Could you work from home?

[R1Geezer]

would you want to?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11879241
Sure it has huge implications for transport/office accomodation etc but in reality is working from home for the masses viable. In my own situation there is no reason I can't work from home and indeed I do sometime but I just like to have the home/work divide. On occasions when I do work from Home I find I'm no where near as productive. So is there a GDP reason why we don't work from home. Presumably employers are having to weigh up the cost savings in buildings etc versus the inevitable productivity reduction. Your thoughts please.

[bednobs]

i used to do a job where part of it was "on call from home" and what a monumental pain in the bum that was. Not only did my work encroach on my life but also my space at home!

[Pinkypie]

I worked from home and had flexi time when I had to be in office etc... Actually found that I did the same amount of work, but I took all day to do it at home as I took more breaks. In office I just got on with it and got out of there! I actually didn't enjoy working from home!

[woofgang]

I forgot to mention, at th time I had an elderly dog with a Ricky bladder. If I went in to work I had to rush off on the dot or wipe up the puddles and comfort the upset dog. Working at home made this easier too.

[woofgang]

Spellchecker is taking over Dicky bladder!

[Carakeel]

Like you craft, I worked from home for several years. Luckily my work as a translator and food broker to the US military outside of the US made this possible. So, while my children were at school, I got a lot done. It also meant I once spent 56 hours non-stop on an urgent translation for a very forgetful mad professor type inventor, who had to present his new invention at an international conference and had forgotten to get his speech and his patent translated in time. Luckily I had the company of two very large flasks of tea / coffee and sandwiches kindly provided by my then 13 year old daughter before she and her little brother went off to school and ... when I tried to take a 5 minute break and nearly fell off my chair, having fallen asleep ... a wake up from my Irish Wolfhound who decided a face wash was in order! So, yes I have worked from home and was very disciplined when doing so. But I am not naturally that disciplined. At the time I had no choice, as my husband walked out on me and my three children when I was diagnosed with cancer. He just couldn't cope. I had to be disciplined to keep my family going. Would I work from home again? Sure, but luckily I am now retired! Yay!!! :o)

[craft1948]

lol Carakeel I used to get phone calls at odd hours from the USA and Australia..........I think they thought I was a 24 hour helpline!

[Barmaid]

I regularly work from home. It's great because it keeps my costs down, the commute from bed to the office is a staircase and I can wear what I like.

The downside is that some days the other people and animals that live at this property conspire to interrupt me every 5 mins. Today I've been up and down out of my seat to deal with naughty children, naughty cats, naughty chickens and a stupid OH who put the grill on and left the sausages under it until the smoke alarm went off!!

So today I should have done two jobs, and I've only just got one done!! Late night methinks (that's another downside, you never ever really seem to knock off).

[spudqueen]

It's not a viable option for me (I work in a Post Office!), but I'm pretty darn sure that if I did work from home I would be so distracted (putting washing out, reading the paper, doing the washing up etc) that I'm not sure I'd get a lot done! I'd probably end up working till about 10 at night to make up for the wasted hours in the day!