When Work From Home No Longer Works

The useful part

You may be a self-employed sole trader, or running your own small business with a couple of staff members. Both situations could have started successfully at home and served you well up to now. There comes a time, however, when things aren't quite working as they should and you start weighing up your options and eyeing solutions to rising problems.

How it works

• Space Constrictions As your business grows or your team expands, home working becomes more challenging.
• You wonder about renting an office and start imagining how much better life could be.
• Work/Life Balance At first you celebrated the ultra-short commute between bedroom and workspace which you could make in your pyjamas if you fancied.
• Once the novelty wore off, you realised you missed the end-of-shift tension release and the dividing line between work and home.
• In effect, it can feel like you're always at work, and you may even start feeling a bit guilty about watching TV when there are emails to send or social media to attend to.

What to take from it

Business and family life are suddenly no longer compatible when both are trying to exist in the same limited space. There's just not enough space on the dining room table or in the corner of your bedroom. Or maybe your family is expanding and you need the spare room for a nursery or an older child's private bedroom.