Arkadin Employee Story: Working From Home

I had never been a fan of the idea of working from home, until I tried it…

Since I have been employed at Arkadin Collaboration Services I have always had the option to work from home, however, until very recently, it has never really appealed to me.

I think one of the main reasons why it never appealed is that I consider myself a people person. I love spending time with my colleagues, I enjoy the atmosphere of the office and all that it entails – the daily greetings, the face-to-face interactions, those chance encounters that give you that breakthrough idea; in short, the general office environment.

After four years of travelling into work, two hours there, two hours back I thought, ‘why not give working from home a go?’

I embarked on a trial period of working from home and, do you know what? It changed my life.

How so?

Well, first the financial benefits are brilliant.

The saving on parking and my annual travel pass amounted to over £5000 a year alone! Then I started taking other factors into consideration, such as petrol, wear and tear of the car or those expensive lunches I sometimes (often) indulged in and the savings became even more considerable – enough to buy a brand new car or unwind on that indulgent holiday I have always wanted.

Secondly, and perhaps more surprisingly it made a huge difference to my health and wellbeing! Without the strain and tiredness that comes with a four hour daily commute I found that I was able to attend the gym more often and more time to cook and eat healthier. No more resorting to microwave meals or greasy takeaways out of pure exhaustion for me! In fact, I now prepare all my own meals from scratch and I have been preparing my lunches the evening before.

The change in diet and new fitness regime working from home enabled has made a staggering difference…I lost nearly a stone in weight!

There are other benefits that I have noticed to working from home…my house is tidier and my dry cleaning bill has been considerably cut. This is because in an evening I am not preparing my bag for work the next morning but instead I am tidying my house ready for work the next day and the formal suits I used to wear into the office get to have a break in my wardrobe, whilst I wear out my jeans.

The most significant change is that since starting working from home I am more motivated and less stressed. I have gained an hour and half of extra sleep each night, I am fresh when logging on at 8.30 am – overall I feel calmer and less distracted and productivity and efficiency levels have risen dramatically.

It has truly been life changing, for the better.

My top 5 tips for working from home

Get out at lunch time – Don’t spend all day cooped up inside, take the opportunity to get some fresh air.

Continue to make a to-do list – Where in the past my list was written every day on the tube or train. My list is prepared the evening before ready for work the next day. It’s very easy to fall out of those office habits.

Make an effort to go into work – Although I work from home, I make an effort to go into work twice a week to see the team and experience some team interaction.

Listen to the radio – Not everyone can work with background noise however I listen to spoken-word programmes during work hours to help with the solitude of working from home.

Discipline yourself – make sure you follow working hours and don’t work later that required.

Takeaways

Working from home doesn’t mean missing out on the office environment.
Consider the personal benefits working from home could bring to you, as well as the professional.
Make sure that you remained disciplined – set yourself to-do lists and stick to normal working hours.