Working from Home

It wasn’t long ago when working from home presented major challenges. But those challenges have begun to fade away with recent advances in technology, and today, more people work from home than ever before.  For those with hemophilia, working from home can be particularly convenient, with the potential for allowing easier access to treatment. Before you decide whether working from home is for you, there are some benefits, as well as downsides, that you should consider.

First, let’s talk about the significant positives that result from working from home. The commute – 45 minutes sitting in traffic in each direction – that drives you crazy? Gone. Now, instead of waking up an hour before you need to leave for work, and then spending a significant amount of time in the car or on public transit, you can roll out of bed, switch on the computer, and get to work. Eliminating a commute can be a significant stress reliever.

You might even be more productive from home. Often, in a large office, productivity can take a hit from frequent interruptions. But at home, those interruptions are less likely – as long as you’re able to ignore the dishes that need doing, or the yard work you meant to do over the weekend.

It’s likely that you often eat lunch out when you work out of an office. Eating out is both expensive and potentially unhealthy. And as we’ve discussed in other articles, a healthy diet is particularly important for everyone – especially those with hemophilia. So while you may enjoy that sandwich shop down the street from your office, just think how nice it would be to make your lunch every day from your own refrigerator.

Working from home also allows you the opportunity to have a much more flexible schedule. Not a morning person? Want to be able to take your kids to school every day? It’s often possible to adjust your hours accordingly. You may want your mornings to do errands and have evenings free to catch up on work. Many people who have worked from home enjoy this perk tremendously.

With all these positives there are a few things to keep in mind if you’re considering working from home. Remember, those daily social interactions that keep you engaged may fall off completely. If you’re a very social person who enjoys workplace banter, working from home might not be for you. And while there may be fewer distractions of a certain type, there may be more in other regards.

Working from home can also put a stress on relationships. Remember to have a conversation with your partner about what the expectations are – it can be difficult to work from home and take care of the kids, or do chores at the same time. Keeping both partners’ expectations realistic about what working from home means is important.

And while a flexible schedule may be a huge benefit for many, the loss of a set schedule may impact others negatively. Remember, if you don’t have to be at work at a certain time, you lose the regimen you’ve become so accustomed to. If you need that structure in your life, you should carefully consider how productive you will be working from home. It often takes a motivated self-starter to be successful.

If you decide the positives outweigh the negatives, working from home can be life-changing. A higher quality of life, an ability to control your schedule, and the addition of more time to your day are all things that people who have done it say makes working from home so great. These added benefits can make it especially worth it.