I work at home.
No, I'm not a housewife, but I do my work from home or from anywhere with internet access, but it was not always like that.
When I started working, many years ago, it had not even crossed my mind that something like that could be done, so for many years I worked in an office like most people did.
The first time I moved to Argentina I worked at IBM and once a week, my whole group (where I was the only woman) could work from home, which meant sleeping more and getting up later, not traveling on public transport, working in pajamas and not see anyone's face. The downside was that I had to cook and I was still learning to cook, but working from home meant a little saving and comfort, and since it was only once a week it was not boring.
But today, 2017, working from home is not yet a common practice. Not everyone can do it, not everyone should do it, not everyone is suitable because there are people who do not have the experience or the organizational capacity to work in this way and that is why they feel more comfortable working in the office.
Today technology plays an important role breaking the barriers and putting at our disposal a large number of tools that facilitate remote work, but of course, that does not compare to having your team by your side and be able to ask something at the moment when you need it, or you can go out to lunch with the people you work with, or on the day of your birthday they take you to lunch (in Peru and Colombia it is customary).
Of course working from home has its pros and cons.
It allows me to sleep more because I find it hard to get up early, get ready and travel to the office and I do not need to change, the computer will not say anything if I start working in pajamas, but if you have a video call if there is a need be ready to go in front of the camera.
I do not need to "move" to the office and deal with the rest of the millions of people who do the same and at the same time. I can have lunch in my house and not have to go find a restaurant where I have lunch and wait to find an empty table because it is rush hour.
If you organize well you can work the hours you need and go out and do the things you need, like going to the bank, going to the gym or shopping.
You can work from anywhere in the world (as long as there is no need to go to the office during the week).
If your work is by results or by objectives you have flexibility in your schedules, it does not matter whether you work on a Sunday or a Monday.
The cons are that it can be boring to be at home all the time with no one to talk to or have lunch or a coffee.
You can be working, literally, all day if you have some important delivery or if you have several things to cover; It is very easy to get hooked on what is being done and lose track of time because if you are at home you will not feel the need for it to be 6 o'clock to leave.
Communication with your colleagues is not always easy. Your friends at the office will not celebrate your birthday that day.
There are employers who are afraid of working from home and do not allow their workers to do so. I've seen it, it's happened to me.
I think that is a custom that should start to change because there are many types of work in many industries that can be done from home. We need to realize that working from home can be beneficial for the company and for the worker and go testing models to see what works best.
I work from home for quite some time. I use my laptop more than my cell phone and I carry it on almost all my trips, except during short vacations when I need to disconnect from everything and everyone.
