The pandemic has caused us drastic changes and shifts in our lives – from personal to professional. There had been lockdowns. We’ve been asked to put on masks and face shields. We’ve been encouraged to practice social distancing and be as far away as possible physically from other people when out in a public space.
But among all those changes, one thing has practically affected our professional lives – most of us. That is having to work from home instead of in the office. We commonly refer to it now as WFH. This change in our work has resulted in polarizing parties. Some like it very much. Some find themselves better suited in the office.
A lot find WFH fun, but let’s admit it: It’s not for everybody. You might be thinking about it now. So, here, we’ve come down the essential things to differentiate the two and figure out which is the better.
1. Resources
Winner: Office
Let’s admit this: working from home eats up more of the personal resources that we have. Depending on the arrangement that you have with your employer, you might get an added compensation to cover the electricity and internet. In most instances, however, that is not enough. Working from home demands you more electricity and internet. In addition to that, having a workspace at home will consume another area of your house that you could have allotted to something else.
Electric consumption would include the light being turned on, the air conditioning system, and running the computer. While the added cost on this shouldn’t be that much in a short amount of time, they still accumulate to a high cost down to the road. The allowance employers usually give isn’t enough to cover all this. So, the clear winner here with the office-setup
2. Perks
Winner: Office
When you are at home, you are responsible for everything else. It’s you who can decide on these things.
However, in the office, there are free coffee and snacks that you can avail of if you get stressed out. (Ok, not all companies do this, but most.) When you sign up for WFH, you lose all these perks and free stuff. You will have to start making your coffee since there will be no longer any pantry that you can go to to get your daily free fuel of caffeine with either coffee or tea. To say the least, the office has a lot of perks you won’t be able to find at home.
3. Technical Support
Winner: Office
If something comes up on your computer, you will have to be responsible for all the legwork. If there’s a power outage, it’s your responsibility to find a solution to that. The same goes for the internet. There would be an overlap between personal and professional inconveniences. Reaching out to a work-provided IT specialist is more difficult.
Often, it’s going to require you to phone them via landline or with your cellphone. Over time, this can be cumbersome. It feels more stressful because you will feel like you are being left behind. Your office is already equipped with all these kinds of things, so it’s worth easier to be there if technical issues arise.
4. Moral Support
Winner: Tie
This is hard to measure as moral support can come from two sources. Either it comes from your family or your officemates. If you live alone, it will feel very lonely to work from home, given the uncertainty that we have in this time of the pandemic. You can have some bouts of anxiety that can be unbearable when you are alone. In the office, you have your workmates that can relate well with you to the work-induced stresses.
But if you have a family with you, they can be the source of your strength. So for those that aren’t alone, they prefer a WFH setup. In that way, they get to be with their family that gives them the strength to go through the demands of their professional life.
5. Work-life balance
Winner: Indeterminable
In an office setup, if you run into personal problems at home, you can simply forget about them in the meantime. Go to the office and have an entirely different mood.
In a WFH setup, this is more difficult to achieve. There is just simply no fine line between your workplace and being at home. You will have to condition yourself psychologically. At the end of the day, however, work-life balance is a choice you need to make and an effort you continuously need to undertake so this is maintained.
The takeaway
Overall, working in the office is still the better set up to make the most of the time and resources that you have.