Staying in comfortable clothes all day. Watching an episode of your favorite show during your lunch break. Hanging out with your cat. Saving hours on commute time. Enjoying some time in your backyard.
Working from home is comfortable, and with so many jobs involving computers or teleconferencing, many work-from-home jobs offer flexible hours. But is it really for you?
Most of us think we would be great at-home or remote employees, at least part of the time. We can control the amount of noise in our homes, we do not have to wear an uncomfortable suit or dress, and we don’t have to worry about our lunch being stolen out of the office fridge. Too often, however, potential remote employees assume that working from home allows them to lounge more.
Working from home isn’t for everyone, and it requires a lot of focus. With more industries hiring remote employees, it is important to have a professional work ethic and come up with a daily routine to keep yourself motivated.
A work-from-home job is a great benefit for the right person, but some jobs are better suited for remote work than others. If you work in an industry that relies on computers, web-based services, and teleconferencing, you may benefit from staying at home.
Some types of work allow you to set your own hours, while others require you to work a standard schedule and be available over various messaging services. Some jobs have traditional employment taxation structures, providing you with health care and benefits, while other remote positions mean you essentially work for yourself, even if you have a boss to answer to.
There are many important points to weigh if you are considering a position that will allow you to work from home.
Maybe you already work in one of these industries, or perhaps you are looking to change jobs so you can stay at home and meet deadlines on your own schedule.
Here are the five job types that are most likely to allow you the flexibility to work from home:
- Virtual Assistant: Entry-level work in this field pays about $15 per hour regardless of full-time or part-time hours. If you love multitasking, organizing, and scheduling, you can make use of these skills to help busy executives and CEOs stay on track.
These positions are easy to find on job boards and websites. Many companies prefer to outsource this to someone who works from home, so they do not have to spend more money on office space.
- Social Media Manager: Those who work full-time in this position make around $50,000 per year, depending on where their accounts are located or if they work for separate clients. Contract and part-time workers often make around $13 to $15 per hour.
This type of work is great for people who are already active on social media and love to respond to comments and post pictures. It is also great for those who have a creative bent and want to post memes, images, artwork, writing, and personal stories.
You should have some level of customer service experience or passion because you will also be answering concerns, both in private and in public. Since social media is entirely online, most people can do this work from anywhere they want, including on their couch at home. At most, you may have to attend a weekly meeting.
- Ghostwriter: Websites need content, and many companies do not have time to create every written word themselves. To stay relevant on the search engines, sites need constantly updated content through blogs and new information pages to attract new customers. Companies, artists, and advertising firms hire remote writers to fill in anything they need.
Most writers do not get credit for their work unless they are already famous as a writer. Contract and part-time (less than 25 hours per week) writers tend to make around $20 per hour, depending on what company or client they work for. Full-time writers can make hundreds of dollars per day, and usually make anywhere from $30,000 to $75,000 per year.
- Graphic Designer: As with written content, companies need visual content to keep their websites appealing and fresh. Everyone needs a logo, professionally edited images, and enough content to keep their social media accounts floating. Graphic design is a core component of every marketing campaign, and as a work-from-home professional, you can work for several clients, companies, or accounts at once if you’d like.
Many graphic designers get started with one marketing agency, but then split off and make their own business. Entry-level positions that allow you to work from home pay around $15 per hour, depending on what part of the country you live in. The more popular and successful your creative work, the more money you can make.
- Transcriptionist: You need special equipment aside from just a computer and a phone to make this job work, but full-time professional transcriptionists are in high demand and make as much as $60,000 on average per year. If you have a keen ear for detail and can type quickly, you can transcribe audio files for all sorts of companies, from health care and legal firms to online streaming video sites that need subtitles for hearing-impaired viewers.
You think you would be happier at home, but there are some potential downsides to consider when looking at remote jobs.
- No office culture: This might work well for some people, but for many, having close connections to coworkers helps them finish projects. They can discuss any details and concerns as they come up instead of waiting on a messaging app for a response, or having to schedule a phone call. People working in the same industry often get along, so working from home might feel lonely.
- Low retention: It is easier for someone not in the direct view of their boss to flake on deadlines. Remote workers are also likely to be entry-level or have less experience than those applying for in-person office jobs. People who work at an office make a commitment during the workweek to get into the office, work while they’re present, and work with each other.
If you work from home, you might get distracted by marathoning a new show or managing a personal crisis and neglect to check in. You may find that you allow yourself too much time to play and end up cramming everything to meet a deadline, adding stress to your life.
- Payment and logistics problems: Most companies are reliable, but there are scam artists out there. While most companies — both large and small — use direct deposit for paychecks, some companies may pay remote or contract employees through PayPal or related services to bypass taxes. Even direct deposit options falter sometimes.
If you’re a contractor, you may have to fill out your own invoice, so you need to remember to turn those in as soon as they’re due. Some companies still mail checks, and if you are a remote employee, you risk your paycheck getting lost in the mail. While these problems are not unique to remote workers, they can feel worse if you do not have immediate recourse.
Traditional views on working from home suggest that most workers are more productive when they’re in an office environment. They have a dedicated space in which they can focus. They have a computer dedicated only to their office job. They have coworkers to support their efforts, and bosses to watch over them and make sure they meet deadlines.
As it turns out, however, this environment does not support everyone. Some people are more productive with flexible hours, less noise from the office environment, and the ability to take jobs as they want.
Working from home does not mean you get to slack off and avoid work. Most positions with remote options still have deadlines and required meetings, even if these are through a message service or over email.
Remote work typically correlates to contract employment, because it saves the company money. They do not have to offer health or retirement benefits, for example, and they do not have to get a huge office to house many workers. Instead, they have a smaller office for the core employees, and they don’t have to pay as much in taxes or benefits.
Still, working from home is a huge psychological benefit for many people. Even if you work for a company that requires you to work specific hours during specific days, you do not have to leave home, you can drink coffee whenever you want, and you can take your dog on a walk when you need a mental break. People who work from home can eat healthier meals, report having a better work-life balance, and usually have more productive workdays.
Remote workers spend less time commuting so they have more time to focus on work. They even pollute less. They don’t drive, they generate less trash, and they use less electricity since they’re in one location.
