I Prefer the Office

I read an interesting article this week about someone who left the 9-to-5 routine to work for herself as a freelance writer, mostly because she hated working in an office. I immediately zapped it off to a blog-writing friend who had recently gone down the same path. He’s doing well and enjoying himself, and feels it was the right decision after several years of working at a daily newspaper.

Hearing these stories made me think about my own work-from-home gig a few years ago. There are many pros and cons to such a situation. I hated it. Let me tell you why.

For one thing, like every job I’ve ever had, this one was very deadline-intensive. I tend to put in superhuman effort to meet deadlines and do it well, so thinking about what was due would wake me up at 2 a.m. -- with my office down the end of the hall and all. At times when I was really against a tight deadline, I’d even get up and work. And that’s not all. My husband would often call me for dinner (I’m lucky enough to have one who cooks) to find me working away into the night. And I frequently wouldn’t take lunch until 4 p.m., because without the often-welcome distraction of the office klatch, I’d become so wrapped up in my work that I’d honestly forget to eat. Breaks are important during the day, but without someone bugging you to take one, how many of us would?

I had to quit for my own sanity. It was all a job’s bad points without the things that make work life bearable. I need people around me while I work. I’ve got to physically leave my home and go somewhere different to create the psychological barrier between work and my personal life. While the article that started this walk down memory lane makes many good points about the drawbacks of working in an office, I still prefer it to the burnout and feelings of work/life imbalance I felt working at home. Every now and again, if the New England winter makes it a slippery slope to try to come in or I need a car repair, I will work at home, but I wouldn’t want to make it a habit.

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