Should You Work from Home After You Graduate?

By Sarah Dixon

Having grown up with smartphones and free wi-fi, it’s no surprise so many of us find the idea of being tied to a desk in our jobs unnecessary. Why sit in a cubicle all day when you could be a digital nomad, working and exploring the world at the same time?

However, wanting to work from home and being able to do it are two different things. Currently, just half of jobs are suitable for working from home and only 25 percent of US workers get to telecommute part-time.

It isn’t just the role that may not be suitable, though. Working from home has many benefits but, like most things in life, it doesn’t suit everyone. Here are some of the downsides you should be aware of.

Although some people would have you think you can either be an introvert or an extrovert, with no options in between, the truth is it’s more of a spectrum. Some of us are highly introverted and working from home is nirvana. Others need the company of others like the rest of us need air. Most people are somewhere in the middle.

If you’re towards the introvert end of the spectrum, then social interaction via something like Slack and the occasional video call is probably going to be enough for you. However, if you crave interpersonal contact, then working from home probably isn’t for you.

There are alternatives, of course. Coffee shops, libraries, poolside bars (or to be more realistic, co-working spaces) are all ways to work remotely and still be surrounded by people but these environments usually come with some downsides which we’ll talk more about later.

When you work from home, you don’t have a colleague in the next cubicle eating a tuna sandwich that makes your stomach turn, but you also don’t have someone you can quickly check a fact with. Remote workers need to be more self-reliant, and they need to know when to call for help.