Most Cubicle Dwellers loathe their office space. The pale lighting, the unnatural fabrics, the coffee slurping of smelly rog in the corner all conspire to destory the fun of a work day. Oh and don’t get ‘em started on the commute. Ugh!
Well grass always seems greener when seen over a corporate wall, my friend. Working from home is far more stressful than an office. At least for me. Let me list the three big things I hate about you…err, I mean working from home.
1) Loneliness: you may hate that John always stops in to talk about the scores last night, or his dog’s movements, but my god at least he’s a human you see in person. IM chats are ok, but they are the Tofu of the chat world. I want steak.
2) Mixing of Fun/Work Zones: Cubicle Dwellers dream about talking their lunch in front of the tube, and catching up on last nights Dexter. Rocking! But then what happens at night? Do you sit on the exact same couch, watching the exact same TV program? If so then you’ll soon start to feel that your night shift is just like your day shift. When you work from home your kitchen and living room become part of your work space. It’s hard to take ‘em back for chill zones at night.
3) Long, Confusing Lists of Things to Do: It’s great to throw a load of laundry in while waiting for a call. But then that means your list of things to do during office hours just doubles up. Some can handle that well – I can’t. I need a short, clear list of goals for a day. If not, I start running in circles. And that drives everyone, including my downstairs neighbour, nuts.
I’ve thought about solutions for each of these, but the main one is to get out of the house.
Until next time, enjoy the cubicle….you don’t know how good you got it!
CF