Can Working From Home, Work For You?

Being an office worker myself, the idea of working from home has always intrigued me and caused to wonder whether it is something that I may wish to incorporate into my working life.

Accordingly to research carried out by Seareach with 2000 office workers, only 21% are allowed to work from home, with  a further 16% with some restrictions in place.  

Security is obviously a big concern and many employers have cited fairness and productivity as potential reasons why they may not like the idea of staff working outside of the office environment.

Staff jealously of other co-workers having flexible hours and working from home days can also be a factor.  People do tend to wonder whether in fact any work is actually being done or whether their co-worker is just in fact sitting in front of the television, channel hopping with their feet up.

From my point of view, working from home can be greatly benefit and something that I do from time to time when I have projects on the go that require concentration and little distraction.  Other staff members calling into your office, the telephone ringing and other smaller projects being brought in for your attention can all cause a huge intrusion and cause you extra time.

Whenever I have a project that will involve pages and pages of notes or statement preparing, working from home is perfect for me.  I am able to organise what I need to do and do my work in a quiet, calm environment where I know that I will not get disturbed and as a result, the work gets done faster.

The mental stress that comes with working in an office too is often negated when you know that you have the flexibility in your job to take your own work and work on it there.  

As long as the work is done and in a timely fashion, in the days of Skype, email and the internet, do we really need to go into the office every day any more?

All images from Pixabay.  Collaborative piece.

My Dream Writing Space

Last month I talked about my tips for blogging on the go when you have a busy lifestyle and want to fit your blog into your life without feeling like you are losing all of your free time.

Today I wanted to talk about my dream writing space.  The one that I would create at home for days off, those weekends, those times when you get the urge (and the time) to write all day and want a comfortable area to do so.

First and foremost, what I want is comfort.  The perfect writing day for me does not necessarily start with getting up, getting dressed and sitting down to my laptop.  It can also, and preferably, start with a large cup of coffee in bed, my notebook and a pencil (no pens in bed thank you) and my thoughts as they start to collect.

I carry a notebook around with me most days and like to jot down any ideas for blog posts or writing pieces that come to mind, whether it be for this blog or other spaces.  I note the main idea at the top of a page and then during the week, fill in any additional comments to by way of bullet points.  These short notes are what start my day in bed with my coffee.

When it comes to getting more serious about my day, I move on to my laptop and my tablet.  At the moment I work from our dining room table which is not particularly convenient for me.  I recently came across a gorgeous desk from Lionshome which would fit the bill perfectly and would work with my current decor.

Lionshome

I don't like too much clutter on my work space when I am blogging.  Just my notebook with my ideas in, my tablet for research and of course my laptop.  I don't like to have too many windows open on my laptop as I find it too distracting so that is why I also have my tablet for researching points.  Ah, the 21st century world eh?

Other things on my checklist for the perfect blogging space include lots of natural light and fresh air from an open window and some sort of music on low, either on the other side of the room or the room next door.  Background noise is important but nothing too loud, like heavy metal or drum and bass!

The beauty of running a blog is that most of your tools and equipment can be packed away at the end of the day or at a moment's notice if needed.  Your laptop and tablet etc can be put away in a drawer and your desk space or table space utilized for other purposes.  

I think one of the most important things about your home is that it should work for you, on multiple levels.  This is particularly important if you have a family and have a jam packed filed life but is equally salient if you have a small home and need to use rooms for a variety of purposes.

What is your dream blogging space?

*Post in collaboration with Lionshome

Tax Freedom Day

Did you know that today is Tax Freedom Day?

Tax Freedom Day was a term originally coined in 1948 in the US as being the number of days the average worker would have to work to pay off his/her taxes.  This year, calculated by the Adam Smith Institute in the UK; that day is today, three days later than last year.

HM Revenue & Customs are due to collect £724.9 billion this year which is roughly 34.3% of the national income.  The burden of tax on families in the UK is now the highest in over 20 years.  The last time the tax burden was higher as a proportion of the GDP was when Harold Wilson was in power to give you some perspective (1969/70).

All the public services that we have such as the NHS, welfare and education have to be paid for of course, either by way of taxation, or by borrowing; which in turn imposes further taxing on the next generations.  But is the way we current tax people a fair system?  Are the poor suffering whilst the rich remain unaffected?

As a single, solvent woman with little debt and no children, the taxation system does not affect me adversely.  Indeed, the raise in the tax threshold each year actually benefits me.   I am not rich, I am not poor, but the system benefits me in a similar way that it does not adversely affect the rich.

So why do I care?  Because it is precisely because the changes in tax, tax reforms and cuts in benefits do not affect me that I should.  The Government does not listen to the poor.  If the people who are not affected do not speak up, who will?  Not the rich.  They in large do not care.

Disabled people are committing suicide and dying under the current level of cuts.  The two child limit on benefits is set to push another 250,000 children into poverty by 2020.  The number of people visiting food banks has risen to an all time record with over 1.3 million people receiving emergency food supplies.

Talk Tax is a great service which also provides those hard to reach HMRC contact numbers to get the information that you need, help required and just as importantly, where to raise any issues that you may have.

There are resources, charities and sites set up precisely for the reason of helping people under the current tax and benefit reforms.  It is just a shame that in this day and age, as one of the richest countries in the world, that we need them in the first place.