POLL: WAH

Stacyc625 · October 2009

So over the weekend I was met with a lot of questions about my choice to work from home and continue my career (and grad school)-

I always see posts on here for WAH options etc and it got me thinking even more....

Soooo. Would you WAH

[Poll]

Zippomissmaggie · October 2009

I would like to WAH 2-3 days per week & go into the office the other 3-2 days per week. My company currently does give the option of WAH for my position, but it's WAH all the time or work at the office all the time. They set up a computer at your home, pay for the internet connection. I don't think I would do well at home all the time, but would love to be at home part of the week. I would probably work longer days at home and then flex my schedule a little, which I do have the option of doing now. I have a 45 min commute each way, so I would work a 10 hour day the days I was at home and & then probable work 2 8's and a 4 hour day on Fri or something... but right now I don't have that option.

Stacyc625 · October 2009

Zippo- that would have been a good option for me to put in the poll.

chigirlinaz · October 2009

I don't have any experience with this, but I think that it would be impossible for me to work AND watch DS at the same time. Maybe when he was a newborn, but not now that he is so active.

shannm · October 2009

I can barely do laundry with DS around, let alone focus on work! I do sometimes bring work home on the weekend and it is a challenge and he really has to be in the mood to play independently.

EastCoastBride · October 2009

I would love to WAH and it doesn't matter if it were in the same field or different field. I'd just love to not have to go into the office.

And I don't understand your options about "only if I have a sitter" or "only if I could also watch DC'. I do NOT understand women who seriously think "WAH" means "Oh, I don't need day care.". As DS gets older, the more and more work he is. There is NO WAY I could work from home and watch him. 100% impossible.

Stacyc625 · October 2009

EastCoastBride:

I would love to WAH and it doesn't matter if it were in the same field or different field. I'd just love to not have to go into the office.

And I don't understand your options about "only if I have a sitter" or "only if I could also watch DC'. I do NOT understand women who seriously think "WAH" means "Oh, I don't need day care.". As DS gets older, the more and more work he is. There is NO WAY I could work from home and watch him. 100% impossible.

I have WAH full time since DD was 12 weeks old without help. Might not be possible for your work- however it is not 100% impossible. Harder yes. impossible no.

duchess0727 · October 2009

I chose other. I would work at home 2 days per week and in the office the other 3 days. I have worked from home for longer periods and I find it to be very isolating and extremely difficult to manage employees, which right now is a necessary part of my job. One day, I may go into a part of my field that would not require managing, but I'd still like to go to the office a few days so I can interact with other adults and have the interaction I feel is necessary to do my job properly. Either way, I'd have full time child care. I have tried working from home many times with the kids there, when they are sick or daycare is closed and I don't feel that I am a good mom or a good employee.

flyer23 · October 2009

I do work at home, and I love it. I would have a very hard time going back to working in an office full-time.

I've always worked from home in my current position, but it is in the same field and with the same salary that I had before. Having the same salary compared to an office position isn't that important to me; there are a lot of cost savings due to WAH (e.g. shorter commute = less gas, I eat out for lunch a lot less, I don't have to have a wardrobe of nice work clothes) and you can't put a price on the quality-of-life improvements. But it definitely would have to be in the same field.

I watched DD while working from home on Fridays only for about the first year of her life. Even doing that just one day a week was miserable, for both of us. There simply aren't enough hours in the week for me to work a full-time job, pay attention to DD full-time while she's awake, have some time to spend alone with DH, and sleep/have time for me. I can't pay someone else to do my work, spend time with my DH, or sleep for me -- but I CAN pay someone else to pay attention to DD full-time while she's awake, so child care is a must for me.

riv08 · October 2009

Working at home would drive me nuts. I would rather be a stay at home mom than a work at home mom.

LaLaSweets · October 2009

chigirlinaz:
I don't have any experience with this, but I think that it would be impossible for me to work AND watch DS at the same time. Maybe when he was a newborn, but not now that he is so active.

Same here

DallasHorn · October 2009

I've worked at home for 3 years for the same company I've been with for 12 years. I've always had childcare, but on occassion I've had a sick child home with me and I can get some things done but not at all a full productive day. I make the same as I did before I worked from home, but my raises are smaller.

