Coffee Shop Versus Home Working: A Cost-Benefit Analysis
As someone who likes working both from home and from coffee shops, it can be difficult at times to balance the costs and benefits of each different type of working environment. Sometimes the allure of freshly brewed coffee is just too much to resist; at other times, the thought of a two-minute commute seems very appealing.
In this article, I will pit working from home against working in a coffee shop head-to-head and attempt to understand the benefits and costs of working from each location.
So let's sip our mocha and get started.
What is Coffee Shop Working?
Coffee shop working is the art and science of sipping your latte whilst working at your laptop and ensuring that everyone sees you are working on super important things.
Working in a coffee shop is all about getting out of the house to a third space—away from the office or home—and working in a location that has delish drinks and snacks ready to go.
Benefits of Coffee Shop Working
Working in a coffee shop comes with a long list of benefits:
- The barista-made coffee.
- The smell of coffee.
- Tasty snacks.
- Ambient noise helps you to work and focus.
- Psychological benefits of getting out of the house and being around people.
- The chance to strike up conversations with other customers.
- It is a great place to focus on creative tasks and deep work.
- It will get you out of the house.
- Coffee shop working makes a great excuse for not attending team calls.
As we can see, there are a large number of great reasons to work from a coffee shop or café. However, there is also a range of costs that come with working at a coffee shop.
Costs of Coffee Shop Working
Working in a coffee shop is not all lattes and long lunches. It does come with a range of costs—both tangible and intangible.
- Costs money to stay in a coffee shop.
- Tasty snacks are a threat to the waistline (for me, it's the Empire biscuits).
- Caffeine jitters after consuming too much coffee.
- Time commuting to and from the coffee shop is time that could be spent doing work or other things around the house.
- You might have a conversation with strangers.
- Not a place to work on sensitive or people-focused tasks.
- Distractions can be very disturbing and you have very little control over them.
- Coffee shops can be unpredictably busy and leave you unable to find a seat.
- Small talk with coffee shop staff when you might not want it.
- Coffee shops offer great procrastination opportunities.
As we see, the costs of working from a coffee shop can range from financial and tangible to subtle distractions that affect your focus.
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What is Working from Home?
Working from home—or skiving, as some business leaders would have you believe—is the art and science of doing office work, whilst also doing the laundry, dishes and taking the dog for a walk.
Working from home is all about getting your head down and smashing your work out of the park quickly without the usual distractions.
Benefits of Working from Home
- Short commute to the 'office' compared with working in a coffee shop.
- Comfy seating.
- Easy access to the kettle and ‘free’ coffee.
- Not working around the general public.
- No restrictions on the work that you can do.
- Reliable Wi-Fi and electrical supplies.
- Opportunity to work in your pyjamas.
Working from home has many benefits compared with working in a coffee shop.
Costs of Working from Home
Home working does have many benefits, as we have seen. However, several costs come with working at home:
- You have to make your own coffee.
- You have to go to the coffee shop for tasty snacks.
- Lack of ambient background noise.
- Household distractions can keep you busy and away from your work.
- Random social interaction is removed.
- You end up staying in the house, and potentially not leaving the house that day.
Without proper planning, these costs are significant, even when compared to working from a coffee shop.
Conclusion
Working from a coffee shop and working from home have been pitted against each other. However, they are not in competition—they are complementary working styles that can be deployed depending on how you feel and what you are working on.
Even if you spent 80% of your time working from home, spending one morning a week sipping a latte and working from your laptop would be a great way to shake things up and make life a little brighter.
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