There is no denying that the internet has revolutionized the workplace, precisely in that it made work from home a plausible option. Proponents posit that it has been highly convenient for them, but I would argue otherwise. I personally believe that working from home impedes concentration and productivity levels and poses health-related issues. This essay will scrutinize some of the drawbacks associated with working from home.
To begin with, working from the comfort of one’s home can be significantly distracting to many, especially if one does not live alone. Noise, coupled with persistent interruptions, hinders one’s ability to focus on the task at hand, culminating in mental strain for the person involved. For instance, when I had to work from home on a research paper in the field of urban anthropology, I found that I spent longer hours on literature reviews when compared to working from the office. As such, working from home in that case curbed productivity levels and had a direct impact on the overall quality of the work produced.
Moreover, working from home severely impedes mobility. In fact, studies demonstrate that those working from home tend to spend more time indoors rather than doing any sort of outdoor activity, such as taking a walk. This has serious implications for one’s health, potentially heightening the risk of obesity, heart disease and diabetes. As such, I would argue that daily commute to work has far more health benefits when compared to work from home.
To conclude, doing one’s job from home, while might seem like a dream come true to many, has a detrimental effect on both productivity levels and individuals’ health. I urge more people to seriously reflect on a myriad of disadvantages associated with such a new workplace trend.