From what I can tell, there seems to be two things people today want: freedom from the 9-5 lifestyle, and for Netflix to stop asking us if we’re still watching. (We get it, Netflix, we’ve been here a while.)
About a year ago, I (somewhat accidentally) achieved the former—becoming “self-employed” and officially my own boss.
I say “somewhat accidentally" because self-employment wasn’t necessarily my goal. I actually enjoyed my former position as a law firm employee in Washington, DC, and didn’t mind reporting to a higher-up.
However, moving to Florida last summer to be with my fiancé (Derrick) didn’t come with the option of staying an employee. So about a year ago, I replaced the associate whose office was across from mine with my new coworker, my hedgehog Penelope.
Although the work I do from home as a consultant is essentially the same as the work I did as an employee, my new job title did come with a lot of changes: I’m no longer salaried (instead, I submit an invoice every two weeks and get paid per hour I bill), I don’t receive any sort of benefits, I set my own hours, and can work from wherever and as much as I choose.
And while some of these perks are definitely all they’re cracked up to be, my year of self-employment has opened my eyes to some of the drawbacks to self-employment and working from home—drawbacks I honestly hadn’t even considered before I packed up my DC office.
So if you’re thinking of ditching your 9-5 to become your own boss, take it from me: there are some major advantages of the 9-5 life that you don’t realize you loved until they’re gone.
And to prove my point, here are my top four.
The freedom of 9-5
One thing hopeful entrepreneurs think they’ll gain from being their own boss is freedom. After all, without a boss, there’s no one telling you that you can’t take your work to the beaches of Jamaica.
But with self-employment, your income is generally a direct result of how much you work. So when you choose to skip work to get your tan on, you’re also choosing to skip getting paid for that day.
For some, this isn’t a problem—they’ve budgeted their money so that a day or two (or ten) with little or no income won’t do much damage. But a lot of people overlook the kind of freedom 9-5 careers provide, like the freedom to spend two weeks of paid vacation at the beach and still come back with a new paycheck in the bank.
The HR presentation on health insurance and retirement plans
Remember that hour long HR presentation you slept through, waking up just in time to tell Wanda from HR which health insurance plan you’d like? Or the 401(k) packet you received, along with the details on your employer’s investment matching policy?
Well, leaving behind your 9-5 employer also means leaving Wanda behind.
Don’t get me wrong: It’s entirely possible to understand and choose health insurance and retirement plans on your own. But if you’re anything like me, trying to decode retirement account and insurance policy jargon is a lot like trying to talk to anyone under 18. (I can’t be the only one who just figured out what "TFW" means, right? RIGHT!?)
In other words, being your own boss often also means being your own HR representative, a job for which not all of us are prepared.
My morning commute
I miss taking the DC metro to work—I must be nuts, right? But hear me out:
When I had a morning commute, it meant my office was at least four metro stops away from my home. Yes, it meant I had to put on pants to get there, but it also meant that if a client in Japan emailed me at 8PM, I probably wouldn't get it until the next morning.
When you work at home, however, your work is... well, it's at your home. And when your work is at home, it's incredibly easy to say, "Oh, I'll just answer this one email," before disappearing into your office for half the night.
In other words, my morning commute made it easier to separate my work and my home, which made the line between work and life a lot more clear. When you're self-employed and work at home, however, that line becomes a lot more blurry.
And a blurry line can easily throw off your work/life balance if you're not careful.
Human interaction
This is, perhaps, the biggest drawback of working at home: unless you've made some extremely unconventional lifestyle choices, you likely don't share your home with a diverse community of people.
I'm an introvert and I like my personal space, but even I have to admit that the energy and collaboration that comes with working around other people is a major asset. (Seriously! It's science.)
And I'm not only talking about benefits for your career (such as more opportunities to network); working alone all day, every day can become incredibly isolating, which can take a toll on your happiness. Of course, it's completely possible to surround yourself with people outside of work, but the hard truth is that sometimes, you really can use that 30 minute lunchtime chat with your coworker (even if the lunchroom does sort of smell like tuna).
tl;dr - The drawbacks of self-employment and working from home
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Like any situation, there are both pros and cons to self-employment and working from home. It's important to remember that while I've listed (what I consider) the biggest drawbacks here, my situation also comes with many perks that balance things out.
In other words, don't read this list and decide working from home is the route to isolated misery. It's not. Instead, keep these things in mind when comparing the pros and cons of your unique situation. You're the one who knows your life best, after all.
Do you work at home? What are the pros and/or cons of your situation?
