With worsening traffic and rising fuel costs, it’s easy to see why people are drawn to the idea of telecommuting or working from home. But is remote work really as good as advertised? Unfortunately, there’s no simple yes or no answer because it’s not for everyone.

To help you determine if remote work is something you should pursue, here’s a quick rundown of its pros and cons.

The Pros

• There’s no commute. The long travel time, punishing gridlock, crowded buses or trains, pollution and bad weather can really wear you down. And that’s just in the morning. Now imagine going through all of it twice each day. Working from home eliminates all that.
  
  
• It’s more cost-effective. Because you won’t have to spend on work clothes and travel (which may include fares, fuel, toll fees, parking), you reduce your daily expenses.
  
  
• Better control over distractions, environment. Your home may pose more potential distractions, but you have better control over them. You can muffle the outside noise with loud music or run to a nearby coffee shop for a change of scenery – both of which you probably can’t do at the office.
  
  
• Time-saving. If it takes you 1 hour to travel to the office, you spend about 2 hours per day on the road, which is 10 hours per week or 42 hours per month. If you work from home, it takes just a few seconds to reach your work desk, which isn’t comparable.
  
  
• More work/life balance. Because you don’t dedicate hours of your life to commuting, you have more free time to spend at your leisure, whether it’s hanging out with family/friends/loved ones, pampering yourself, or whatever other activity you want to do.

• Flexible work hours. If you’re a home-based freelancer, you get to decide when you want to work. Love working during the day? Go ahead. Prefer the ungodly-yet-quiet hours? No problem. There are employers that offer flextime as well.
  
  
• Lesser stress. According to a 2014 study by conferencing software firm PGi, 82% of its respondents experienced reduced stress when telecommuting. That’s probably because you won’t have to deal with commute-related stress when working from home.
  
  
• Typically healthier food options. Unless you make an effort to eat healthy meals at the office, the tendency is to buy fast food, which is typically cheaper. At home, you can prepare your own meals, which means you have better control over what you eat.

The Cons

• It’s hard to know when to stop. When you work from home and decide your hours, it’s common for your work hours to bleed into your personal time, so there’s a tendency to overwork yourself.
  
  
• Easy to get distracted. While you have more control over your environment, it’s much easier to get caught up with non-work activities, especially if your workspace is in a shared area. People may walk in and out, and may engage in activities that could mess up your focus (e.g. laundry, TV).
  
  
• More discipline is required. Because there’s no boss or IT department overseeing your every move, you’ll need to be more disciplined to stay focused at work. Even with safeguards like time trackers or website-blocking browser extensions, you’ll still need self-control to avoid exploiting these tools’ limitations.
  
  Fact: Remote work is actually a skill. You need to be able to work without constant supervision.
  
  
• The isolation. While you’ll occasionally participate in online meetings with clients and colleagues while working from home, it’s still pretty different compared to actual face-to-face interactions. Thus, telecommuting can get a little lonely.
  
  
• You have to deal with technical issues yourself. To do your job effectively, you need a bit of technological know-how. Why? Because you’ll inevitably encounter issues with your computer’s hardware or software – or even your home’s internet connection – and you should be able to troubleshoot them.
  

• More sedentary lifestyle. Sitting all day is bad for you. It puts you at risk for health issues like diabetes, heart disease and cancer. While a sedentary lifestyle is also a concern for regular office work, it still involves some walking. With remote work, you hardly ever need to move, so you need to make a more conscious effort to stay healthy.
  
  
• Communication is more challenging. Even with the many virtual options for contacting clients and co-workers, it’s still far easier and more effective to clarify something when you’re face-to-face with the person you’re talking to.

Take note, however, that your mileage may vary. You might end up disliking benefits that others love, or enjoy certain details more. If you’ve never worked from home and it’s something you want to explore, don’t base your decision on just one factor.

Instead, think about how each aspect may affect you individually, then consider how you’d like/dislike everything as a whole. Yes, do you do have a lot to think about.