PostingHome working for parents: the plus side

In my posting yesterday on the drawbacks to being a Work at Home Mum, or WAHM, I promised another missive today on the joys of a life spent fettered to a keyboard in the spare bedroom/playroom/study, while pretending to be a carefree "have-it-all" mum, with perfect work/life balance.

Now today's come around and I regret to have to say I can hardly think of any benefits to being a WAHM. But having scratched what's left of my braincells after a year's breastfeeding, I've managed to think of a few upsides.

No colleagues

At first this was a plus and I enjoyed my own company. Now I'm a seasoned WAHM and idealise any office where I've ever worked, however poisonous the politics were, remembering only the cheerful banter, not the nastier sides.

Flexibility in hours

Easier to knock off work early on a sunny day when I fancy taking my daughter to the park. When she was sent home from nursery with a sticky eye it was easy for me to walk over there and pick her up. Major plus for parents of young children. Some mornings I take her in to nursery closer to lunchtime, and then pick her up before teatime.

Master and commander (sort of)

I feel more in control of my own destiny, working for myself, and enjoy the freedom it brings. I can explore ideas and projects that interest me, without checking in with anyone else first.

Fitting work in around children

If things have gone haywire during the day, with our daughter sick at home or similar, I can make up the lost hours in the evening here at home.

Commuting time

For all my moaning about lack of company in the working day, I never enjoyed being shoe-horned into the London Tube every morning on the way to work, squashed in with  dozens of other people. Even I, moaner that I am, have to admit it's not much of a trek from bedroom to spare room.

Ability to work from anywhere with broadband connection

Well, theoretically, although it's strange how so much of work still comes down to talking with real, live human beings, even now. But being self-employed and working from home meant I was able to escape London two years ago to come back to Edinburgh. We're now debating a possible next move to France. If my husband didn't have such good IT skills, I doubt I'd be so sanguine on this point.

Getting more done at home/fewer interruptions?

Arguable point. A friend has a theory that people get more done working from home than they would in offices, because so much time there is taken up with meetings. Hah - but what about tea breaks?

Climbing the laundry mountain

Taking little breaks to work on the laundry leaves me still feeling quite smug and virtuous afterwards, almost as if I'd stayed at my desk and done the work I was meant to be doing, instead of frippering away the minutes on anything I could manage to justify to myself.



Some weeks you can take on more work, others less

When K was unwell a few weeks ago and she couldn't go to nursery, I was able to rearrange my work to look after her.

Posted 09 May 2007 01:39

Breastfeeding Daughter Husband Nursery Pregnancy Work Home working

Comments

zornhau said:
Other pluses

Productive down time: When your brain seizes up or if you're stuck and have to think, you can do laundry, prepare food, practice sword cuts etc. No need to sit and stare at screen faking it. Health: No more picking up lurgies from colleagues who haul themselves into work despite having the Black Death. Control over environment: Perhaps you've never worked in an office with crap air condo and dozens of computers spewing out plastic air? This also affects health. Save money: Being at home saves money on lunch, and wear and tear on business clothes. Food: Shop locally for decent meat etc and prepare multi-portion meals for the freezer. Deliveries and workmen: You actually get to be in for them.

Posted 09 May 2007 11:03

EE said:
I'm with you on the laundry!

Being a WAHM too, I totally agree with your assessment of the pros and cons - especially the huge sense of acheivement when the laundry pile has been reduced to a couple of towels and a bib! Why is it that I get more satisfaction from that than from finishing a report that I've slaved over all afternoon...?

Posted 09 May 2007 15:30

Mother at Large said:
So I'm not alone!

Thanks for your comments, EE. Good to hear your thoughts on working from home, especially with you being a fellow WAHM. Zornhau, thanks to you for your points. Agree with you on them all, though I might skip sword practice in my breaks. Just a personal thing...

Posted 09 May 2007 16:32

beta mum said:
Homework

I thought I'd be immune to the internalised attack on my self-image that comes when you give up going to the office to work from home. I always thought my sense of self was about who I am and not what I do. But now I see I'm not quite as strong as I thought. When people ask me what I'm doing now, I mutter something about writing a bit, doing a course, and that old favourite, freelancing. It's certainly not easy for people to place you when you don't have a succinct job title to trot out, and it makes them uncomfortable. But the main thing to consider is - can you cope without an impressive sounding job title and the camaraderie of the people you work with? I can manage without the latter, but then I'm a miserable sod. It's been harder to do without the former.

Posted 19 May 2007 22:21

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