Eight benefits from working from home

I love waking up every morning. I stretch, throw on some sweatpants and make a cup of coffee. Then, I sit down, turn on the computer and get to work. Although there’s plenty of challenges to working from home, it can also be one of the best decisions you’ll ever make. Check out eight more benefits to working from home:

Less Stress

Work-from-homers report 25% lower stress levels over traditional office job workers. Imagine: waking up with no set schedule, having no commute, wearing whatever you want AND saving money on top of it all? Sounds like a pretty stress-free deal to me.

Greater Productivity

Less stress and an increase in productivity go hand in hand, tying into your overall happiness. In fact, 65% of workers say they feel more productive when working from home. Despite the distractions at home not found in the office, your productivity is boosted when you’re less stressed and better able to focus on each task at hand.

Cost Effective

Did you know that people who work exclusively from home earn more than those with traditional office jobs? According to Global Workplace Analytics, over 75% of work-from-home employees earn more than $65,000 per year. And get this: you could save $2,000 to $7,000 per year in commuting costs and gas. Plus, you’ll save on daycare expenses while receiving home-office tax breaks.

Job Freedom/Flexibility

Of course, you need to have a structured schedule outlined for each day to be successful. But work-from-homers really have the ultimate flexibility when it comes to their jobs. No alarms needed and no dress requirements. Just wake up, turn on the computer and go. Get hungry? Go ahead and stop for a couple of hours. Have more free time at night than during the day? That’s fine, you don’t have a set schedule. Work when you find the time. You make your own rules; your success depends on the effort you put into your job.

Travel While Working

One of the greatest benefits of working from home is the ability to work from literally anywhere there’s an internet connection. Want to log a few hours while on vacation in Rome? Not a problem. Want to check on things while on a cruise in the Caribbean? That’s what smartphones are for. You aren’t tied down to any one location when you work from home.

Environmentally Friendly

Burning one gallon of gas emits twenty pounds of carbon dioxide into the air. Think about how many gallons of gas you burn each day to and from work. Imagine the amounts of carbon dioxide you are emitting into the air, one of the largest contributors to global warming. Having no commute to work each day isn’t only good for you, but helps reduce your carbon footprint, too.

Technology Trends

Are you one of those people that like to hop on the latest trends? Well, this one is for you then. In recent years, the number of remote job listings has increased, in addition to the amount of home-based employees. Even 83% of HR professionals agree telecommuting will be more prevalent in the next five years. And why not? With the invention of smartphones, tablets and laptops, in addition to mobile hotspots, you’re no longer limited to a cubicle. Young workers view working from home as normal. It’s so popular in fact, companies are even adapting by developing flexible work policies for he workplace to keep up with greater demand for flexibility.

Increase in Overall Happiness

It makes sense – less stress, greater daily productivity, decreased personal costs, flexibility and greater job freedom all add up to increase your overall happiness when working from home. This work-from-home trend increased in popularity since the turn of the century for a reason – people are loving it. 79% of workers want to work from home at least part of the time. Most people are even willing to sacrifice something to get the chance.

Working from home may not be for everyone, and that’s okay. But if you’re constantly finding yourself wondering if there’s more to life than the standard 9 to 5 job, then we should talk.