If you trudge off to an office five days a week, have you ever stopped to wonder what it would be like to work from home?

For many professionals, that opportunity is pretty much a pipe dream, this given the fact that many companies still run the standard office.

You know the office, the one where employees report in for their daily shift, do their jobs with a lunch break and one or two 10-minute breaks during the day, then get in their cars or on mass transit for the ride home. The next morning means the same all over again.

What Opportunities Are in Your Future?

So, what if you had the opportunity to work from home?

Do you think you would be more or less productive from your residence? Could you focus in on work and turn away the various distractions that can all too easily present themselves? Lastly, would you miss spending time in an office setting with co-workers, meaning you basically rely on yourself for entertainment during the day?

Over the last seven years, I’ve had two opportunities to work from home as a freelance writer, both the result of job layoffs. I can say with much certainty that the two experiences have been positive for the most part.

One of the keys to being successful while working part-time or full-time at home is having an employer who avoids micromanagement.

In what should be labeled a disease in the workplace, micromanagement simply means that your boss and/or company owner feel they need to hold your hand during the day in the office or if you work remotely. In such cases, they will oversee you with questions, suggestions and comments, leaving you wishing Friday’s Happy Hour was five days a week and not one.

So, with the micromanagement factor out of the way, here are some pros/cons of working from home:

Pros –

* Avoiding a possibly long and expensive commute daily;

* Ability (with your company’s permission) to set your own hours;

* Not having to deal with constantly ringing office phones;

* Being void of co-workers who have nothing better to do than to talk your ear off while you’re trying to work.

Cons –

* Unless you’re well disciplined, it can be easy to get distracted at home;

* Not having others around to bounce ideas off of, answer your questions and/or solve work related issues;

* Potentially not having access to necessary equipment like a printer, fax machine, tech help if your home computer goes down.

At the end of the day, finding the right work at home situation can be tricky, though well worth your time.

Work is ultimately what you make of it.

If you are one who wants to be successful, potentially make a decent amount of money, and avoid having to deal with office politics, working from home can be just what you are looking for. The tricky part is locating that company that will employ you under those circumstances or being able to get your own business off the ground.

In the event you work from home for yourself or an employer, what have your experiences been like to date?

Photo credit: metro.us

About the Author: With 23 years’ writing experience, Dave Thomas covers a variety of business topics and individuals, including Gary Crittenden.