Employment future

With the current economic climate all over the world, people are looking for additional ways to make more money, such as selling items on eBay, to writing blogs and starting up their own business. These ways of generating income could be potentially useful, as people are able to work from home and are able to invest as much or as little time as they see fit, as well as people using eBay etc. to supplement their income.

But is working from home the future of employment in this country? I believe not, but it could be a great idea for businesses to keep costs down and to be able to hire more people.

Realistically, businesses will still need some sort of office, for people to send post to and if people still need to pay something by cheque, then an office is still useful to have with one or two people to complete admin and other necessities like board meetings.

Other departments such as marketing will need to meet in an office a few times a week to discuss how the marketing plan is going and how it could be improved and adapted, but on other days they could work from home implementing the marketing strategy.

If possible, businesses could start looking at having a few virtual assistant's, who work from home but you can use software like Skype and also emails so the Virtual Assistants are able to answer the phones whilst the business owner is able to do more important things, such as marketing and dealing with customers face-to-face.

People are also using sites like eBay to make a living by selling the things that they make like bags, or just to make a little bit of extra money by selling their old clothes and other items.

As somebody who is currently partly employed and interested in blogging, I find it advantageous to be at home, using my JobSeekers Allowance and money I get from being a betting operator at my local racecourse to keep ticking me over because I am able to perfect my writing style and be able to do things that I enjoy whilst trying to look for work.

I also do some voluntary work for the British Heart Foundation and have helped raise over £200 for the charity by doing small fundraising events, which has helped me grow in confidence and be able to have some fun whilst working.

Being at home also has other advantages, like being able to do all the washing during the day and not worry about what to have for tea on the way home from work.

As someone who is looking to work at home and has the advantage of living at home, then I don't have to worry as much about other outgoing expenses, such as electricity bills and council tax etc. so I am able to focus on my writing and try to turn it into a reasonable income.

If you're able to find something that you're interested in and can make a living from home, then you should definitely chase your dream because you never know, it may actually work for you. But you will have to be realistic in your targets and not expect to be a millionaire overnight, it will take a long time and hard work to be able to make a good living from something you enjoy, unless you're a professional athlete, or are a CEO at one of the major businesses in the world/country.

While there are some advantages to working at home, there are also some disadvantages.

If you're not the most focused of people, then working from home may not be the best for you, especially if you let the smallest things distract you. Obviously everybody has those days where they just don't feel right, but if it then becomes a constant occurrence, then it can have a negative outcome, especially when it comes to pay day and there isn't much money in your account.

Another disadvantage of working from home, especially if you live with other people, is them expecting you to do little jobs for them that end up taking the entire day which loses you a day of work. But if you are able to work out at night and are focused on your work, then you can complete chores during the day and work at night, but if you have specific working hours, then it can be difficult to balance your work and home life.

A third disadvantage is that working from home may not necessarily bring a regular pay cheque into the home, as working for someone else can, unless you've just been laid off etc. This can be a major put off if you're used to having a regular amount coming into the house.

Also, if you're a sole trader, if you're ill or take a holiday, then the business doesn't earn any money for the time that you're not working, unless you have several employees who know how the business works and are able to keep the business running whilst you're away. This can be a big disadvantage, especially when you're starting out and need as much revenue coming in as possible to ensure the business has the best success going forward for the first few months.

No matter what sort of business you work for, there will always be some sort of office because it will be the main way that businesses will need to communicate with customers, whether that's the general public or other businesses, as well as hold meetings with their clients. For example, a marketing company will need to have an office block because they will need to have meetings with their clients there and be able to work on the projects, while they will be able to work at home some of the time, it is essential to be in the office to complete all the necessary work.

For some people, I feel that working in the typical office environment is not necessarily good for them because of their personality and so working from home would be beneficial for all parties because the employee can get some paid work, the business can keep costs a bit lower and the employee is also in an environment he feels comfortable working in.

It can also be beneficial for businesses to hire Virtual Assistants who only work on specific tasks that need completing and can potentially be used alongside hiring some part-time staff to keep the office ticking over. This has been happening over the past few years and I expect the industry to expand exponentially over the next few years.

For me, working from home brings a lot of freedom that working in an office doesn't give you. For me, I am able to get my shopping done during the day while being able to complete all my work at night.

I would really like to work from home and be able to be my own boss. I would like to turn what I enjoy into a job and be able to earn money from it, like streaming playing video games or writing. Admittedly it would be hard work to become successful to do either of these things, so I will still need to have a job at the beginning until I can earn enough from either of them to pay bills etc.

With enough willpower and dedication, it can be possible to earn money to work from home, but it can also take a lot of money to set up, depending on what you want to do. If you want to start streaming, it will cost you a couple of thousand pounds if you want to stream from your console properly. You'll need a games console, computer, game capture card, a TV, an internet connection and games to stream.

As you can see from the table above, I have listed some of the jobs that will be crucial in the near future and have been growing steadily over the past few years.

The jobs I have mentioned will be crucial for businesses of all sizes if they want to succeed, but it isn't just about having a website, Facebook page and Twitter account, it's about using them in such a way that makes you stand out from the crowd. If all of these are used in an efficient and creative manner, then even the smallest business could potentially see massive gains.

To ensure that your social media campaigns are all synced you could either do it all yourself, or you could hire a specialist to do it all for you whilst you focus on other parts of your business. If you are comfortable in doing it all yourself whilst still being able to run your business, that's great, especially if you don't have the money to spend on a social media specialist/manager to do the work for you.

After doing my research and writing this blog, I think that working from home is a brilliant idea, but it does depend on which industry you work in. If you work as a journalist, then working from home can be perfect for you. The same applies if you work as an accountant, if you have specific room set aside so you are able to do some work, but it would be advantageous to have an office as well for when you need to meet clients etc.

Some professions where working from home would be inappropriate include; the medical profession, the travel & tourism industry and to an extent engineering, but if all the jobs are allocated correctly, then working from home could work perfectly well.

If you would also be so kind to leave your comments at the bottom about what you thought of this Hub, I would be grateful.