This is me. I work from home pretty much every day, and visit my company’s office every month or two. During the stretches where I’m not at the office for a few weeks in a row, I sometimes need a change of scenery and that “people energy” you mention. Even if if I’m not 100% efficient at a coffee shop, it recharges my batteries so I’m more efficient when I go back home.
Another benefit is no office phone at the coffee shop. That’s a much bigger distraction for me than some people talking at the next table.
Like Troutman, I also work from home almost every day. Sometimes I like to go to one of the coffee shops in my neighborhood, just for a change of scenery.
Although, since half of my day usually involves being on calls, coffee shops are tough because they always have background music.
Huh. My son is 24, nearly 25. I started working at home when he was born.
I had a dedicated work space (partially finished basement), and taught him from a very young age that work was what I did and interruptions just could not happen. I was single, poor and working on commission.
If there even was a Starbucks, it certainly didn’t have wifi.
I still love working from home. No distractions, no commute, and jammies! I throw in laundry and hike the dog around the block on my lunch 1/2 hour.
I have a medical appointment on Thursday afternoon. It is about a 40 minute drive from my doctor’s office to my work office, and then 30 minutes from my work office to my house.
If I go to the Panera Bread next door to my doctor’s office, I can do some work and then drive 40 minutes to my house. I do more work, get paid for the time, and drive less.
My wife and I both work out of the office a couple days a week.
I find that at home, I just sit down and work. At a coffee shop, even if I take my laptop, I just sort of sit there and watch people go by, or otherwise get distracted by the bustle, and gets nothing done.
My wife on the other hand gets completely distracted at home - just finds other things to do instead of sitting down to work. She decamps to a coffee shop for the better part of many days and gets lots done there.
Obviously we both have the “same” level of distractions in both environments so who knows why.
Plenty of people, even if they don’t work in a traditional office, like to leave home to get work done. In many cases, going to a coffee shop or café poses FEWER distractions (the dishes / laundry aren’t calling your name, etc). Many just prefer the atmosphere of a particular place. Me, I haven’t gotten work done at a coffee shop, but I’ve sat there and chilled on my phone for an hour or so while just enjoying a Saturday morning at Caribou Coffee. It’s just a matter of preference.
If they are staring at a screen, no, they are not looking to meet people.
Yes, please don’t make long calls anywhere public when working. My apartment building has a nice common room and people often work there. Nothing worse than hearing one side of a conversation where someone is spewing acronyms I don’t know and ‘strategising’ and ‘synergizing.’
My Dad (who is in his 70s) always worked from home - he was a salesman - so he did his calls out, but spent time at home writing things up and doing paperwork. We never bothered him - and from the time I could answer the phone I learned how to answer it professionally - as soon as I could write I was taking messages. It can be done, but it takes kids who are going to respect it and if you have a partner undermining you, by telling you to watch kids while they spend four hours at the grocery store, its not going to work.