Top Four Reasons Working from Home Doesn’t Work

Eating family dinner and opening for business under the same roof poses a unique set of challenges for remote professionals. Whether your company downsized corporate office space or your small business is avoiding the expense of a pricey brick and mortar lease, an increasing number of people are working from home offices and experiencing a shared dilemma:

How do I accomplish my best work when faced with daily home factors that interfere with my concentration, productivity and performance?

At Roam, we work amongst countless individuals who have in-depth experiences with this same issue. When asked what that struggle is like, most tell us it’s the driving factor that directed them towards the shared workspace and month-to-month coworking memberships at Roam. The following four factors are the most common reasons we’ve heard for why working from home doesn’t work, but a shared office space does.

Reason #1: The Demotivating Silence of Solitude

At first, the idea of working from home with no chatty coworkers interrupting your work day with side conversations and background noise seems like a blissful solitude. This state of silent euphoria, however, is almost always short-lived. After a day or two of total solitude, peaceful seclusion quickly becomes painful isolation. Most work-from-homers report that the lack of human interaction zaps energy and places a serious restriction on their productivity and motivation.

On the contrary, a shared office space offers peace and quiet when you need to concentrate and the opportunity to connect and collaborate with other professionals as desired. Whether you opt to remain heads down or connect with those around you, the collective energy of hard working individuals encourages productive work habits and inspires creativity.

Reason #2: The Distracting and Looming Household To-Do List

Laundry, dishes, vacuuming and cleaning are just a few items on the household to-do list that weigh heavily on the mind of the work-from-home professional.

It’s challenging enough to pull yourself away from breakfast and the morning news to begin a productive day in your home office or designated corner of the kitchen table. Even more challenging, however, is the willpower to stay productive with looming chores providing a constant visual distraction.

Getting out of the house and into a shared workspace provides a much needed “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” break from the household to-do list. Intentionally designed to offer a distraction-free and productivity-driven work environment, it’s much easier to get productive and stay that way when your eyes can’t wander to the dirty breakfast dishes piling up in the sink.

Reason #3: The Inability to Give Your Best at Work and at Home

Not only are chores a distraction of working from home, but so are the blurred lines between work life and personal life. It’s far too easy to dive into a home maintenance project (or even a mid-day nap) in between customer calls or pull away early from family dinner to respond to a few “urgent” emails when your home is your office.

Work-from-home professionals are constantly faced with the decision of whether to prioritize personal matters or professional matters, which can easily become a slippery slope—even for the most structured individual.  While working from a coworking space doesn’t fully alleviate the strain of personal matters, it does offer a distinct environment, separate from your home, to make phone calls, meet with clients, answer emails and accomplish daily work assignments.

There is a beauty to balancing the professional and personal that enables you to be your best and bring your best at work and at home. When focused and productive in an innovative coworking space, you’re equipped to provide better service to your clients, offer better leadership to your colleagues and generate better leads for your business. In turn, you’re able to spend better, more intentional time with your friends and family at home.

Reason #4: The Unproductive Work Environment

Home offices can be cozy and quaint, but wedding photos, barking dogs and children’s finger paintings are not exactly a professional backdrop for video conference calls. Roam’s coworking spaces offer standard business amenities and a professional work environment with a unique and inviting spin. Engineered to inspire innovation and enhance productivity, freelancers, entrepreneurs, small business owners and corporate employees alike experience an improved way to focus, connect with others and grow their business.

While every professional will likely encounter their own unique set of challenges when working from home, these four factors remain the most common amongst our coworking peers. There may not be a cure-all for every work-from-home professional, however, Roam’s varying membership levels and amenities are crafted to meet the diverse needs of today’s remote workforce. Whether you need a good cup of coffee and secure Wi-Fi connection or a private, tech-equipped meeting room for weekly calls and client meet-ups, we’re here to ease the tension with affordable, low commitment options. If you’re a member and would like to share a different reason for how your Roam membership benefited you or your business, please tell us about it. And if you’re currently experiencing the strain of working from home, contact us today to learn how we can help!