If you hate the daily commute and have a desk bound job, you may be seduced by daydreams of working from home. It’s true home working has its advantages: you may be able to set your own hours, work in the garden in summer, in your pj’s on an off day, or around the kid’s school hours.

Unfortunately, it has it’s down sides too, and there are various reasons working from home can be a negative thing. Here are just a few things to think about before you take the plunge:

• Homeworkers are traditionally underpaid for comparable work done by colleagues in offices. Despite recent legislation making this unfair practice illegal, many home based staff still find themselves on the receiving end of discrimination.

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  Working from home can be a lonely and isolating experience. With no one to chat to, it’s easy to go stir crazy. Having the company of a pet cat or dog can help mitigate the lack of social stimulation, but only to a certain extent. If you work from home, try and build a fulfilling social life outside that work to keep you from turning into a hermit.

• Conversely, if you are not alone, either because you have a stay at home partner, young children, or friends or relatives prone to dropping by, you may find you have difficulty convincing others that your work hours are sacred and should not be interrupted. You will have to find the tact and discipline to teach those around you that work is still work even when it is done at home if you want to get anything done.

• Working partners may also expect you, since you are at home, to carry the burden of household chores beyond what you might perceive as a fair division of labor. The perception is that since you are at home anyway you may as well do those things in your breaks. After all, they argue, they have to travel to and from work every day, while you have this extra time they feel is only fair you devote to housework. You may have to concede that a slight shift in housework in their favor is in order, but it’s all too easy to end up lumbered with the whole lot.

• Similarly, you might find yourself expected to take on childcare during hours you should be working. Since you can’t watch children adequately and work at the same time, one or the other is going to suffer in the long run.

• Even if you can convince others your work hours are set and they must not interrupt you, with no boss on site to look over your shoulder, you will have to develop strong self discipline to ensure your work time is productive. Otherwise you might find yourself spending more time checking emails, browsing the web or playing solitaire than you do earning money.

• Many homeworking jobs are thinly disguised scams. Never pay an upfront fee for the offer of a job, and read the small print carefully. Know what is expected of you and what you can expect in return.

So, if you can put up with being bored, lonely, put upon and underpaid, homeworking might be for you. It’s not something to be undertaken lightly, or “instead of a real job,” but if you have discipline and the support of your family, working from home can bring in an extra income and fit around your routine. It can also be very rewarding once you get into the habit.