So you started working from home and never want to go back into the office? Have you found that you don’t miss the commute, the strict schedule or all of the distractions of an office? Well if you want to make the transition to working from home a permanent part of your life I can let you in on a little secret. Some of us have been working from home for years. Why would we do that? Because I, and all of the other employees here at Jonajo, work for a nearshoring company. This means that we work from home every day. It has a lot of other benefits too.
What is nearshoring?
Nearshoring is simply just a subtype of outsourcing. Specifically, it is when a company utilizes another company within the same geographic area to complete a task, (deeper definition and examples provided here). Jonajo is actually a perfect example of nearshoring. We are a United States based company but many of our employees telecommute from Mexico. If you want to learn more about nearshoring check out this article that I wrote about its pros and cons.
Tell me about the benefits
Convenient
No crazy meeting times
Have you ever had to schedule a meeting for 11pm? How about getting up at 6am for one? Sometimes those are the only possible times that both you and the person that you are trying to meet with are awake at the same time. Trying to coordinate schedules with someone across the globe can be a nightmare and can leave companies doing asynchronous work with very little communication. Luckily, when you work for a nearshoring company the biggest time difference that you have to worry about is a few hours. It is inherent in nearshoring all the people working for the company work and live in similar time zones. This means no crazy meeting times and only having to work a regular schedule.
Few Cultural Differences
Another benefit of working at a nearshoring company is that there are fewer cultural differences to be concerned with. For instance, even though our company is located in two different countries we rarely (if ever) have any issues with scheduling around holidays. Moreover, we all speak the same language which makes it much easier to communicate.
No Commute
One of the best parts of working for a nearshoring company is how convenient it is. Working from home means that I don’t have to worry about commuting. None of my time is spent stuck in traffic or riding on public transit. Instead I can work from the comfort of my desk at home. There have been days where my partner has literally handed me a cup of coffee and my laptop and boom I was at work. I am no longer losing all of the time that I used to, back when I had a long commute to work everyday. This means that I get to spend more time doing things that are important to me. I now spend more time with my family, with my hobbies, volunteering, and taking care of myself than I did before I switched to working from home.
Good for the Planet
Speaking of no commute: Did you know that each car averages about 4.6 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year? Staying home and working from my home office means that I am not contributing to that mess. I also tend to make myself more home cooked meals. This means that I am spending less money on take-out and creating less waste. Not to mention the plants that I have growing in the backyard (and have enough time to water now) that both produce healthy food and help with carbon sequestration.
Flexible
Last, but certainly not least, working for a nearshoring company gives me flexibility. There was no need for me to relocate when I was hired, leaving me free to choose wherever I want to live. By the way I have moved 3 times since starting this job and done work from at least 5 different states. As long as I have internet connection and get my tasks done it doesn’t matter if I am visiting family or friends in another state.
That speaks to another area of flexibility. I get to set my own schedule. Working from home for a task driven nearshoring company means that I can create a work schedule that is the most convenient for me. If I want to work 9-5 every day I am more than welcome. But, if my dog needs to take an emergency trip to the vet I can zip off and do that and complete my task later in the day. That my friends is the sweet taste of freedom.
Why doesn’t everyone do it?
You might be wondering, if this is so great why doesn’t everyone do it? Well, there are a few drawbacks. If you have been working from home for the last year you might have noticed that the lines between work and your personal life may start to blur. If you can work anytime then what is stopping you from working all of the time? The truth is nothing but your own self control. If you are going to work from home you definitely need to be able to set clear boundaries for yourself.
It can also get a little lonely. Sure, I have meetings and calls with my fellow employees but there really is less human interaction than if you were going into an office. Maybe less human interaction is enticing for you. However, if you are an extrovert that needs that social interaction then transitioning to working from home might be difficult for you. If you are interested I have a few more tips on how to stay productive and sane when you work from home.
All I can say is that working for a nearshoring company has been great for me and it might be something that fits your lifestyle too.
