Advice needed from those who work from home

[Bichon Barb]

DH and I want to get out of the dive of an office building we are in. We are considering remodeling the basement (which we were going to do anyway), and moving the office down there.

DH is a manufacturers rep and is on the road frequently. I do inside sales and pay bills, etc.

I currently work from 9:00 ish to 2:15 ish in the winter so that I can be home in time for the school bus. (Our boys are 8 and 10 yo.) In the summer it goes down to 9:00 to noonish, when the boys get out of their summer program.) This can be a problem when DH is on the road and a customer calls late in the day to place an order and no one is there.

The main positive of working from the house is that I would be there to cover the phones, faxes and e-mails all day when DH is on the road. We've also discussed some of the negatives.

For those of you who work from your home or who have worked from your home, what are some of the pro's and con's?

TIA!

 

[CEDmom]

I have a great work arrangement. I work 3 days a week - 2 in the office and 1 at home. DD goes to pre-school the days I work. My company supplied all my equipment. What I like most about being a teleworker is the flexibility it gives me. Especially with working just part-time. Even on days I'm technically not working I can still check e-mails or get a jump on a project. It also means that I don't have as much pressure when I am in the office to get everything done before I leave for the day. It's worked really well during the winter when I may not have gone into the office because of snow and would have had to take a vacation day. Finally, there have been work days that DD has been sick and while I couldn't do as much as usual on those days I was able to accomplish somethings while still being home for her. I'd say the ONLY negative is not having personal contact with people. However even this can sometimes be a blessing when you just want to be let alone anyway.

Hope this helps.

 

[Bichon Barb]

CEDmom, is it difficult to keep disciplined? DH and I joked that if we did do it, we'd have to make some rules. Like, must get up and shower and put cloths on. No working in our PJ's.

Then there is the issue of laying down ground rules with the boys. No wrestling, screaming, chasing dogs when mom or dad is on the phone.

 

[CEDmom]

It's not too hard to stay disciplined. The work I do has deadlines so if I slack off one day I know I can make up that time and get things done when they need to be. On the day I'm teleworking I take DD to pre-school so I have to be up showered/dressed etc unless I want the whole neighborhood to see my Pooh PJ's. What was a little hard to get used to was realizing it was ok to miss a call because I was getting a drink downstairs or something like that. In the office I'm away from my desk many times during the day and miss calls and don't think twice about it.

DD isn't home normally when I'm working so I don't have to contend with that. Maybe you could get a sign for the door so your boys would know when they had to be quiet.

 

[Ellester]

My Dh works at home (I'm a SAHM) and has been for about 3 years (he's a software engineer). He is VERY disciplined, he pretty much only comes out for snacks and lunch. He is also very good about leaving at 5:30 and not checking e-mails, answering the phone, etc. after hours. Even if he is goofing off, he generally does it in his office! We did have to train our girls (currently 5 1/2 & 2) that they can't just barge in the office and bother him. They know to check to see if he's on the phone before talking to him and if the door is locked, they know daddy is working and to leave him alone. It is handy when a delivery or repairman is expected and I don't have to wait around.

The commute is great! We have a joke about the traffic tie ups on the stairs (well, you take humour where you can find it!). He generally wakes up 1/2 hour before he wants to be at work and eats breakfast at his desk. If he's running late, he'll just take a shower at lunch!

As far as the cons, I know he gets lonely. He's on the phone alot, but he doesn't travel at all so he really sees no one but us all day. Not that we're not great company, but you know what I mean. He does go work out and is active with several church groups, but some days his big outside adventure is to walk out and get the mail! Our utilities have gone up some, but I figure we more than make up for that with no commute costs. The biggest con is the loss of space. His office is in our bonus room/4th bedroom. We have a third child on the way so our dd's will have to share a room for a while. Also, I do have to be careful about vacuuming or doing other loud stuff upstairs if he is on a call. Nothing major though. I actually like having him around. He gets to see his kids alot more and we usually have lunch together every day. I know he misses an outside office some days, but overall I think it's a big plus.

 

[Bichon Barb]

Thanks for your replies. We are going to check out some locations that are near our home before we make a decision. Actually, we called our financial planner to ask if she knows if there is any office space where she has her office. It's a very old "mansion" about three miles from our home which has been converted to office space. It is also near the grocery store where we shop, Target, and restaurants (that could be dangerous LOL.)