Working from home is a dream for a lot of people. The benefits of having no boss, no commute and setting your own hours is enough for anyone to think that working at home is without it's worries. Most home business owners, however, have to face the reality of dealing with loneliness. Taking a few steps in your daily life can help you prevent the problems associated with work at home loneliness.
Working outside the home is very social. When you worked for a company, you probably had work friends. Even if you didn't hang out with people on a casual basis, there were those at work that you socialized with. This social interaction was more important than you may have realized. When you start to work at home, you begin to realize that it's a very isolated and some what lonely life.
The lack of interpersonal interaction can effect you more than you realize. Some of the side effects could be irritability, lethargy and mild depressions. Feeling lonely when you work at home is not uncommon, but you can take steps to minimize it. Your feelings can come from doing work with little interpersonal contact, or it could happen because you don't have co-workers around to help you relieve stress through social interaction.
You need to take steps to prevent work at home loneliness because it can play havoc on your personal life as well as your business life. If you are depressed, you won't be working at full capacity. You are more likely to mess up on projects, miss opportunities and come across as irritable and stressed out.
In order to reduce your loneliness, you can force yourself to get out of the hours and socialize with people. It's natural to become more introverted when you work at home. But if you want to stay positive and upbeat, you need to get out of that routine. Make time to spend with others who share interests with you. Try finding social groups that will allow you an opportunity to interact with people away from the office. For example, if you're a parent you can take time to meet with other parents for playdates.
If you don't have children, or just want to spend some time without them, you can do some community service, focus on a favorite hobby or join some type of group. You could take a class at a local college, or through an adult education program. Whatever you can do to get out of the house and meet new people will help you feel more energized and upbeat.
Participating in local networking events will allow you to connect with new business contacts and be social at the same time. Look for business mixers sponsored by your local chamber of comerce, or leads clubs. This way you'll be participating in a social event, but also growing your business at the same time. This is a good solution if you feel like there is no way that you can take time away from your work to be social.
If you can't get out of the house for some reason, there are other outlets for social interaction that will help you reduce loneliness and stave off depression. Although it's always a good idea to get off the computer and away from the house, you can find websites with work at home business owners. On the websites you can connect, interact and be able to have a social outlet with people who know what you are going through. You can also find forums and websites that are dedicated to your hobbies and interests. These allow you to connect with people who love the same things that you do.
The most important thing to do is to make an effort to get out of the house and interact with people. It's very easy to become isolated and reclusive when you work from home. Make sure to make time to see people in person and connect with others on a day to day basis, whether it's on the phone or on a forum. Stay in contact with others, take time off of your work schedule to socialize and you'll be able to work more efficiently and stay a happy home business owner.
GSK.
