The Downsides To Working From Home When You’re An Introvert

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When you’re an introvert, working from home sounds like a dream come true. You don’t have to interact with people. You don’t have to spend hours on your hair and makeup in the mornings. You don’t have to worry about your boss watching you type over your shoulder or making small talk with your coworkers. On some days, you don’t even have to leave your bed. All you have to do is grab your laptop and you can have a productive day inside the comfort of your own home.

However, working from home isn’t always the best idea for an introvert. Sometimes, it can cause you more harm than good. Sometimes, it can result in a strain on your mental health.

When you work from home, you don’t get as much social interaction as you would if you were working in an office or retail environment. That might sound good to you right now, but if you’re not the type to go out partying with friends on the weekends or to visit family after work hours, then there might be weeks where you barely have any human interaction. There might be months when the only time you leave your house is to buy groceries or visit doctors.

Sure, you still have to communicate with other people at your job, but it’s mainly over apps and email which creates a disconnect. You might end up lonely because you’re spending the majority of your time on your own. You might end up feeling suffocated because you spend every single day in the same exact place.

When you work from home, it’s easy to blur the lines between work time and play time. It’s easy to overwork yourself. It’s easy to continue putting hours into a project when you’re supposed to be unwinding from your day and putting your mind on other things. It’s easy to forget that your home life and your work life are supposed to be two separate things. You’re not always supposed to be on the clock. You’re supposed to give yourself some downtime too. You’re supposed to carve out breaks for yourself.

When you work from home, it’s easy to get lazy when it comes to aspects outside of your career. Since you’re not going to see anyone in person, you might stay in your pajamas on certain days or skip showers or neglect to take care of yourself. It’s not like anyone will know if you’re answering emails in your robe or if you’re taking their phone call from your couch, so what’s the difference? You’re the only person who knows what’s really going on, and if you don’t care enough about yourself to take care of yourself for yourself, that’s going to become a problem.

When you work from home, you might feel more comfortable, but you might accidentally isolate yourself in the process. You might spend too much time inside your own home, with your own thoughts, doing your own thing. You might end up wondering whether you would be better off around more people.