Crashing headlong into the future/ won't even leave a dent / just walk in like you own it / remember...
Crashing headlong into the future/ won't even leave a dent / just walk in like you own it / remember, it ain't set in cement...
Member since:23.03.2001
Reviews:90
Members who trust:224
This isn’t an opinion about different ways you can make lots of money, but instead intends to look at the actual situation of working from your home, as opposed to some other place.
I started working from home nearly a year ago, after the birth of my daughter made me rethink my priorities. Not working wasn’t an option, and if I had returned to my then employer I would have had to put a 6 month old in a creche for about 9 hours a day, a prospect that I found unthinkable. I felt that I was incredibly lucky to find a job that enabled me to work full time from my own home.
I had to sell the idea to my new employer, which meant thinking through a lot of the practicalities well in advance. I am developing a new business for my employer which is a great incentive to me to succeed, but in some ways meant that my boss could be more flexible in how the project was managed and housed. And my business plan was better value than renting office space in their central location, and whilst I need to be able to get into town the actual address doesn’t matter too much. It really depends what you do (or want to do or are prepared to do…) but with some lateral thinking and modern technology an awful lot of modern service industry jobs can be done from a domestic location.
Some practical issues you need to consider are: Space – you need a separate work space, ideally a separate room. It’s still important to ‘go to work’, and even more so to ‘come home’ psychologically each day, and it’s also important that your work doesn’t crowd out your home and living space. Think about how much desk space, filing, storage etc your work actually needs. A business-like environment – for me this means efficient full-time childcare, a nanny/mother’s help who means we live on the breadline but I can actually realise my dream of being at home with my daughter. You need to think about anything that might affect your business image, such as background noise, and don’t even think about managing with the one shared phone line. The technology – this is really what makes teleworking possible: I can’t tell you what to get as everyone’s needs are different, my only sincere advice is to find out exactly what you need and then invest in it somehow, without cutting corners. Easy for me to say on a salary I know, but you can lease decent IT gear if you are setting up on your own and it’s so worth it.
But there are issues beyond the practical: are you the right person for teleworking, with the lure of the TV/fridge/family/ housework/endless other procrastination sources? If you find the Minesweeper and the coffee machine unavoidable temptation in the office, what will you be like in your own home? This was a tough one for me as an intrinsically very lazy person, and I had to be very clear with myself what I was doing and why. Consider also the other people in your household: OK so they don’t use that room, but your work will still have an impact on everything from the volume of post to the electricity bill. And will they be expected to help out and pitch in occasionally? And will you ever really be off duty? I’ve found myself sneakily checking my emails late at night, knowing my partner will be irritated with me working so late but I can’t help dwelling on it when an important project’s going on…
However if you can cover off all of the above, it really is fantastic.
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Good op, working from 'home' can be rewarding given the right opportunity and support. Some don't have a choice and I suppose the ideal is to know what you're trying to achieve. So many factors to consider.
Baywatch_Fan2002 02.08.2002 17:38
A very very helpful op thank you :)
ericstannard 30.07.2001 15:33
I have worked at home now for nearly two years and too have found it important to be able to "go to work" and "come home" again. It is important to try and seperate work space from living space so the two do not merge. Another aspect to working at home is not just your discipline but others as well. At first my wife and young children found it too easy to have a "quick" chat with me, show me this, etc, etc, all of which are distractions that do not happen at the office. Although there are many distractions in an office, those at home make you feel like you are cheating on your employer so it is useful and enlightening to keep a log of the hours spend working (I found it was much greater when at home). My 3yr old daughter now knows that if I am at the computer and the door is closed I am "at work on the puterer" - if only my wife would catch on! One thing you do miss by working at home is all the office gossip that can make you feel even more isolated when you do go there.
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