In 2024, 33% of professionals work fully remote, and 33% have a hybrid work arrangement. There are also many solo entrepreneurs, small business owners, and contractors who have very fluid working environments. The one thing consistently true throughout these groups of workers: when you live with a house full of people, the "home" part of working from home can be incredibly chaotic. While there are significant downsides to returning to a traditional office environment, there are also drawbacks to working from home. By finding a solution, you can work and live in less stressful, more productive places.
Consider these drawbacks:
1. There Is a Lot of Uncontrollable Background Noise
If you have roommates or family in an apartment or house, there are very few quiet hours. People will be coming and going in the morning, others will arrive home at different times in the evening, and you may have cooking, cleaning, television, and conversations going on in the background all day long. If you and another work from home during the same hours, you can even have overlapping business calls. This can be distracting and chaotic for you, but it can also be unprofessional and frustrating for your clients.
Unfortunately, there's no good solution for solving this at home. Soundproofing is expensive and only partially effective. Also, you might only be able to secure quiet hours for the occasional meeting, not for daily work hours.
2. You Might Also Be Contributing to Background Noise
It's also important to keep in mind that it's not just other people's noise hurting your professional hours. There's a chance your own work is contributing to the noise. Loud keyboards, business calls, video conferences, recording audio or video resources. All of it may also be affecting your roommate's work sessions.
You might also be self-conscious about creating noise that disturbs others' sleep, work, and relaxation. If you find yourself talking more quietly, emoting less, or putting off work "for a better time," then your environment isn't helping you do your best work.
3. Working in Your Bedroom Leads to Stress and Poor Sleep
It's important to have separate spaces for work and sleep. And it's not just about clutter. More and more science is demonstrating that being able to mentally define your bedroom as a low-stress place for sleep and relaxation plays a significant role in your ability to wind down and go to sleep. But if you can see your work computer from your bed or, even worse, do work from your bed, that distinction gets blurred. It can affect both your waking and sleeping hours.
Unfortunately, carving out a space in the common area might not work. You might have to have an office in your bedroom, or you might retreat to your bedroom when you need a quiet workspace.
4. In-Person Client Meetings Are Hectic
Not everyone has to have in-person client meetings. You might not have direct client contact at all, or they may prefer video chats. But when you do need to meet them, not having a professional workspace outside your room presents an extra challenge. You must meet up at an array of different coffee shops or other public locations, which can be crowded, noisy, or unexpectedly closed.
5. Having a Consistent Work Schedule Is Hard
When you work where you live, there are a lot of distractions in sight. You might see a stack of personal to-dos on your desk, or your roommates may poke their heads in to ask a question or remind you about something. These interruptions can disrupt deep work sessions.
Even worse, you might have frequent interruptions that require you to leave your work altogether. Someone knocks on the door, another person may need help in another room, or there's an overdue chore on your mind. All of these problems can interrupt your workday or even delay the start if you have a flexible work schedule. As a result, your schedule becomes more turbulent, and work can keep extending into the evening.
Keep York Work Life Organized with a Quest Workspaces
Working outside of a traditional office environment can present a lot of challenges if you try to make do in a bedroom office or a communal living space. Make the switch to a coworking space. At Quest, our hospitality-driven coworking spaces have a wide range of public spaces for conversational work, quiet zones, and private offices. Visit one of our Miami, Broward, Tampa, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, or NYC locations today to find coworking spaces that fit your work style, or contact us to learn more about the benefits of coworking over WFH.
