A good friend of mine, Glen Gallarde, has been debating whether or not to work from home. He's currently working as a Revenue Assurance Analyst that pays well. But lately, he's been getting tired of being stuck in his job.

To help him with his decision, he made a pro and cons list of working from home (as a freelancer). I asked him to send me his list and thankfully, he did.

Let's go over the different pros and cons

Pros

• No everyday commute to office
• Big potential for higher pay
• More free time
• Freedom to choose what you love to do for work
• you can go to work dressing any way you like or pajamas everyday

Cons

• You have to pay your own dues like SSS, Pag-ibig, insurance
• Takes amount of self-discipline (be accountable to self)
• You don't get to personally meet everyone on the team

I'll provide my personal opinion on these on by one.

Pros of Working from Home

No everyday commute to office - I love this one. Especially with the traffic in our major Philippine cities. When I worked in Makati, I had to travel 2.5 hours one way just to get to work. Now, I have to travel 30 seconds from my bed to my computer.

Big potential for higher pay - As a call center agent, I started at P10,000. As a Virtual Assistant, I started at P25,000. Enough said.

More free time - This is more flexibility of time. If I want to earn a lot of money, I could work 12 hours a day. But I can work 4 hours a day and still live a comfortable life.

Freedom to choose what you love to do for work - This is more important to me than the money. I'd rather get paid P40,000 and be happy with my work than earn P60,000 and hate my job. But with freelancing, I can both do what I love, AND make a lot of money.

You can go to work dressing any way you like or pajamas everyday - Some freelancers actually 'dress-up' even though they work from home. Dressing up helps get them in 'work-mode'. Me, I'm more of a shorts, t-shirt, and sandals kind of guy .

Cons of Working from Home

You have to pay your own dues - this is a hassle. Especially that our systems in the Philippines are very old and archaic. It makes me not want to pay them even though I should.

Takes amount of self-discipline (be accountable to self) - I like being accountable for my work. If I do a bad job, it affects my reputation and my future pay. If I do a good job, I can earn more in the future. But if you have the tendency to watch TV or play video games instead of working, you better train yourself to be disciplined before trying to freelance.

You don't get to personally meet everyone on the team - This would matter to you if you were an extrovert. What I do is find other social circles aside from work. I'm active in church and also part of a boardgame club (nerd!). It's important to be around other people, so if you can't do so with work, you have to find other ways

If you're debating whether or not to quit your job and work from home, you can also do what Glenn did and make a list. It can help you organize your thoughts and make a wise decision.

Do you have a pro/con list? Please share what the pros/cons you're debating on are in the comments below!