I stumbled on this blog post last week through Twitter.
The blog post, Goodbye to the Office, basically outlines the way that things have changed over the last 150 years and the fact that we don’t really need to go into an office every day anymore. Basically if you have a laptop, internet connection and someplace to go, you don’t need to go into the office anymore. At the end, it’s actually suggested that eventually The Office will be obsolete.
Having had experience doing work from home and going into the office, I have to say I’m far more productive in the office environment. Sure, there are times when I really need to buckle down and focus without any interruptions, and sometimes that happens best in the comfort of my own living room. But, for the most part, I don’t mind going into the office every day because it makes it easier to focus and be productive.
At the same time, having the flexibility to be able to occasionally work from home is priceless to me. And I do enjoy it from time-to-time. My commute to work is also only 2.5 miles and takes 5-10 minutes to drive OR bike!
Check out this statistic from Environment Canada:
If a million Canadians worked from home just one day every year, we could eliminate about 250 million kg of emissions and 100 million litres of fuel.
That’s not one day a week, or one day a month, one day a year. Maybe this is something more companies should be implementing? I mean, what’s the harm in having all your employees work from home once a month right?! Obviously I know this isn’t possible for all jobs, but it’s definitely possible for some!
Also, here’s a little peek at my “home office”. Hehe! This is where I do my blog-reading/writing, freelance article writing and occasionally work from home!
What do you guys think? Do you prefer to work from home or in the office? Why or why not? Do you have the flexibility to work from home at your job? Do you think working from the office will be obsolete one day?
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I work almost exclusively from home. I moved away from our office 6 years ago but was in a position that I was able to do remotely. I’m very spoiled by it. I go into the office once in awhile but it’s 2.5 hours away so it obviously requires planning. I’m more productive remotely because I’m interrupted less and can focus more. While I still have meetings and everything I also find I get to miss a lot of them which usually aren’t very productive anyway and allow time for work. I also work a lot more hours than if I were in the office.
Interesting post. For obvious reasons working out of my home would not work at all haha unless I want to truck 20 something kindergarten students into my house and I’m pretty sure they would not fit. On the other hand, there are some work related tasks that I can do at home such as planning, report card writing etc- I do almost all of those things at home as much as possible. I’m a multi tasker so I like being able to watch TV or listen to music while I get work done.
However, if I had a different job I don’t think I’d want to work from home. Even though I want to be home and no where else most nights, during the day I prefer to be out. I like having interaction with more than just my computer and I like the sense of “coming home” at the end of the day, even if I might have a little more work to do. I think it would be smart for companies to do the work from home model maybe once a week or once a month, but I don’t think it would be smart to do away with offices completely- I think something is gained for a lot of people by working at an office and the employees knowing each other.
I do not have the flexibility to work from home. It would be really tough as part of my job is reviewing documents people submit when they are applying for a loan. I am sure that eventually we will go paperless and scan these documents in, but that’s quite a long ways off. P
I like going into the office. I think it would be nice to work from home once a week but I don’t think I would want to work from home more than that. My condo is so not set up for me to work from home. I have a desk, but it’s in my bedroom and I never use it. I disconnected my wireless a year ago when I had trouble uploading photos on my blog when using it, and just never re-connected it, so I would be internet-less if I tried to work from my desk in my bedroom!
I’d love to work from home! It’s not really possible with where I work now, but it’s something I will look for in a future job (even if it’s just a couple times a month).
I love your home office! I’m hoping to get mine set up before classes start at the end of August. We’re going to be painting soon, and we already have a desk and a bookshelf. I just have to get started on organizing!
I’ve never had a typical office job, thus, never had the luxury of being able to work at home.
i think i’m productive either way. I’ve done work from home before (i just tend to start work a little later) but i’m so productive! i’m ok with both… working from home is nice because then i can just have the music on without having to wear headphones.
I say now that I would love to work from home, but I know I would be more productive in a work environment. Maybe one day from home a week, or a couple times a month would be best. It’s definitely something to think about.
