At the onset of the pandemic, some companies had their employees work remotely. After the initial shock and a period of adjustment, many people began to realize what a privilege it can be to work at home.

Working at home means not having to dress up every day to go to an office or other workplace, which means fewer trips to the dry cleaner and more wearing of pajamas, bathrobes and comfy pants.

It means not having to fight traffic or worry about road conditions during winter or summer storms. Most importantly, being at home allows pet owners to enjoy even more time with their cats or dogs, although they mostly sleep all day anyway.

I am hard pressed to find any negatives about working at home. I can think of only one drawback - social isolation. Those of us who work at home miss interacting with our co-workers, sharing lunch or a coffee break with them.

At certain times when the day is strictly devoted to writing feature stories for the newspaper, I can go up to eight hours without talking to a single person. These are the days when I actually hope that the phone rings so I can engage a telemarketer or talk to the car warranty guy. I am even tempted to answer the phone when it says "Scam Likely" just to see what the person has to say.

Being at home also has its temptations. Not only can you snack all day if you choose, but there are great morning news shows and plenty of afternoon TV to enjoy as well. For those of us who have deadlines and work that must get done, however, there is not much room for slacking.

Personally, I work on a reward system. For every task I complete, I treat myself to something like a vanilla ice cream cone or a mug of hot tea enjoyed on the front porch. Most often, however, it is a walk down the street with my dogs. It takes a lot of self-discipline to work at home, and I believe this method is effective.

I often think of my first office job out of college. We were required to work eight hours a day, but that could be any shift that we wanted. Most of us chose the traditional 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. shift, but our office manager worked from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. So, every morning for about an hour, we all brought our office chairs to the front lobby and formed a circle while we drank coffee or tea and ate doughnuts that someone had brought in or homemade baked goods. We called it the Breakfast Club.

We talked and laughed. Topics of discussion ranged from current events to our personal lives. I keep in touch with several members of the Breakfast Club, and even though many of them are scattered throughout the country, none of us will ever forget that time of sharing.

So, for those who are lucky enough to work from home, get to know your co-workers. Accept their flaws and embrace their quirks and eccentricities and just enjoy spending time with them.

And now that I have finished my monthly column, I will go have that vanilla ice cream cone and maybe even follow it with a cup of hot tea, which I can drink on the front porch. And, if I can wake them up, I will take my dogs on a nice long walk.