Outsourcing work has long been a strategy for cutting costs and increasing efficiency for businesses. In recent years, the idea that outsourcing could be a tool for individuals has grown more and more popular. Many believe that the secret to living the life (or working the job) of your dreams lies behind the prospect of hiring virtual assistants and other workers to take on some of your responsibilities. You’re freeing up time for yourself and lessening your own workload, so, why not?

The catch is, of course, you have to pay them. While the premise is feasible for some, the economic implications don’t add up for others. Not to mention the personal and professional disadvantages to having someone else do your work for you. Before you embrace outsourcing parts of your day job or personal life, ask yourself the following questions.

Will the work be done as well as I could do it?

Handing off undesirable tasks to someone might help the work get done, but can mean sacrificing quality. Consider this: In order for outsourcing to make financial sense, you need to pay someone less than you would make doing the same thing. If you’re outsourcing to somewhere with a different currency that carries less weight than your own, then perhaps you can find the right price.

However, don’t forget to factor in any time you need to take reviewing the outsourced work. Will the work be up to your standards? Will it be up to the standards your clients have come to expect from you? By assigning a value to tasks, you’re effectively assigning value to your own time. So when you are budgeting, it’s important to consider all efforts towards making the work happen.

Am I creating more work for myself rather than getting work done?

We’ve already touched on a few things that need to be done before you can begin outsourcing: assigning value to tasks, finding someone to complete the tasks within your price range, assessing their skill level, and reviewing the work to optimize quality. All of this begs the question, is outsourcing more work than it’s worth? After all, the whole point is to free-up time, not spend it doing more mundane work.

What are the repercussions if people find out I’m outsourcing?

If you dig into professional outsourcing stories on the web, you’ll find a slew of cases where employees enlisted others to do their work while collecting praise and paychecks from employers, only to be found out and reprimanded.

While entrepreneurs and executives may have the autonomy to make decisions about outsourcing, it may raise concerns for some employers if their individual contributors are delegating work they’re being paid for. They may be paying you expecting the work to be done by you; think about whether they’d be ok with you sending that work out.

Hiring outsourced help has its place in business, but think about why you’re considering it in the first place. Has your manager denied requests for a more manageable workload? What other steps have you taken to lessen your burden at work? Make sure you’ve done all you can – including asking permission – before you look to outsource your job.

Is it worth it?

On paper, outsourcing may look like the road to effective time management and professional freedom, but with all the logistics in mind, it can prove problematic for individuals trying to quickly unload their plates.

Before you turn to outsourcing, take a serious look at the costs (not just monetary) and the work that needs to be done to get there.