I also think though that there is value to working/communicating face to face with someone. I always find that I get more things done in groups when I’m actually with the person, versus on the phone, video chat, etc.
I definitely think working from home sometimes would be a nice option - I can see how productivity might be higher/lower depending on your personality but it would be awesome to stay in PJs and get work done!
I wish I could work from home, but then I’d have all these drug-heads up in my house, haha! (I’m a pharmacist).
I would LOVE to work from home on occasion if I could - but I agree, some days are much more productive when you’re surrounded by coworkers and “in the zone”. However, we would save tons of money on gas (not to mention helping decrease pollution, obviously) if commuting was taken out of the equation - I can definitely support that
My job right now doesn’t lend itself to that sort of flexibility, but hopefully in the future I’ll have one that does! fingers crossed 
I’ve worked from home a couple of times but only in emergency situations (the power went out, my house alarm was going off, etc.). I haven’t to admit, I wasn’t very productive. If this was a regular thing though, I might be more inclined to treat it as a work day instead of, well, a treat.
This is such a great topic. I often feel (especially on those morning that seem FAR harsher than others) that I could work from home - we even have access to our database remotely, too, and I have all the software at home I need to create marketing stuff - but you’re right when you said you’re more productive in an office environment than at home. I’m the same way with writing, too - I’ll always leave the house to go get something productive done; there are just too many distractions at home!
I WISH I could work from home but a lot of my work is people driven, need to be at the office to greet clients and etc. However, when I have a big project to work on, I do much better when I’m left alone, quiet and can just plow through emails and etc at home. But sadly, it’s not really an option for me.
I think it would be great if America instituted a work from home one day a month plan. I could only imagine how great the workers would feel (sweats vs fancy dress clothes) to be allowed that freedom
I’m with you - I love coming into the office but love even more having the flexibility to work from home when I need/want to.
There is something so “grown up” about getting dressed, commuting in, and seeing all your colleagues. But on the same token, I love working from my pj’s when I can
Hope you had a great weekend!
I think it’d be great to do more flex work weeks… I don’t think that would apply for my job. I’m there to help the entire office of people (my job requirements make me sort of there for “on call” reasons). I wish it did, though…
That’s amazing how much oil would be saved by just staying home ONE day a year. CRAAAAZy pants. That’s why I always feel proud of myself when I bike to work bc I know it’s not only saving me a little gas $, but the world that oil useage!
I prefer going into work, but would like a flex schedule where I could work from home 1-2 days per week. And come in if I had meetings or something. But really, it’s too easy to get distracted at home. I love your little computer area. I don’t have one. Need a nice desk chair. I got rid of my old one before I moved in with the manfriend.
I’m probably going to be working from home once my mat leave is over but I know my productivity is going to plummet! I’m WAY more productive at the office - mostly because of all the video cameras
I DO still read blogs at work (shh, don’t tell my boss!) but … yeah. It’s not as tempting as it would be at home.
I prefer to work from home. I hate the commute (and mine is <10 mins!), and I hate my cubicle. I *do* need a better workstation at home, though. I do web design work, and it’s almost impossible to do my work efficiently on the single tiny laptop screen that is my work computer. I really need a full desk with an extra screen and a mount for my laptop. It’s pricey, but I think it would help me maximize my work from home time.
I don’t feel like my productivity is affected much if I do work from home. A lot of times I feel like I do more, because I don’t have to worry so much about finding hard stopping places when I take lunch or leave the office for the evening. It feels less like work at home, so I tend to do more of it. Go figure!
I actually prefer working away from home. I like interacting with people and I think I’d become a hermit if I spent all day in front of my computer in my pajamas. Though the pajama part is pretty appealing
I so prefer working from home, but I love having work that has a “client” element to it where I can go meet people, or work with team members at least part of the time. Working freelance is fun, but I need to make sure my human : computer ratio is in check
I so prefer to work in an office. I have some flexibility in one of my jobs and I really appreciate that, but I so prefer to get most of my hours in at the office, because I can get my work done there and then leave and stop thinking about it. When it’s all on my own time, I procrastinate and get distracted and always feel like I should be doing something even when I’ve finished my work.
