I’m moving to the new work beat and after two days at the new place, its struck me that I like going to an office to work. For almost 1.5 years I did the home office thing. There is a conflict that’s bred into working at home. Family ties, requirements, limitations, all act on a person that only travels 10 feet to his office. Its a mix of good and bad. The good side is that I was the master of my own time and I could do what the hell I wanted. Blogging became a great exercise and release from the house duties. I also participated in chores around the house willingly like laundry, dishes, vacuuming. It was the thing I could do that my wife could not when she worked nights in a row.
But going to an office, being around other people that go to an office is good. Its the clearing of that old way of doing things and entering a new place. After the time I’ve spent working at home, doing an office thing still gets me every day. I went in today and had lunch with colleagues, talked football, told old stories about another company that used to be. We laughed, gently poked fun at a Denver Broncos fan with us, and talked technology and football, beer and football, Linux and football.
In the end, people need a mix I think. They need to feel both worlds and perhaps see which one suits them. I know from experience that working in a home office environment carries a certain requirement to dedication of work. You have to design the day to have shares of work in it and follow that credo with zeal and vigor. The home office worker has challenges, limitations, and often family and personal values and limitations conflict and the job often is put off until the stressors are dealt with. It meant for me that I worked late evenings with colleagues in India and China; but that was okay. Our business was all done virtually and in IRC and IM windows. Those windows often frame the very nature of our environments.
So, if you are considering whether working at home is viable, look at the other environmental factors in your home. Can you segregate and deal with the forces that will act upon you? You have to be independent of thought and deed and know how to balance the chores of house and work. Got that one? If so, perhaps the home work/office thing will be a winner for ya. For me, an office, with its uniqueness is a good thing.