Maybride2 · October 2009

Stacyc625:

I have WAH full time since DD was 12 weeks old without help. Might not be possible for your work- however it is not 100% impossible. Harder yes. impossible no.

What is it exactly that you do? And how many hours per day does your child spend in a swing/playpen/exersacuer in front of the TV?

Sorry, but when I hear someone say that they work from home with no childcare, I assume that they either have a total cakewalk job or that their kid gets thrown in front of the TV all day.

My job requires my attention and focus. I can't give either of those to it while I'm taking care of my son, because he requires those same things the majority of the time.

kgb1411 · October 2009

I am horrible at getting work done at home. Even in high school I did most of my homework and studying at the library.

I like to have my work life and my home life seperate.

Meg41208 · October 2009

Maybe 1-2 days a week. I can't see myself being as close to as productive as I am in the office if I were at home. When I came back to work after DD was born, I came back PT so I'm home more. My main motivation for working is adult conversation and intellectual stimulation so if I WAH that would kind of negate all that.

EastCoastBride · October 2009

Maybride2:
Stacyc625:

I have WAH full time since DD was 12 weeks old without help. Might not be possible for your work- however it is not 100% impossible. Harder yes. impossible no.

What is it exactly that you do? And how many hours per day does your child spend in a swing/playpen/exersacuer in front of the TV?

Sorry, but when I hear someone say that they work from home with no childcare, I assume that they either have a total cakewalk job or that their kid gets thrown in front of the TV all day.

My job requires my attention and focus. I can't give either of those to it while I'm taking care of my son, because he requires those same things the majority of the time.

Or it's not a 9-5 job. if it's not 9-5 and you can do your 8 hours anytime, o.k., sure, it may be possible. But if it's 9 -5, then I give the HUGE side eye to anyone claiming they can do 8 hours during the day AND "watch" their child.

Stacyc625 · October 2009

EastCoastBride:
Maybride2:
Stacyc625:

I have WAH full time since DD was 12 weeks old without help. Might not be possible for your work- however it is not 100% impossible. Harder yes. impossible no.

What is it exactly that you do? And how many hours per day does your child spend in a swing/playpen/exersacuer in front of the TV?

Sorry, but when I hear someone say that they work from home with no childcare, I assume that they either have a total cakewalk job or that their kid gets thrown in front of the TV all day.

My job requires my attention and focus. I can't give either of those to it while I'm taking care of my son, because he requires those same things the majority of the time.

Or it's not a 9-5 job. if it's not 9-5 and you can do your 8 hours anytime, o.k., sure, it may be possible. But if it's 9 -5, then I give the HUGE side eye to anyone claiming they can do 8 hours during the day AND "watch" their child.

I have an International Tax Analyst/Attorney. I am on conference calls with Asia (which is during the night for me in the USA)- I do analyzation work/calls during the day as needed however the bulk of my job is done at night after she is in bed.

And for the pp who suggested my child is in an excersaucer- sorry but you are rudely way off.

Sam78 · October 2009

I work from home and absolutely cannot do 8 hours of work during "normal business hours" without someone coming in to watch my daughter. I could get 8 hours of work done (and have when the nanny calls out), but its during nap time and after she goes to bed and that means I don't have time for anything else.

northhillsbride · October 2009

chigirlinaz:
I don't have any experience with this, but I think that it would be impossible for me to work AND watch DS at the same time. Maybe when he was a newborn, but not now that he is so active.

This. I work a F/T job as a proposal writer and I WAH usually 2 days a week. There is no way I could do this with my 2.5 yr old around. I have tried, when he needs to stay home sick, and based on how busy my schedule is that day, the tv babysits him a lot of that time.

