The one good thing that came out of COVID was the realization that a few of us are able to work from home. “Hybrid working” is now all the rage and it’s become the norm to work a few days in the office and a few days from home. This has led many to pursue jobs that are fully remote. But which is better? Working in office or working from home? This post will dig into the pros and cons. 

For the first time in years, employees are in control. We have the ability to decide who we want to work with and how. And that is one important decision that we all need to make – should we work remotely or in the office?

As someone who started the pandemic as a receptionist and shifted to a hybrid position, I see the pros and cons of both decisions. Especially after seeing how they have affected me, my colleagues, and the business I work for.

After reading this post you’ll see the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. In fact, it’s all about perspective and what matters most to you.

This post is all about working in office and the pros and cons that come with this lifestyle.

Pros of Working in Office

1) Coworker support is readily available

We all have those days or moments where we don’t feel our best. Where you’ve made a mistake or something in your personal life is bothering you.

When you have a coworker you can turn to, you realize you’re not alone and you marinate in that support. In an office, you can see exactly what you’re coworkers are doing and decide whether you’re able to interrupt them. When you try doing this via email you’re lucky if you get any response.

2) Easier to stop and unplug/ time to decompress

Going to work and coming home from work is not only necessary to commuters but also acts as beautiful bookends to your day.

Sometimes you need to meditate or pump up your energy before arriving at work. Or sometimes you’ve had an extra difficult day and find grace in that commute time so you’re able to show up for your family as your best self.

Either way, it’s a great way to separate your personal and work lives.

3) Opportunities outside of your immediate sphere become available

When you live the same monotonous schedule every day and see the same people every day, there’s a small possibility something will change.

However, if you work for a large company or one that is a client facing you have the opportunity to meet someone new every day. And you never know where your next acquaintance could lead you. This is practically impossible if you’re working fully remotely.

4) Nice to dress up and go out

Yes, it’s nice to just show up for work and not have to be concerned about your looks or appearance. However, it’s also nice to dress in a way that leaves you feeling empowered as opposed to sloppy and tired.

When you dress up for work, you decide how you want people to identify you and dress up for the role you want. There’s power in branding.

5) You can measure yourself against your coworkers

Comparing yourself is not always the worst thing. In a work environment, you need to know where you stand.

Seeing how others work lets you know who take breaks, who comes in first and leaves last, what people are getting away with, whose work style complements yours, and who you want to be like. It’s not always good to work in a silo. When you’re with your team in person, you’ll have a better idea of when you should jump in and when you should jump out of projects.

6) You know more about the politics of what’s happening 

Let’s be honest every company has some form of politics and bureaucracy. Now I’m not advocating participating in this kind of behavior, but you have to be aware of how things work.

When you don’t fit the dimensions of what your manager likes, you may never find yourself in a position of opportunity. Working in an office and seeing this behavior firsthand, lets you know if you’re in the right place. Because if you’re not, you should look for another job.

7) Life is more interesting

You have to admit that every time you leave your home there’s the possibility that you can meet someone new, see something different, hear something inspiring, and ultimately have a new experience.

Going into an office every day may seem monotonous to the outsider but it’s not at all. There are so many things out of your control that happens all around you. And if you’re game you can just grab some popcorn and take a seat.

Cons of Working in Office

1) You lose time commuting

Commuting is not fun and it steals your time every day. Need I say more?

Sure you can read or write or listen to something but it’s not the most comfortable thing to do when you’re either heading to work super tired or exhausted after work.

2) Offices are noisy

Most people work in cubicles or in open spaces. Whatever the desk set up, one thing is for sure, everyone will need to make calls. It can be very difficult to listen to yourself think when everyone around you is engaged in different conversations.

You’ll either find yourself highly distracted or upset that you can’t get your work done.

3) Hard to pull away from talkative coworkers

What happens when you’re near a friend? You want to talk to them. You want to share everything that you’re thinking about and spend some time with them.

Sure this is a beautiful thing, but again it can be very difficult to finish a task. Something that would take you ten minutes to do at home could take thirty minutes in an office.

4) Dealing with weather 

The great outdoors is incredibly lovely. Most of the time.

When it’s snowing, raining or it’s just plain cold, it becomes very difficult to go outside. This also leads to the possibility of getting sick and who wants that? Also, it’s not like the weather channel is completely accurate, so you can only prepare so much for what you might run into on your way to and from work.

5) Need to prepare lunch ahead of time or buy it near your office

A typical workday consists of eight hours and during that time you have to eat. In preparation for this daily occurrence, you either have to give up time or money to care for yourself.

Are you someone who is interested in meal prepping? You can save a ton of money doing this. Usually eating out costs a lot but then you give up time. The time it takes to prepare the food. Also, it can get boring eating the same thing every day.

Are you someone who is interested in buying lunch? This is way more interesting but a whole lot more money. Whatever the choice, there are cons.

6) Lack of privacy – screens and phone calls 

When you work in a communal space it’s obvious you’re not alone. That’s not a problem.

However, we all have eyes and ears and people are due to see what’s on your computer screens and hear what you say on your calls. You don’t have any privacy.

7) Multitask while at home

If you work in an office you can not multitask. We all have to take time every week to do some adulting. That could include laundry, cleaning, baking, or any other domestic activity.

When you work from home you can quickly start or dabble in some form of adulting work while on the job.

Overall Working in Office

1) Career advancement is more readily available in an office setting

If you’re not seen, you’re not known. It’s harder for people to ignore you or bypass your work ethic if you’re front and center. Take the stage at work and show your boss and colleagues your value. This could easily lead to better opportunities.

Ones that would have never been available to you if you weren’t seen. This is something that’s incredibly difficult to do if you’re working remotely.

2) You learn about other teams and work environments

Sometimes you don’t feel right at work. It’s not the company or the people but the task itself.

When you’re exposed to different teams or roles you’ll start gaining an understanding of what others do. The beautiful thing about this is you may find a job that is perfect for you. This is not something that is available to you if you never run into people outside of your team in a casual environment.

3) You have a better perspective 

It’s so easy to live in your head and have the same repeating thoughts every day. When you listen to what others think and why they think it, you gain a level of awareness of different situations. Eventually, this will lead you to gain a perspective that has a wider horizon. One that is full of diverse ideas and inclusive in nature.

This post was all about working in office, the pros, the cons, and the overall items you should consider when picking a job.