Many people now are becoming interested in working from home. Reasons for working online may vary from person to person. Maybe they are sick and tired and can't get along with their bosses or they’re having a bad day commuting because of the heavy traffic. These are just some of the many possible reasons why they want to have a job without leaving their homes.
If there are benefits of working from home, of course there are also some disadvantages. So before you decide to leave your job and be a full-time freelancer, consider the following disadvantages and evaluate yourself if you can go with this kind of situation.
Disadvantages of Working from Home
No holiday pay.
If you are working online, you are considered as an independent or freelance contractor. You are not directly employed with them so you can’t be called an employee and the person or company you worked for is not your employer but rather a client. This client-contractor relationship is business in nature and there’s no way they would give a holiday pay. Christmas bonus and performance bonus is possible if you find good clients.
No sickness and maternity benefits.
Similarly, since you’re not an employee and you’re only a contractor, you are not entitled to sickness benefits when you fall ill and to maternity benefits when you got pregnant. You can apply for your own health card though.
You have to pay your own SSS.
When you’re employed in a local office, only partial amount is deducted to your salary to cover your SSS and the other percentage is paid by the company. But when you’re working from home, you have to pay the full amount for the SSS contribution as a voluntary member. Though it is only optional, it’s better to pay your SSS contribution because you can get many benefits from it.
Noise distractions.
These could be anything like barking dogs, baby crying, children playing, and many more that could lead to disruption of your work flow especially when your job is taking calls.
Isolation (no colleagues).
Working in a real office is fun because you have so many colleagues. You can talk to each other and discuss some work-related matters. But if you work from home, you will feel like you’re isolated. Some people may dislike this kind of isolation and crave the interaction they had with their co-workers.
Power outages and internet interruption.
Since online job is dependable on electricity and internet connection, you cannot work if there are power outages and internet interruptions. It usually happens when there is a typhoon and we have no control over it. No electricity and no internet connection means no work and therefore no pay.
No social life.
For those people who are socially active (always hanging out with friends, going to a disco and bar), you will surely hate this “no social life” when you start working from home. Well, it depends on your projects and work status. Some people still find time to hang out even they're working from home. In my situation that I have many clients, I barely go out of our house and I have no social life at all.
Impermanent contracts.
Most of the jobs online are short-term basis only. So when you’re done on a certain project and the client has no task to give you, the contract will be ended. When this happens, you need to apply for other jobs again and again. The best thing to do is to strive harder to find a full-time, long-term clients, and ongoing job that can sustain a living. It’s not easy to find an online job, so just be patient and always give your best.
These are just some of the disadvantages of working from home. Try to reflect on yourself if you can take those disadvantages before leaving your current full-time job. Think carefully before you fully commit yourself to working from home. If you’re lucky, the financial rewards can be high and you may find a client with full-time and ongoing work for you.