My current contract is ending in a few weeks, and I'm both dreading and looking forward to hunting for a new gig, or even better, a "permanent" position, as much as any position is actually permanent these days.

One thing I'm looking forward to is working in an office. 

Don't get me wrong, in some ways I love working from home, especially after my last permanent gig.  In that environment, none of us stuck in the cube farm were allowed to eat at our desk (you wouldn't believe the debates about candy being eaten on the "service delivery floor").  Being considered "front line management," I had to dress business casual every day except designated "casual days" which meant nice shoes, and no jeans. And the commute is a breeze. And cheap!

At home, I can wear what I want, and not have to take long food breaks, as I could eat at my desk, which is great when there are back to back conference calls.  I make my own hours, which means I work when I'm productive, and I can get a lot more done.  Some days it's 7am, others it's as late as 11pm; management at my last job was not thrilled about flexible hours, even when the role was not tied to specific shifts.

I can still go to daytime events, like the Central Texas Lectora User Group meeting, which, being in the middle of the day, would get nixed more than approved (I had to get any time away from the office approved in advanced and it had to be justified).  And, if I need a brief break, I can throw in a load of laundry, sit back down, and two minutes later, I'm back at my desk, and have had enough of a break to think through the issue.  I like being productive with my 'down time.'

More importantly, working at home means that when I'm in a groove, I don't have the distraction of the guy who has no inside voice.  You know him.  Him, and the gal with a donkey bray laugh that can shatter ear drums.  At home, I have to deal with the landscapers and those evil weed-whackers, a couple times a week, but not hearing a dozen different conversations going on within 20 paces of where I sit (we had low cube walls).  I can be productive despite bad hair days, or feeling under the weather, which is no mean feat in a cube farm. It's a lot easier to avoid the chatty folks when they'd have to call you to talk.  And I don't have to smell the bad fish over-nuked for an entire afternoon (permeated the whole building... over 400 people were suffering along with me).

The downside is, it gets a bit lonely, as my kittens, while quite talkative, aren't the best conversationalists, and they can't brainstorm with me. They brainstorm about how to wreak havoc on anything cardboard, or knock over plants, and jump on the keyboard at the precisely worst moment.  Me being here does mean the messes get cleaned up quicker, but that's still a downside.

I've actually apologized to people on occasion when it's been a few days since I've had much face to face contact, because I start rambling... at warp speed.  I make up for it by making a point to go to more networking events, just to talk with other adult humans.  While I need to network for job search right now, I still like to do it because I like to stay informed about different things, and I often find I get good ideas from such conversations.  The advantage to working in an office is there is no substitute for face time, and those little conversations with peers can turn into solutions. 

If I had my choice in jobs, I'd have flexible hours spent half in an office, and half at home. It would be the best of both worlds to me.