It's simple to define remote work as employment that doesn't take place in a traditional office; in other words, you won't be driving to the same physical business or office building Monday through Friday and remaining there for the duration of an eight-hour shift if you have a remote job. However, the definition of 'remote work' is somewhat open-ended: anywhere with high-speed internet access qualifies as 'not in a regular office.'

You need to decide whether you see yourself working remotely from home or remotely outside of your home in order to get a clearer picture of what a remote job might entail for you (somewhere like a co-working space or a coffee shop).

Using a Home Office

The flexibility of working from home without traveling to a real workplace is frequently what enables persons with any kind of caregiving responsibilities—caring for seniors, children, etc.—to participate in the workforce at all.

Since 2014, Erin Denton, a Design Instructor at Skillcrush, has worked remotely, spending some of that time working from home while caring for a loved one. The benefits of working from home for Denton revolve on the aforementioned flexibility: being able to reconcile the demands of others who depend on your assistance with the obligations of a paid job. Denton adds the qualification, though, that it's still challenging to strike a balance between caregiving and paid job.

No matter how flexible your schedule is, you must plan ahead and know when you're going to work. You also need to set clear boundaries with your friends and family so that they respect your working hours and your personal space. If you're going to telecommute from home, you need to put systems in place to be successful. These systems include a dedicated home office space (don't even consider regularly working from your bed or your couch), a defined work schedule (no matter how flexible your schedule is, you need to plan ahead Once these systems are in place, your home can function as an excellent workspace even as you juggle domestic duties. But it doesn't mean that, as a remote worker, you won't continue to run across difficulties.

Working from home

Working remotely outside the home resembles a regular office a little more, whereas work-from-home chances are all about traveling from your bedroom to your office – pajamas welcome and without pants — while the latter has a little more in common. Working remotely requires leaving your home to go to the location of your choice, where you will be in a public or semi-public setting with other people. Even so, working remotely offers much greater flexibility than a 9 to 5 job. You are still in charge of creating your own schedule and working hours, and you are free to switch between remote workplaces whenever you like.

Working remotely outside of the home is enticing because it can be done anywhere with high-speed internet access and on any schedule you want—or no schedule at all. 

Remote employment is balanced

The main lesson here? When it comes to remote work, the actual choice isn't between working from home and working elsewhere—it's combining the two alternatives into a comprehensive solution that meets your individual requirements. The characteristic of flexible employment is the ability to modify your work to reflect what you want (instead of adhering to what work requires of you), and where you decide to accomplish those duties is all part of the customizable package. Parents and caregivers will undoubtedly benefit from working from home, but there is nothing to stop them from traveling to a coworking space (or elsewhere) when the mood or situation calls for it.