Working from home moms?

littledaisies

For those of you that work from home, how were you able to set that up? Was it an easy process or did you have to convince your boss?

I am able to work from home when I'm sick, my son is sick or we have bad weather but I'm trying to have a set work from home schedule. I've talked to other moms in different departments and almost all of them work from home. I tried to start the discussion with my boss but he doesn't think it's a good idea. He feels that my presence is needed in the office. If I'm not around then people won't be able to find me to do work, which really isn't the case. I find that most people in the office communicate through email or phone. Very rarely does someone come to my desk to give me work. I don't know if he's saying this because I'm somewhat new. I've worked at this company for a little over 8 months. 

I'm wondering if you have any advice on how to approach the topic? I'm much more productive at home than at work. I'm able to get up early and go right into my work so I don't think productivity is an issue.  I'm sure it doesn't help the two people that approve this are older men, one is single with no children and the other is married with no children. 

coffeeandbooks

I think beaubecca's idea is a good one.
I also work from home, and it took me about half a year to negotiate it.   I really busted my but at work to prove I was as indispensable  and that gave me some leverage because they wanted to keep me.  I work also report to multiple people and I got the support of my direct supervisors who then sold the idea to our VP.  It helped to have other people who believed I could do my job from home.
I don't take working from home for granted so I always try to prove that I am working hard.

littledaisies

Thanks @beaubecca @coffeeandbooks

I started the conversation with my boss in hopes to set up a meeting to further discuss the details but that clearly didn't work. I think I will write up something and see how it goes from there. I feel like it's going to take some time to convince them but I don't want to give up. 

katwoman08

I agree with what was previously stated.  When I wanted to work from home I broached the topic with my supervisor but I had documented what I planned to work on, noted that I would have the same access to systems at home that I have at work and asked could we do it on a trial basis.  It may also help your case if you have something quantitative to work on.  I'm not saying this is the case with your supervisor but some have the mindset that you aren't actually working so if you're producing something they can "see" they may be more amenable to it.

emmy236

I work from home mainly full time (go in several times a month). I work for a major financial institution and they have a very specific and hard approach to it. Jobs are predetermined if they qualify. I was actually put into a job that was WFH because it's a global team. My department has groups in 3 states plus India. All of our work is done online (I'm in technology project management). Not saying we're antisocial, but people usually don't go into this field if they like human interaction. These jobs are hard to come by and you need specific job skills.

Word of warning- I've been doing it for 2 years now and I would rather go in more, full time at home is not nearly as awesome as you think. You think you'll be so productive and that goes away really quickly. It's easy to slip into bad habits and before you know it, you never get out of your jammies and can't remember the last time you washed your hair. It's something a lot of companies see and you really have to work hard to stay constantly focused at home. You also don't have any kind of separation of work and home life. You don't have that ride home to decompress. You go straight from mommy in the morning, to employee, right back to mommy/wife/maid/chef etc. My DH has a hard time understanding why the second I'm done with work I don't just immediately want to start laundry, dinner, etc. these things are all known to employers and why some are apprehensive about full time WFH. I am happy to have this option now but I wish I would of known some of the problems and gotten into good habits from the get go. I also know I will not want to do this forever.

littledaisies

@emmy236  I'm hoping to work form home 2 days a week. I don't think I could work from home full time. I noticed the days I work from home, I actually get more done and it helps me catch up on the week. I can see that not working well if I was home all week.  

I feel like a lot of my day at the office is juggling my time. Between daycare drop off, pumping and daycare pick up, my day in the office is short. The days I'm home, I have so much more time because I don't need to worry about a pick up time or using the pump room. 

emmy236

@alldncr I totally I agree I would get nothing done. My mom couldn't watch R this morning and it was a nightmare trying to accomplish anything. R deleted part of a spreadsheet, unplugged my phone, cried in the background of 2 conference calls. It was awful

coffeeandbooks

I work from home and have just part time help at home, so I do work with LO at my side.  It takes a lot of discipline but it is doable for me.  I have the kind of job where we are judged on all kinds of black and white performance metrics so there is no hiding whether you are doing your job or not.

aintnoyuppiemom

I was wondering what sort of jobs you have that allow you to work from home? My husband and I have our own business so I mostly manage calls and get the taxes ready. (that's why I looked at this thread, but wasn't what I thought it was about) But now with DH losing his job I have been looking for work and prefer to work from home still, the only thing I have found is those silly survey jobs or telemarketing jobs (and they need money down so they make me nervous.) So I guess I am not helping the OP (sorry) but asking an additional question, what jobs do you all have and any with only high school diploma and some college requirements?

littledaisies

@allydncr I plan on having my mom watch him at home while I work.  I didn't think to make that point to my boss. I should probably make that clear to him. I don't wouldn't be productive at home if it was just the two of us. 

@aintnoyuppiemom I work at an engineering/environmental firm. I do a lot of report writing which can easily be done at home.

emmy236

@aintnoyuppiemom‌ I work in technology project management. Unfortunately my company expects at least bachelor degree if not a masters in computer science/engineering and to know coding. I do have a friend who works for American Express who has similar education as you described. No idea what she does though. I also know some medical fields you can, but need to have some specific training like medical billing and processing. I know a lot of community colleges offer courses/certification. So yeah maybe check out credit card companies, health insurance/medical supply companies?

aintnoyuppiemom

littledaisiesemmy236 Thank you for that I will look into some of those fields! Sorry again to OP for adding my own question. but this thread has been helpful. sorry and thank you.

jmevol

@aintnoyuppiemom‌ I also work from home but only part time, for a local nonprofit. I had no prior nonprofit experience before I started, but I mainly do invoicing and event planning for them. So maybe look in the nonprofit sector too?

coffeeandbooks

^^ yes, I also work for a non-profit.  They tend to pay a little less but often have good benefits.

TheyCalledHerKate

Now that my baby is mobile there is absolutely no way I could work from home on a regular basis without help to watch her. When I work from home (rarely) either my husband is home or I have family help so I can work.

Eta- I see you will also have help. Good for you. It's impossible to do both