I would love to work from home … but unfortunately as a teacher … that isn’t going to happen for me!!! (Unless I teach on-line courses some day!!)
I like working in an office. If I worked from home, I would get NOTHING accomplished as I’ve got the attention span of a gnat!
But I also think it’s rather sad that we, as a society, are slowly eliminating all face-to-face contact. We tweet, we text, we email, we blog (yes, I’m guilty), we bank/shop and send family photos online and we blame it all on no time, enviromental concerns, etc. We hunker down in our homes and never go outside, and when we do, we appear shocked to see other people out there! I am saddened by the thought of virtual schools, you don’t need to go to a university to get your degree anymore and home offices…we’re building the walls faster then we can tear them down. And for goodness sake, we had all better still know how to get along, even if we don’t know how to communicate anymore, otherwise police get involved. I’m living that in my building right now, and it’s all because of a hermit attitude. Get out and let the florescents shine on your face people…breathe in the smell of other humans and hear how their lives really are more messed up than your own! You’ll feel better for it.
Rant over…
I would LOVE to work from home and would do it in a heartbeat!! I’ve had friends warn me that it gets tiring after a while but I don’t think it would for me since I’m a homebody and would focus a lot better when alone at home. The hour commute to work is a killer!
I am too distracted at home. I have tried a few times and I always waste time with one thing or another. Besides I like the face to face interaction I get when I go into work. I have made some good friends and would miss them if we only communicated over email or the phone.
I definitely am more productive in the office! I do a bit of work from home for my freelance stuff. For the day job, I work on a website, but can’t do any of that remotely as of yet. That might change soon and I would love the flexibility to work at home maybe one day a week or one day a fortnight. It’s not like I have a bad commute (less than half an hour at peak times) but it’s be great to work in my dressing gown
I currently don’t have the opportunity to work from home a day or two a week and I loathe that. I also dont have much flexibility in my day to day schedule. Personally, I really do need this, which is why I’ve been searching for a new job. Flexibility is important to me.
I’m not sure the office will ever disappear, but I do think less and less people are working in the traditional office environment. I am one of them! I work from home. I go into the office one day a week to help layout the newspaper. but other than that, I’m at home, usually working in my bed! I have a desk but for some reason I don’t like to use it
I like working from home in the sense that I save gas and I don’t have to look nice and I can be in my pajamas… unless I have an interview or meeting to go to! but it can be easy to get distracted, especially now that I’m living back with my parents. and I have Hazel running around, too. it can also be lonely because I don’t have coworkers to gossip with or go to lunch with. but I still think the benefits outweigh the negatives… most of the time
I don’t think I’d like working exclusively from home. I enjoy the interaction with my coworkers - who (mostly) also happen to be friends. Since I live alone and have no family within hundreds of miles, if I worked from home too I’d be alone way too much. Too much alone time = depressy mood! I can see where it would be good for some people but I’m pretty sure I’d hate it.
I have the best of both worlds. I work in an office three days a week and from home two days a week. That said, working from home isn’t an option for a lot of people. And I’m not talking about jobs in manufacturing where you have to be onsite. I mean, people who don’t have designated office space at home, where it’d be hard to stay organized. People whose spouses work different hours or days of the week from them, so working from home would interrupt sleeping habits. People who have kids who are either with a nanny at home or who come home from school well before the end of a typical work day. There are countless reasons why working from home means less productivity for people. So, in situations where it works, that’s great. But, for a lot of people, going to an office, having that face-to-face connection is really important for countless reasons.
While I’d love the ability to work from home, I have a feeling I’d be far less productive with the amount of distractions there would be.
I love working from home. I wish I got to do it more often. We should move to doing that at least once a month. I think our generation should take charge on chasing how we do business. We need to slow this crazy train down.