People seem to have the idea that being a self-employed, stay at home worker is nothing but fun, but the reality isn’t always like that. While there are, of course, plenty of benefits – including greater flexibility, no commute, and the ability to work in your pyjamas – there are a lot of hidden downsides, too. Workers can feel isolated, find making new friends difficult, and have a sense that they’re not pushing themselves to live life to the full. If you think you might soon want to leave your employment circumstances, then take a read below. We’ll go through a number of actions that’ll put you on the path to a happier working life, whether that’s at home or anywhere else.
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Taking a Break
Everyone can get overwhelmed by their job from time to time. If you work in an office, it’s easy to take a step back and get some perspective: all you need to do is clock out, return home, and have a relaxed evening with the family. If you work from home, it gets more difficult. If you can feel your happiness levels decreasing, then schedule some time away from work and give yourself the space you need to think clearly. You might be ready to move on to other things, or you might just need to recharge the batteries for a while.
Temporary Work
Of course, not every stay at home worker can take an extended break from their job. There are bills to be paid, after all. If that’s the case, then take a look at finding temporary work before you figure out what you’re going to do next. There are a number of benefits to temporary employment when you’re in between phases of your life. For one, it’ll ensure that you’re not getting yourself into financial distress while you’re coming up with a long term plan. For two, it’ll give you an opportunity to experiment with a few different job roles, which might help you decide what you want to do next.
Using Your Skills
Stay at home workers often incorrectly believe that they have fewer skills than they usually do. If you’ve been self-employed, then it doesn’t matter what your job was: alongside your primary skills, you can also add things like organisation, accounting, timekeeping, and good old hard work. All of these skills are in high demand, so don’t forget them to add to your resume when you’re building up to applying to more traditional jobs.
Plan Your Escape
If you’ve decided that you want to have a complete career change, then you might have to plan your escape more carefully. For starters, you’ll want to take a look at what careers will still be around in the coming decades, because many will be lost due to artificial intelligence. Most positions in the healthcare industry, for example, should be safe. While you probably won’t want to become a doctor, you can look at other positions within the industry; health care manager jobs, for instance, are due to grow by nearly twenty percent in the coming decade. You can start your journey toward this career by completing a healthcare administration degree online, which will enable you to train for your new job around your current employment obligations. No matter how long you’ve been doing your present job, it’s never too late to change how you spend your days!
Assessing Your Growth
There are two types of stay at home jobs: the ones that are going places, and the ones that aren’t. If you’re not enjoying your job and you don’t think it’s taking you to where you eventually want to be, then all the signs will point to finding a new way to make your living. However, be careful when giving the jobs that might take you somewhere. Even if you’re not enjoying what you’re doing at the moment, in a few months or a year, it might have taken you to a place that you really enjoy. It’s all about assessing your growth, and making the call whether it’s worthwhile sticking out the bad times as you wait for the good ones to come.
Part-Time Home
It’s also worth thinking about which aspects of working from home you don’t like. Is it the job itself, or is it that you’re cooped up inside all day? Feelings of isolation can come on pretty strongly if you’re spending all your time at home, but there are other options available. If you live near a big city, check out if there are any co-working offices there. You’ll still have all the flexibility of being self-employed, but you’ll also be able to have the benefits of a structured work day, with office colleagues thrown in to boot. If you don’t have any co-working spaces located near to your home, then you can always start one. Sites like meetup.com will help you create your own community of at home workers.
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Other Benefits
There’s no getting around that being self-employed and working from home is an uphill battle. Financial security ‘s hard to come by, and you have to live with the reality that if you fall ill, then your entire business could fall apart. If it’s these stresses that are taking the edge off your job, look at getting things like business insurance, or putting away a portion of your wages each month so you can build up a nest egg to use if something goes wrong.
Look at Volunteer Work
People who work from home do work hard, but they also have more flexibility when it comes to when they work. If you fundamentally enjoy your job but don’t like how much time you spend inside/looking at a screen, mix up your working day by volunteering with an organisation you feel passionate about. It’ll keep your days varied and exciting, and will also be a boost to your resume in case you decide to change careers later on.
Remember: just because you enjoy the benefits of working from home doesn’t mean you’re stuck doing it forever.