Working from home or a coworking desk: an honest comparison

Working from home is not a problem to be solved. For many people it works well. For others it slowly stops working, and they do not notice until the days start to blur. This is a fair comparison, including the cases where staying home is the right answer.

Where home wins

• It costs nothing extra.
• There is no commute, not even a short one.
• You control everything: the chair, the temperature, the lunch.
• It suits deep, solitary work when the house is quiet.

Where home falls short

• Power cuts and a single internet line. One outage can cost you a client call.
• Interruptions. Family, deliveries and the doorbell do not follow your calendar.
• No line between work and the rest of the day. Work spreads into the evening.
• Nowhere to meet a client.
• Isolation. Weeks can pass without a conversation with another working adult.

What a coworking desk gives you

A desk outside the house gives you a start and an end to the day. You get a second internet line and power backup that you did not have to arrange, a room you can book when a client visits, and other people working around you. At Offilounnge a hot desk is ₹6,000 a month, with those things included.

A simple way to decide

Ask yourself four questions about the last month.

• Did a power cut or an internet outage cost me work?
• Did I take an important call from a place where I could be overheard or interrupted?
• Did I work later than I meant to on most days?
• Did I turn down or move a meeting because I had nowhere to hold it?

If you answered yes to two or more, a desk will probably pay for itself. If you answered no to all four, stay home and enjoy it.

You do not have to choose one

Plenty of people do both. Work from home most days and take a day pass when you need a proper desk, or keep a monthly desk and stay home on Fridays. Try a day before you commit to a month.