some people may enjoy being more independent but for others, human interaction is invaluable and can massively boost happiness and mental health.

There is more scope for building true friendships and relationships in-house than there is online as at home you will only ever chat to your co-workers via a screen in a meeting/formal situation. In an office, you will often find yourself talking away about the latest football results or what’s on Netflix.

Your home has perhaps stopped feeling like your home

For millions of people, their homes now feel like their place of work which is completely understandable. This can make it near-impossible to switch off from work for some people which can have a negative impact on their stress levels.

This is entirely different if you are an office-based worker. The act of switching your computer off and leaving the office can often feel like a weight has been lifted at the end of a day at work and this is something that is difficult to experience when working from home.

There are more distractions at home

If we are talking about productivity and procrastination, there is far more scope for getting distracted at home. Whether it be a PlayStation or a loved one who is also at home, it’s very easy to find yourself getting towards lunchtime without any work completed.

In an office, there is often very little distraction other than the people around you which should mean you get more work done.

You could improve device performance

Finally, office spaces are usually designed for elite device performance whether that be the latest computers, laptops and tablets or speedy Wi-fi. At home, your wi-fi simply won’t have been chosen with work in mind so it won’t provide you with the same level of performance that an in-house connection will.

What’s more, if you suffer from any technical faults while in an office you will usually have a tech support team on-site to help you out swiftly. At home, you have a Google search and hold music while you wait for someone to take your call.