Halo79RN · October 2009

a friend in academia brought her son to work until he was 18m. she sah for his first 5months... went back doing just research and teaching just one class one semester (a "light load") .. then her norm the next semester. she had students baby sit in her office when she had to lecture. research in a major research lab is a lot writing... applying for grants, putting the data together for publication... grad students are doing a lot of the bench work... so she was able to sit in her office and type away... she had toys to keep her ds occupied and when he wanted her to hold him constantly... she brought in an old computer keyboard and let him bang away while she typed on her computer. It worked for awhile... but got tough.. and she obviously could not work up to her full potential.. not pumping out what she had prior. (she would get a good bit done when her dh got off of work, he went to PT at his job when their ds was 18m... and I think their son started preschool at age 2).

most of the moms in that playgroup were affiliated with the college (dh was a post doc at the time). many were working on their dissertations... and it took them A LONG TIME to finish. all said that it was tough to find the time to write. One mom ended up hiring a "mother's helper" to play with her dd (when she was a little older, 8 months and up) while she sat to write... she hired a little girl 12 y/o from the school across the st to come over for a couple of hours afterschool... that's how she ended up finishing her dissertation. I give them both a ton of credit... I"ve seen the work dh does/did ... and no way could he do it full time with a baby at home. He does work from home when I have to nap for my night shift... but he works long hours as a professor.

Maybride2 · October 2009

Stacyc625:

I have an International Tax Analyst/Attorney. I am on conference calls with Asia (which is during the night for me in the USA)- I do analyzation work/calls during the day as needed however the bulk of my job is done at night after she is in bed.

Well there you go, that makes sense. You don't work a traditional 8-5 job, and you do the majority of your work at night after your child goes to bed.

You can't really apply your situation to most jobs, where you are needed during normal daytime hours. I'm sure that you'd even admit that there's no way that you could conduct those conference calls during the day while your daughter was awake and you were the only adult there watching her. And even with the phone calls you make during the day, I'm sure that you either schedule them at naptime or have a helluva difficult time trying to juggle the call while keeping your child quietly entertained.

EastCoastBride · October 2009

Stacyc625:
however the bulk of my job is done at night after she is in bed.

See - that's what I mean :-) My original comment was about people who think they can work 9 - 5 AND watch their kid. There ARE people out there who really think they can do this and that a company would pay them to do this.

ka2005 · October 2009

Hmmm...maybe in my second career as a real estate agent:-) I would consider it when children are at school during the day.

Now that little one is here I like having (for the most part) a separation from work time and family time.

Stacyc625 · October 2009

Maybride2:
Stacyc625:

I have an International Tax Analyst/Attorney. I am on conference calls with Asia (which is during the night for me in the USA)- I do analyzation work/calls during the day as needed however the bulk of my job is done at night after she is in bed.

Well there you go, that makes sense. You don't work a traditional 8-5 job, and you do the majority of your work at night after your child goes to bed.

You can't really apply your situation to most jobs, where you are needed during normal daytime hours. I'm sure that you'd even admit that there's no way that you could conduct those conference calls during the day while your daughter was awake and you were the only adult there watching her. And even with the phone calls you make during the day, I'm sure that you either schedule them at naptime or have a helluva difficult time trying to juggle the call while keeping your child quietly entertained.

The poll said IDEAL- never said 9-5 and yes i do do conference calls with DD while she is awake. i am needed during the daytime- i reply to all of our domestic tax issues via email and phone conferencing with no problems juggling. Is she silent during them?- no. Is she running amuck coloring on the walls while i am on the calls?-- no. Does this situation work for me. Yes.

Mini_Mariah · October 2009

Stacyc625:
Maybride2:
Stacyc625:

I have an International Tax Analyst/Attorney. I am on conference calls with Asia (which is during the night for me in the USA)- I do analyzation work/calls during the day as needed however the bulk of my job is done at night after she is in bed.

Well there you go, that makes sense. You don't work a traditional 8-5 job, and you do the majority of your work at night after your child goes to bed.

You can't really apply your situation to most jobs, where you are needed during normal daytime hours. I'm sure that you'd even admit that there's no way that you could conduct those conference calls during the day while your daughter was awake and you were the only adult there watching her. And even with the phone calls you make during the day, I'm sure that you either schedule them at naptime or have a helluva difficult time trying to juggle the call while keeping your child quietly entertained.

The poll said IDEAL- never said 9-5 and yes i do do conference calls with DD while she is awake. i am needed during the daytime- i reply to all of our domestic tax issues via email and phone conferencing with no problems juggling. Is she silent during them?- no. Is she running amuck coloring on the walls while i am on the calls?-- no. Does this situation work for me. Yes.

When do you sleep? Does DD go to bed early?

Stacyc625 · October 2009

DD is in bed by 7pm and gets up at 8am.

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