Advice on working from home

Re: Advice on working from home

• kmos816 member

  December 2014

  I work from home and love it... And just started a few months ago. I feel I get a lot of work done faster and it has made work/life balance easier. I'm lucky in that our company hq is in town so I do occasionally go into the home office to work- to pick up supplies and things, so I can interact with coworkers then- if I didn't have that opportunity I still would take working from home any day.

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• jlaOK member

  December 2014

  I have been working from home for 3 years and absolutely love it.  It isn't suited for every personality type, however.  You have to be the type that can basically sit in solitude for hours on end and not go crazy.  I love it because I can get my work done with little to no interruptions which gives me time to do some thing around the house, errands at lunch, and working out during lunch.  We all WFH at my company so we Skype often which doesn't make it feel so isolating.
  
  I do think it makes my work/family balance because I left a 40 min each way commute and I can get little things done around the house.  It also makes waiting for repair people a breeze
  

  

                                                

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• snicksnack member

  December 2014

  In Jan I am switching to working 4 days at home one week and three days the next (2 week pay period) when I am not traveling.  I work from home here and there now and I have a love hate relationship with it.  The love is not having to commute to our headquarters, which is 85 miles from my house, and being able to have laundry going and something cooking while I am working.  The hate is my start time, always seeming to work late and lack of people being around.  I am supposed to start by 8 but DH is rarely up by then, which means the kids are bugging me for breakfast etc…. On days I go in he is up by 7:30 and I have fed and dressed our 4-year old but he takes advantage when I am there and it makes my morning stressful.  So one of two things having to change he has to either get up and pretend I am not in the house or I am taking the kids to daycare earlier. 
  

  I do have a question for those who work from home did you set-up your docking station and monitor?  I am on the fence about it.  I love having it but I already have a desktop in my office may look messy having two setup, although our desk can accommodate it.In the past I worked at sat. office to avoid the commute but my new boss does not want to pay for the office anymore.
  

  

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• littledaisies member

  December 2014

  Thank you everyone for your input!!  I'm thinking it will be a good move for me at this point of my life. 

  
  

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• BeachBum73 member

  December 2014

  I worked from home for 5 years and 90% of the time I loved it. I did miss interacting with my coworkers but I'm an introvert so those were fleeting moments I also traveled a few times a year to go into HQ or for a trade show so it worked for me. Plus I felt the work/life balance was better (90% of the time, I forced myself to stop working at 5) and was able to do little chores or errands during the day when otherwise I'd have to save it for the weekend. The nights were still crazy but I think it's the same whether you work or not - everyone coming home, making/eating dinner, homework, activities, etc. - that didn't change for me.

  
  

  The only downsides were that although originally I was one of 3 on my team that worked remotely, it ended up being only me for the last 2-3 years. That was difficult at times. I feel like I missed a lot. Also, I got very spoiled. With my daughter in school, I was able to do drop offs and pick ups and avoid before and after care.

  
  

  I was laid off from that job about a year ago and have done some contracting work in between but it is really hard to find something with that same flexibility.

  
  

  Something else to think about is networking and contacts. After I was laid off, I realized that most of my contacts that could possibly help me get a new job, lived two states away. I worked for a large company so if I ever get into that situation again, I will make sure to reach out and network with local colleagues too.

  
  

  In response to the question about the docking station...I did use my docking station and although I didn't un-dock it very often, it was helpful when I needed to. You could always try for a bit and see if it's too much clutter or if you actually need it.

  
  
  

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• 2chatter member

  December 2014

  I WFH full time and have for four years now.  It does help with the balance, but we have the opposite problem here - everyone else in my family gets home and wants to be here; they get home and I want to GO SOMEWHERE and talk to grown ups.  It's just really isolating.

  Having said that, I would not trade it for the convenience.  My career trajectory is limited, but the kids walk home after school, DS doesn't have to be rushed through the morning before DC drop off and I am here for service calls and maintenance.  A formal home office is a necessity IMO - I did without for 2.5 years and it was really, really hard.

  

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• snicksnack member

  December 2014

  Thanks @BeachBum73 I will set it up and see how it goes.  I also agree with @2chatter you will need a formal office.  I had one in our old house and when we had our 2nd and it got turned into a bedroom it was hard even just the one day a week I was doing it.  In our new house I have a den on the first floor that is my office and the kids know not to come in.  Only thing making it hard now is the noise when they are home and I am trying to take calls so DH takes them downstairs if I am on an important call. Even with the door closed I can hear them. I cover international divisions so sometimes I am on meetings at odd times when the kids are not in daycare.
  

  

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