As a Coach, I often talk to people considering starting their own business and one of the pros on their list is getting to work at home. They imagine their pet lying at their feet and they are wearing comfortable clothing and playing relaxing music and all the while doing their work. They joyfully describe that their kids are at home with them and that they now will have it all.

Well, I have had the luxury of working at home and I do love that I can wear loose clothing and work in an inviting home office. I also love not fighting the traffic to get to work and most of all not dealing with office politics. But, at home, work always beckons me. “Oh, I’ll just check my email one more time…..” “Oh, I have to enter receipts in Quickbooks” and on and on… It’s hard to separate work time from home time and I find I work an awful lot! Also, I never really can work with the kids around. As much as I enjoyed them being home, it was virtually impossible to get anything done. I had to get a babysitter and even then I’d sometimes have to hide out in my own house just to make a quiet phone call. It actually turned out to be quite stressful.

A few years back, I took on a consulting assignment where I have to go into an office park two days every week. After five years of working at home, I found I actually liked dressing up like a grownup a few days a week; it made me feel better about myself. Also, surprisingly, I found that water cooler chats sure beat the isolation of thinking about my business challenges over and over in a vacuum inside my head. Another office perk is the cabinet full of supplies with things like ink cartridges, paper and folders that cost me so much at Staples in my home office. Lastly, I like the cafeteria and not having to eat boring leftovers everyday. So, for the two days of rush hour traffic, I get some real perks that I really didn’t ever consider perks if I hadn’t worked at home for so long.

Moral of the story: I only appreciated it when I didn’t have it anymore and for me now, having a little of both work environments is ideal
Happy Spring,
Persephone
Work/Life Family Balance Columnist